I woke up in bed alone.
There was no note from Andrew, and all of his clothes were gone.
I was starting to think having sex with him was all a dream, but I spotted his wallet sitting on top of my nightstand. I pulled the covers off of me and smiled once I saw that he’d dressed me in a silk slip.
I made my way out of the room and down the hallway where he was standing out on my balcony smoking a cigar.
“Since when do you smoke?” I stepped behind him.
“I don’t often,” he said. “Only when I need to think.”
I nodded and looked out into the night sky, but I suddenly felt him pulling me against him.
“Aren’t you going to ask what I’m thinking about?” He smirked. “Surely you have questions.”
“I do, Liam.”
“We can talk about it.”
“Now?”
“If that’s what you want…” He put out his cigar and walked me over to a chair, pulling me into his lap. “How long have you known about that?”
“A couple weeks…”
“Hmmm.”
I shook my head. “Do Bach and Greenwood know who you really are?”
“They do.”
“So, why do you have to hide it from everyone else?”
“Esteemed lawyer or not, no one wants to take on someone who has a history in the papers…It makes a high profile firm look bad.” He kissed the back of my shoulder.
“What was Emma like?”
He sighed, looking at me. “She was perfect…”
I thought of a way to change the subject, but he continued talking.
“She hated when I went to work, and she would beg me to come sometimes, so I’d let her…” His voice was low. “And then I wouldn’t get any work done because the park was right across the street and she always wanted to play…Always.”
“Did she follow you around at home?” I asked.
“She was my shadow. She would come sleep on the couch if I was up working, and if she saw me leave the room to take a call, she would cross her arms and look offended if I didn’t invite her to listen.” He let out a short laugh, but he didn’t say anything else.
“Can I ask you something?” I leaned against his chest.
“If I say no I don’t think it’ll stop you…”
“Where do we go from here?”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean…What happens now with us?”
He looked at me, confused. “Us?”
“Are we in a relationship? Are you going to stay with me, or are you going back to Date-Match?”
He stared at me for a long time. “I can’t stay in New York, Aubrey. I think you can understand why…”
“You had no plans to stay past tonight did you?”
“No.”
“And you leave in the morning?”
“Yes.” He tried to kiss my hair, but I moved away. “So, was this some type of way to get your Aubrey fix before you went home? Say all the right things so you can feel better about yourself when you leave?”
“I wanted you to know that I loved you before I went home.”
“And to get some pussy on the side, of course.”
“Of course.” He smirked, but I didn’t return his smile.
“I told you not to get my hopes up, Andrew.” I stepped back. “And you did it anyway.”
“What do you want me to do, Aubrey? Move in with you? Fucking propose?”
“I want you to stay…And if you can’t stay, I want you to leave…Now.”
“Aubrey…”
“Now,” I said. “We can still be friends, but I don’t want to—”
“Stop.” He pulled me close and pressed his mouth against mine. “We’re more than friends…We always were. I just can’t be with you right now.”
I opened my mouth to protest, but he kissed me again and again, whispering as he cupped my breasts, “I would really prefer if we spent the rest of night in bed and not arguing…”
Adjourn (v.):
To suspend proceedings: to suspend the business of a court, legislature, or committee indefinitely.
Weeks later…
Aubrey
I stood on my toes backstage—tilting my head toward the ceiling, rehearsing the final move of the production one last time. I should’ve been happy and smiling—overjoyed at the fact that I was about to debut in the leading role in a New York Ballet Company production, but I wasn’t. Far from it.
I felt alone, and I knew no amount of applause or accolades would take those feelings away.
I was still hanging onto my last few moments with Andrew: The early morning sex in the shower, the sex against my door, the sex in the town car on the way to the airport. (And there was also the final romp in the airport’s bathroom…)