Bands of Gold

by Angela Benson

  “You make me forget everything, woman. Why don’t we take the day off and spend it right here? We could use a vacation.”

  “You can’t be serious,” she said.

  “Why not? When’s the last time you took a day off?”

  She tilted her head and looked at him. “It’s been a while, but we can’t take a day off. They’ll know we’re together.”

  “Who’ll know?” He reached over and pulled her into his arms. It was manipulative, but he felt he had a greater chance of getting her to agree if she were in his arms.

  “Everybody in the office,” she said. “Penny and Doris have probably already figured out that we spent the weekend together in Boston. There would be nothing but gossip if we both took the day off.”

  “They’re going to find out about us sooner or later. Why not sooner?”

  “I’m not ready for that yet, Jackson. Let’s keep a low profile for now. Just us.”

  He squeezed her to him. “I want to spend a lot of time with you. Is that what you want?”

  “Yes,” she answered, a bit too hesitantly for his taste, “but I need to take it slowly. I can’t handle us and the world right now. Let’s stick to us for a while.”

  He didn’t like it, but he sensed that was all he was going to get. “Just us. You’ve got to remember that.”

  “Are you going to take me home now?” she asked.

  He pushed her back on the bed. “Not yet. We need a little more time together.”

  Fourteen

  Christina saw the pink roses first. Reggie, she thought. What am I going to do about Reggie? She walked over to her desk and picked up the card. “Sorry I missed the wedding,” the card said. Christina sat at her desk. She wondered what would have happened if Reggie had gone to the wedding with her. She certainly wouldn’t have spent the weekend with Jackson. Maybe Jackson was right. Maybe they were destined to be together.

  “When are you going to tell him?” Jackson asked.

  She hadn’t heard him walk into her office. She looked up to see him standing next to her. She considered playing dumb. “Soon.” It was too early in their relationship to play games.

  “What are you going to tell him?”

  “I don’t know yet. What should I tell him?”

  “I can’t help you there.”

  “Did you want anything special?”

  “Yes. I wanted to say good morning. Maybe get a kiss. What do you think?”

  After closing her office door, Christina walked to him. She reached up and kissed him softly on the mouth. “Good morning.”

  When she moved to pull away from him, he pulled her back. He kissed her again then set her away from him. “Now it’s a good morning. See you later,” he said, and left the office, leaving the door open.

  Christina looked after him. I want this to work, she thought. I really want this to work.

  Penny stuck her head in the door then. “You have a call, Christina. Do you want to take it now or should I take a message?”

  Christina hadn’t heard the phone. “Who is it?”

  “Reggie Stevens.”

  Not now. “I’ll take it,” she said, and picked up the receiver. “Reggie, thanks for the roses. How are you?” she asked. She dreaded what she had to tell him.

  “I’m great, now that I’m talking to you. How was the wedding?”

  “Enlightening would be a good word.” Invigorating would be another. Intoxicating would be another.

  “What did you do in Boston?”

  “I spent some time with friends.” Well, more time with one friend than another, she elaborated in her mind. “Actually, I spent a lot of time with Jackson.”

  “I didn’t know Jackson was going.” She detected a slight change in his tone.

  “I didn’t, either. Robert must have invited him. They’re fraternity brothers, you know.”

  “No, I didn’t know. So, what did you two do?”

  She didn’t answer immediately.

  “Is there something you need to tell me, Christina?” Reggie prodded.

  She knew that he knew. “Jackson and I started seeing each other this weekend, Reggie.”

  “Started seeing each other? What does that mean?”

  She gave a heavy sigh. “It means we’re seeing each other exclusively.”

  Reggie didn’t say anything.

  “Reggie?”

  “How long have you been seeing each other?”

  Christina heard his pain and she regretted she had caused it. “I didn’t want to tell you like this, Reggie. It wasn’t planned. It just happened.”

  “I don’t know why I’m surprised. I could see there was something between you when I was in Atlanta. Why couldn’t you tell me then?”

  She had no idea he had noticed. “It’s not like that. There was nothing going on between us then. We weren’t even friends. Not really.”

  “Well, you sure moved fast.”

  She tried not to take offense at Reggie’s words. She knew she’d hurt him, but she also knew that she hadn’t made any promises to him. “I’m sorry.”

  “It doesn’t help, Christina.”

  “What else can I say? What can I do?”

  “You could love me instead,” he said.

  She heard him take a deep breath and she knew he wished he could take those words back. “I care about you, Reggie, but I’m not in love with you. We’ve talked about this before.”

  “I know. And I thought I’d handle this better. Let’s talk about this later, okay?”

  “Okay.” She held the phone in her hand after he had hung up. Was there a better way to handle this? What else could she have said? Why do things have to be so difficult?

  ***

  Christina kept herself busy for the rest of the day. She didn’t even eat lunch. It was after six when Jackson stopped by her office. “Ready to go?” he asked.

  “I think I’m going to stay a little later,” she said, without looking up from the papers on her desk. “You don’t have to wait for me.”

  He walked over to stand next to her. “How much later?”

  “Maybe an hour or so. You don’t have to wait.” She still hadn’t looked up.

  “What time did you get in this morning?” he asked casually.

  “I don’t know. Probably around six.”

  “And you’re going to work till . . .say, eight?”

  “That’s right.”

  “That’s thirteen, fourteen hours. When do you sleep?”

  “I’ll have plenty of time for sleep. I don’t need much anyway.”

  “What about time for me?”

  She stopped working and looked up at him. “We’ll have time together.”

  “When?”

  She didn’t know when. “Okay. We both have busy schedules. What do you suggest we do?”

  “The way I see it we only have two choices—either we cut back to more reasonable-unreasonable hours or we move in together.”

  Live together? She was flabbergasted. It was impossible. “What’s your idea of more reasonable-unreasonable hours?”

  “Something less than fourteen hours a day, for sure.”

  “That going to be hard, Jackson. There’s a lot of work to do around here.”

  “What about the other option?”

  “It’s too soon for us to move in together. We’d be rushing it. We need time.”

  “I agree that we need time, but where are we going to get it?”

  “We’ll find ways,” she said.

  “Be sensible. You don’t want us to spend any personal time together during the day. You’re working until late into the night and we live a half-hour apart. Where’s the time?”

  She considered the options. “What if we worked together?”

  “I thought you didn’t want people in the office to know.”

  “I don’t. We can work together in your apartment. It’s near here. We can leave work each day ar
ound five, have dinner out or at your place, finish up on any pressing work, and then I could drive myself home.”

  “I don’t like the idea of you being out all hours of the night.”

  “You need to be sensible now, Jackson. If I was working late in the office, I’d be driving home alone. What’s the difference?”

  “Why don’t we go to your house and I’ll drive back each night?”

  She smiled. She liked his consideration, but it wasn’t necessary. “You’re not a sexist, are you, Jackson? Why don’t we split it—two days at your place, two days at my place, and one night apart? The weekends we play by ear.”

  “That’s a good idea. I guess that’s why you’re the boss.”

  The words caught Christina off guard. His tone didn’t sound malicious, but neither was the teasing spirit there.

  “Is there something wrong?” she asked.

  “Not a thing,” he answered. “Are you ready to go now?”

  Maybe she had misheard him. “Give me a couple of minutes.” Christina began putting her papers in her briefcase. She would get some reading done tonight. When she finished packing the briefcase, she locked it. “I’m ready.”

  Jackson walked to the door and held it open for her. As she walked through it, he asked, “Your place or mine?”

  Christina thought about her first night at Jackson’s apartment. She wanted to plan something special for their first night at her house as well. “Yours.”

  ***

  Jackson rode with Christina. He never drove to work. He lived close enough to walk, and he enjoyed the exercise.

  He pulled Christina into his arms as soon as they were in his apartment. “You’re like a drug. The more I have you, the more I need you.”

  Christina returned his embrace. She needed this, too. She hadn’t realized how much.

  She pulled back to look at him. “I think I’m falling in love with you.” There, she said it. She hadn’t planned to say it. She meant it, but she wondered if she had said it too soon. She had an uneasy feeling.

  He spoke directly to her heart. “I know. I’m falling in love with you, too.”

  She laid her head against his chest. “Don’t you think it’s too soon for this?”

  “Who sets the time schedules? When is the right time? It’s not too soon. It’s not too late. It’s just how it is.”

  It’s just how it is, she thought, as they stood holding each other. The ringing phone intruded on their time together.

  She moved to pull back, but he kept her pressed close against him. “Stay here. The machine’s on.”

  Christina heard Jackson’s voice on the machine. She realized that she had never called his home, never heard his machine voice, never left a message. There was so much they didn’t know about each other. She then heard a familiar voice.

  “Jackson, this is your tour guide. How was your trip to Boston? I have some new plans for you. Call me.” The machine clicked off.

  “You haven’t talked to her since you’ve been back.” It wasn’t a question.

  “No, I haven’t had time,” he answered anyway.

  “I talked to Reggie this morning.”

  “How did he take it?”

  “Not well,” she said. She stepped out of his arms and moved to sit on the couch. “Reggie’s a good man. I didn’t like hurting him.”

  Jackson stood looking at her. “I know you didn’t, but he had to know. Maybe I should call him. His family was very good to me when I needed them.”

  “I suggest you give it a few days, Jackson. He needs to work through his feelings right now. What about Angela?”

  “What about her?”

  She inclined her head toward the answering machine. “You haven’t told her about us.”

  Jackson sat down then. “Actually, she told me about us.”

  “What?”

  “After the Sunday the four of us spent together, she guessed there were some unresolved feelings between us.”

  Christina was shaking her head. “Did everybody see something? Liza did. Rosalind and Walter did. Reggie did. Angela did. God, I wonder who else has?”

  “What did Rosalind and Walter see?”

  “They picked up something during our first visit to Boston and then later at Liza’s wedding. I wonder if they’re talking about us in the office.”

  “Probably, but it’s mostly innocent speculation. I’d bet Penny and Doris are doing most of the talking.”

  Christina nodded. She knew that was true. She just wondered how long it had been going on. “I don’t doubt it. It’s kind of scary that people were seeing things that we weren’t even acknowledging to ourselves. What’s going to happen now that we’re lovers?”

  “Lovers, Christina?” Jackson asked, a gleam in his eyes.

  “Well, what do you call it?”

  “I like the image that ‘lovers’ conjures up.”

  She held up her hand to stop him. “I’m not even going to ask what images. Now, what else did Angela say?”

  He nuzzled her neck. “I don’t want to talk about Angela.”

  She let him nuzzle. “I’m meeting with her next week.”

  Jackson stopped nuzzling to ask, “About what?”

  His tone surprised her. “Oh, just girl talk.”

  Jackson sat up then. “This doesn’t sound good. You and Angela. Girl talk. I hope I don’t live to regret this.”

  Christina laughed. “What do you think we’re going to do? Compare notes?”

  Jackson grunted. “There are no notes to compare.”

  “You never slept with Angela?” His answer was important to her, she realized.

  He shook his head.

  Though she would have understood if he had, she was glad that he hadn’t. “Why not?”

  “My relationship with Angela isn’t like that. We’re friends.”

  Though Christina couldn’t imagine that Jackson and Angela weren’t physically attracted to each other, she decided not to pursue it. “What are you going to tell your friend Angela about us now?”

  “Knowing Angela, I think she’ll know by looking at me. If she doesn’t, I’ll just tell her that I took her advice. Can we stop talking about Angela now?”

  “Sure. What do you want to talk about?”

  “Who said I wanted to talk?” Jackson leaned over and started a conversation that Christina found all consuming.

  ***

  He liked watching her sleep. She snores, he thought. Not a loud, obnoxious snore, but still a snore. He’d be sure to tell her about that when she woke up. He wondered what time it was and looked over at the clock. Nine-thirty. Nine-thirty and neither of them had done any work. He hated to do it, but she’d be upset if he didn’t. “Wake up, sweetheart.” He shook her lightly. “Christina.”

  She awoke slowly. She had a grin on her face. She reached up for him. “A girl can get used to this.”

  He wanted to oblige her, but she had to know the facts. “It’s nine-thirty.”

  She blinked as if she didn’t understand. “Nine-thirty? I just got here.”

  He stroked her breasts. “That’s not quite true, sweetheart. You’ve been here quite a while, and you’ve been quite busy.”

  She stopped his hands. “I’m hungry.” She lifted a brow at him. “We’ve got to start eating first.”

  “I do eat first,” Jackson said. The gleam in his eye told her not to pursue that one.

  She got out of the bed. “What do you have in the kitchen?” Jackson consumed her naked body with his eyes. He was glad she didn’t reach for something to cover herself. He would never tire of looking at this woman.

  “Stop looking at me like that.”

  His eyes moved to her face. “How was I looking at you?” he asked innocently.

  Like I’m the most beautiful woman you’ve ever seen, she answered in her head. Like you could devour me. Like you love me. “You know how. Now, are you going to feed me, or what?”
>
  They microwaved last night’s leftovers.

  “I should get ready to go now, Jackson.”

  “You’re right, but I don’t like it.”

  Christina gathered her belongings. “I haven’t even opened this briefcase. You’re a bad influence on me.”

  “If I thought you meant that, I’d be concerned.”

  He was right. She didn’t mean it. There was nothing in that briefcase that couldn’t wait until tomorrow. “You think you know me so well?”

  He nodded. “Better than you think.”

  “I’d better watch that. A predictable woman quickly becomes boring.”

  He kissed her goodnight. “I never said you were predictable. And there’s no way I’d call you boring. You’re exciting enough for me. Any more excitement and I just might have a heart attack and die.”

  ***

  Angela called Wednesday of the following week. “Can we get together tonight to work on our fundraising idea?”

  Christina wondered if Jackson had spoken with her yet. He hadn’t mentioned it. “Tonight looks good for me. What time were you thinking?”

  “How about six? We can do dinner, like we did before.”

  “Good idea,” Christina said. “If you like, we can meet at my house. That way we can work and eat and probably get more done than if we were sitting in a restaurant.”

  Christina gave directions to her home. When she and Angela hung up, she called Jackson.

  “Are you missing me, or is this a work call?” Jackson teased.

  “Angela’s coming over tonight,” she said.

  “Girl talk, I imagine. Do I still get to come over, or what?”

  “Sure you can come over. What have you told Angela about us?”

  “I told her that love wasn’t turning out to be such a bad thing,” Jackson answered.

  “You told Angela you were in love with me?”

  “Don’t sound so surprised. It’s not exactly a secret.”

  “Jackson, you’ve never told me that you love me.”

  “Yes, I have. I’ve told you lots of times. I told you the first night we were together. I knew it then.”

  Christina couldn’t believe Jackson was saying this. “You did not say you loved me. You said making love with me was special. You said you were falling in love with me, but you never said you were in love with me. Believe me, if you’d said it, I’d remember.”