Once Stav is out, Dustin scooted closer to me and rested his hand on mine.
"What?" I asked, suddenly feeling nervous.
"I miss you," he whispered, brushing his fingers over the dorsum of my hand. His touch brought back many memories, especially those of our early days of dating. When you're with someone for a long time, the butterflies die over time but now, they seemed to have made a return.
"We met a few days ago," I said, trying my best to smile.
"No. Not like that," he said and scooted even closer. His hand left mine and he cupped my cheek. "I miss us."
For a small moment, I leaned into his familiar touch. It had been so long since I had been with someone physically so his proximity caused desire to pool in my stomach. I needed the warmth he was providing me so effortlessly.
But I was not stupid enough to continue this. I knew we were not fitted together. We may have chemistry but that's it. He hated my work, I hated his interference in m
I stood against my car and tapped the floor with my feet in a rhythmic manner. The sun was about to set and the sky was painted in a mixture of orange, red and blue. I wish I had something poetic to say about it but then again, arts and literature were never my strong suit."Hey," I heard a familiar voice from behind. Turning around, I found Sunshine, standing near her car. "You leaving for home?" she asked."No, I have to join Alice for a meeting," I replied and walked towards her."Oh," she mumbled awkwardly, probably due to the mention of Alice.So many things had happened today. First, I woke up on Sunshine's bed, with her wrapped up in my arms. Then I found her crying in the ladies bathroom after she had been scolded by Alice. And then, I had yelled at Alice for interfering between us. Sunshine and I had a lot to discuss but I couldn't find the proper chance to do so. As far as Alice and I were concerned, we didn't utter a single unnecessary word to
Another week passed in a blur. Things between me and my boss had been a little cold. For an outsider, we might appear normal but God knows things were definitely not normal for me. On the other hand, Sunshine and I were still on vague, undecided terms. We had gone out for dinner twice in a row, flirted many times but things didn't go past that. I liked spending time with her, not in a crazy way but just enough to make her more bearable than most girls in my life.But right now, the issue at hand wasn't either of those women. It was this little courier that I had found outside my apartment door this morning from my father. It contained two passes for his annual business conference in Los Angeles, one for me and one for Alice.I hated mixing my personal and professional life but apparently it wasn't possible. In a few days, I was going to introduce my boss and my father to each other, two people that left no stone unturned to make my life hell. Don't get me wrong, I love
Wrapped up in a fluffy towel, I searched through my luggage to find something appropriate for the conference. There was a lot of pressure to do so because it's not everyday you meet Christopher Trajano. First, he was a legend in the business community and second, he was Stav's dad. The latter shouldn't matter much, but for some reason, it did.While digging through my luggage, I heard a knock on the door. It was probably the room service to bring me the breakfast I had ordered."Come in," I said and continued my search. "Put it on the table outside."A few seconds later, a surprised gasp reached my ears. Angling my head, I found Stav standing behind me, startled. Realizing that I was just in a towel, a deep blush crept up my cheeks and I stood straight."I-I'm. . ." His eyes struggled to find a proper place to look at. His heated gaze warmed me up and I hugged my arms around myself in embarrassment. "I came to ask if I should call the cab?""Y-Yeah
After talking to Honey for hours, I finally made my way to Stav's room where I was supposed to sleep tonight. The room was drowned in darkness and the only source of light was the moonlight coming through the window glass. I squinted my eyes to have a better look at the masculine figure lying on the bed.It was Stav, in just a sleeveless undershirt and grey pyjamas. His arms were tucked behind his head and his eyes were closed. For some reason, I never realized before how bulky his arms really were. His shirts usually did a pretty good job in hiding his muscles but now, they were out there. The thin cloth of the shirt was stretched across his torso, failing to hide his defined abs.I stood there for a moment, gawking at him without even realizing. Probably feeling my eyes on him, he opened his eyes and I immediately looked away before he could catch me red-handed."I'll ask Mom for an extra mattress and blanket," he said and started to move.Not wanting t
The bright light in the lounge woke me up earlier than I was used to. I rolled on the couch for about fifteen minutes, trying to find a position where the piercing rays wouldn't disturb me but failed. Giving up, I rose to a sitting position and rubbed my eyes.The first thing that came to my mind after gathering my senses was the kiss. A part of me was still suspicious if it really happened or not. Maybe it was a figment of my imagination. But then again, that wouldn't explain how fast my heart was pounding right now. It had happened, no matter how much I denied it.I stretched my arms and found my mother entering through the glass door that connected the lounge to the lawn outside. She was in her workout clothes and had a yoga mat in her hands."Good morning, sweetie. Come, I'll make breakfast for you," she said when she found me awake. "And wake up Alice.""Okay, Mom." I yawned. It was nice to have someone cook for you once in a while. Kylie and Isaiah
We spent the whole day exploring the city with Norman and Jean. They both were quite cool and funny, and kept me entertained with stories of Alice's teenage years. Apparently, my uptight boss used to be a rebel in high school and loved to break rules.We went to a theme park first and then to a museum and now finally, we were in a restaurant slash bar to have dinner and drinks. This place had seating on a rooftop of a tall building from where you could see half the city."Let's order a pizza, some fries and vodka," Norman suggested and called the waiter to dictate her our order."I have a phone call to make." Alice excused herself and went to the side. From the look of it, she was scolding someone; her nostrils were flaring and there was a huge frown etched on her forehead.I forced my eyes back to the table and found both Norman and Jean staring at me. "What?""You like her, man?" Norman asked."Um..." I gulped. "Yeah, what's not to like? S
The first thing I noticed when my brain started to wake up was something heavy crushing me. I tried to move but the "thing" kept me in place and suffocated. Gasping for breath, I opened my eyes and when my eyes fell on the "thing" crushing me, my jaw hung low in surprise.It was Stav, shirtless, with his head cradled between my breasts and a bit of drool on the corner of his mouth. But that wasn't the thing that worried me the most; it was the fact that I was just in my bra and I was pretty sure there was just underwear separating me from his crotch down there.One by one, memories of last night came rushing back. Our conversation here on this very couch, me asking him to kiss me and all the things that followed that. Goosebumps appeared on my skin as I remembered his lips on my body, kissing every inch of my skin like his life depended on it.Shit.I pushed Stav with all my power and slid from beneath him while he once again snuggled into the couch witho
It was 8 in the evening and I was driving my car, with Sunshine in the passenger seat. We had a lot to talk about and the office building wasn't exactly the right place for that discussion so I invited her over for dinner.I still couldn't believe Alice didn't remember anything about that night. It was so real, so unforgettable; but apparently, not for her. What did I think? She would wake up and blush and pick up where we had left the night before."What are you thinking?" Sunshine asked, breaking my chain of thoughts."Nothing much," I said, passing her a smile.Once we reached my apartment, I unlocked the door with the spare keys and led her inside. "Don't mind these two weird creatures who just cuddle all day and eat snacks." I motioned towards Isaiah and Kylie busy watching another one of their chick flicks."Hello to you too, my dear friend," Isaiah said."Don't mind us, we will be in my bedroom," I said and led Sunshine through the lo
"Let's call it a day," I said, leaning back in my seat and stretching my arms. "Do you want me to order some food for you, Mr. Trajano?" Celine asked. "It's fine. I'll go home and eat with my wife." I said and stood up to leave. Once I reached the elevator, my eyes fell on Sunshine, standing inside with her hands linked with Thea. Apparently, after dating me, Sunshine reached this conclusion that she wasn't into men anymore. That was a pretty big blow to my ego, not that I didn't deserve it. "Stav." She acknowledged me with a nod. "Sunshine." I passed her a professional smile. The whole elevator ride was somewhat awkward, after which I went straight to the parking lot where my driver was already waiting for me. Almost one year ago, a month before my marriage to Alice, we decided to merge both companies. I took over as the CEO of Montelebalo-Trajano enterprises while Alice decided to head the board. It was the only thing feasible, becau
"What the hell is your doing? Stav, untie me right now." I groaned."Patience, love," Stav said and guided me out of the car. I had been blindfolded for the last fifteen minutes now and despite my utmost displeasure, all I got in response was, "Patience.""Where are you taking me?" I groaned as I felt my heels sinking in the ground. He held me straight by wrapping his arm around my waist and led me forwards."I am going to tie you up and have my way with you," he whispered in my ear and I felt a shiver down my spine. I heard him chuckle at my reaction, after which he untied the blindfold and rolled me around to see where he had taken me.In front of me was probably the most beautiful sight I had ever seen. We were on a dark beach, dimly illuminated by a few fire lamps dispersed here and there. The sun had already set and the moon was casting its beautiful shadow on the blue water. There was a table set near the shore, two chairs around it facing the sea.
The minute I saw Dustin dressed in a three piece suit, I immediately realized that this was a mistake. It was never supposed to be a "friendly" dinner. And then there I was, dressed in blue jeans and a button down black shirt, with my hair tied back with the help of a bandana."Where are we going?" I asked him nervously."Your favourite restaurant. Delilah's eatery," he said."I don't go there anymore, since I came to know that the owner, Delilah is homophobic and racist," I replied and an awkward silence prevailed inside the car."Oh, I didn't know that. Where do you want to go?" he asked.Somewhere casual, so this won't turn into a date."Let's go to McDonald's," I offered.He laughed out loud at this."I am serious. I am craving a cheeseburger," I added."Wait, you are kidding me. Right? We can go to some nice burger place. What about Emily's?" he asked."Fine." I sighed in defeat.There was no way out o
It was almost 2am. After taking a bath and fueling myself with caffeine, I returned to my home office to continue working. With this new decision I had made, things were going to be really hard for the next few months. The work load was going to triple, but I would happily do it if I could be with Alice at the end of the day."You are still working?" I heard Dad's voice. He was standing near the doorframe, watching me with curious eyes. Mom and Dad came to visit me a few days ago but I couldn't find enough time to spend with them."Yes, Dad. I still have these reports to review," I said."You shouldn't have made the decision of moving the head branch to Philippines right now. Things are going to be really hard for you. You should have given yourself some time to settle in," he said."Don't you think I know that?" I passed him an exhausted smile. "I need to be with her, Dad. It's killing me not being near her.""You love her, don't you?" He chuckled
Another month had passed.Another month of drowning myself in work to avoid facing the fact that I was all alone. Another month of being heartbroken, and mentally and physically stressed. Another month of trying to distract myself by taking different hobbies like Pilates and gardening in my free time.I missed Stav, so much that it was killing me. I remembered two weeks ago, when I finally caved in and ended up calling him. We talked for about an hour and that's when I realized how correct he was. Listening to his voice made it harder to stay away.Sundays were comparatively better. I spent the afternoon in the academy and the rest of the day doing different chores. I had befriended all the other students in my class and it was refreshing because they didn't know me as the tyrant CEO.As far as work was concerned, there was nothing to talk about. I had grown used to having Stav in the office and in his absence, the whole office felt dull and drab. It was
I woke up with a strong arm tightly wrapped around me and a heavy weight on my chest that turned out to be Stav's head. My eyes searched for the clock which showed that it was almost midday, which meant we had slept for twelve hours straight. That was the most I had slept in days and apparently, so had Stav."Hey." I brushed his hair to wake him up. My cheeks were flushed at our position, the way our legs were intertwined and his mouth was resting in the valley of my breast, using me as his own personal cushion."Stav," I whispered, grazing his back with my fingernails.He stretched on top of me and then lifted his head, staring at me with his pearl green eyes."Come with me," he said, giving me a peck and then rolling off me. "I want to wake up like this daily. In fact, take me with you.""What about your company?" I said, playing with the dark lock that had fallen on his forehead."Ugh. Why do you have to remind me?" He groaned, kissing my
Once the elevator door closed behind Stav, we were alone in the small space with nowhere to go. He stepped towards me, his signature scent filling the air. I took a step back, recreating the space between us but he seemed to have ignored my attempt and continued walking forwards until we were standing forehead to forehead."I am sorry," he whispered and his breath tickled the skin around my mouth."Well, so am I." I flashed him a humourless laugh. I was angry, so angry that I wanted to rip his stupid clothes off. What the fuck? No, that's the opposite of what I wanted. For all I cared, he could wear another suit over this one."I didn't want to hurt you," he said."Well, you did a pretty good job at that." I glared at him, crossing my arms in front of my chest before his heat could seep through me and lower my defenses."Let me explain why I didn't call you back. It will make you hate me less." His voice was filled with grief and desperation and a
Ignoring Alice when she wasn't around was hard, but ignoring Alice when she was around me was my own personal hell. The minute I saw her, all the reasons for ignoring her sounded so trivial and all I wanted was to go to her and listen to her voice.For the last two months, I had been anxious. My sleep wake cycle was disturbed, my head ached most of the time, my heart beat faster than it should, my stomach was a mess. I thought it was because of the extra work stress but when my eyes landed on her, a sense of euphoria swirled through me and all the anxieties were settled, all the aches were cured.I wanted her to talk to me, to scold me, to glare at me, but all I got was a cold greeting and it left a bitter taste in my mouth.I couldn't exactly blame her for the cold shoulder she was giving me. After all, after being AWOL for two months, I stole a project from her the day we met again. And Alice wasn't someone who took such things lightly.I tried to expla
When Stav stopped responding to my texts and calls, a series of weird emotions happened. The first day, I was agitated. I thought he was probably busy and made excuses to myself for his lack of response but it did nothing to calm my racing heart. The second day, I was anxious because I thought I did something to earn that reaction. The next day, I was worried for him. I thought something had happened to him but his Facebook profile said he attended an event last night. So apparently, he was alive and kicking. And then the day after that, I was furious.It had been two months since then and it's safe to say, I was still furious at him.Most of the time, I kept myself busy so I wouldn't have to think about him. Because whenever I did, my hands itched to go to him and strangle him for his stupid behaviour. He avoided me like a plague and the worst thing was, I didn't even know why.Right now, I was inside a cab, on my way to a meeting from the hotel. Kaye was sitti