“Are you on the pill?” he asked, breaking the silence. The thought had suddenly occurred to him, because now he was certain that she was a virgin. Her hymen was already broken though, which could have been caused by masturbation; but he was sure that no man had been inside her before. Or if they had, they had done a very poor job of it. It made Devon feel good that he had been able to make Belle feel good. He had watched the intensity of her orgasm. She wasn’t going to forget it very easily.
“Yeah, ever since I moved in with Jesse,” she said, looking over at him.
“But you’ve not had sex with him yet?” Devon asked, still avoiding her gaze. They were looking up at the ceiling together, because he didn’t want to face her, or himself. This was the last thing he wanted to happen. Because just like her, Devon knew that he wasn’t going to be able to forget Belle so easily either.
“No, he wants to wait till we get married,” Belle said quietly and Devon drew in a deep breath.
“I’m sorry if this has confused things for you,” he said, after a few moments of silence. Belle was silent too, then she shook her head and turned to him. Devon couldn’t avoid looking at her any more. He turned to her, and looked into her large brown eyes. Her hair had fallen like a curtain over her side, just about covering her breasts.
“It was already a confused mess. I wanted to have sex, and he didn’t. We have a lot of things to work out,” she said and Devon nodded quietly.
“See, this is the reason why I want you to move to Brooklyn,” he said and then watched as she got up from the carpet. He couldn’t help admiring her lithe naked body as she walked over to where her clothes were strewn on the floor.
Devon felt a pang of loneliness again, as he watched her getting dressed in silence.
“Yes, you’re probably right,” she said as she slid up her jeans. Devon got up too, dragging his gaze away from looking at her. His clothes were lying near the desk, and he walked over to them.
“I’ll speak to Susan tomorrow, and organize a move by day after. You’ll be able to work better if we keep our distance,” he said, as he buttoned up his shirt and pulled up his pants. Belle had slunk her t-shirt back on now, and she flipped her long hair out of her clothes.
“Is it really this easy for you? You seem quite experienced in things like this,” she said and Devon jerked his head up to look at her with narrowed dark eyes. He clenched his jaw.
“I’m not experienced in it at all, Belle. This is the first time something like this has happened. I like to keep my work and private life as separate as possible,” he said and tucked his shirt into his pants.
Belle was standing with her arms crossed over her chest, as though she didn’t believe a word of what he said.
“And, it’s not easy. But I’m your boss, you have a boyfriend and you’re at least twenty years younger than me,” he said. Even though he had just had her, and even though Belle’s flushed face and flared nostrils told him that she was in a sour mood; Devon couldn’t help wanting her again. He wondered how many times it would take, for her to satisfy his craving. Right then it felt like it could take forever. Like he would never stop wanting her.
Belle rolled her eyes and looked away from him.
“Yeah, I have a boyfriend. Who I have to go home to. Who I have to face now,” she said, with her eyes turned to the glass wall. Devon debated whether he should walk closer to her. Eventually, he decided that she needed human contact. That all this was probably too confusing for her. So, he walked over to her and she turned to look at him.
Her watery eyes, the prideful jutting out of her chin…all contributed to how sexy she looked in that moment. Devon wished that he could keep her there, and make love to her all night. Instead, he only grabbed her face with both his hands, encasing her cheeks with his palms. He peered into her eyes and tried to smile.
“It’ll be fine once you move to Brooklyn. This was a mistake. I did something wrong, just like you did. You’re not alone in this,” he said and Belle fell into his arms. She wrapped herself into his chest and Devon had no other choice but to stroke her silky bronze hair. He got a whiff of her lemon scented shampoo and he closed his eyes in order to savor that moment.
She wasn’t crying, or sniffing…she was simply holding him.
“I want to feel guilty, I want to feel bad, but I don’t. I know this isn’t good for you, or your agency, and I’m only an intern with a complicated life, but…” her words were coming out in a jumble and Devon placed a finger on her lips.
“Don’t say another word,” he said and they couldn’t help but smile at each other.