Fated to be Mine

by Larson, Jodie

  The next hour breezes by quickly. Andrew fills me in on the past week regarding the Foundation, telling me that a few of the children had been asking about me, which touched me deeply to know they remembered and were thinking of me. I just wonder if it was the little kids I read the story to or the teenage boys I played basketball with. I tell him about my promotion and my nervousness about starting a new position. Andrew gives me encouraging words and helps boost my confidence in a way only he can.

  It feels good to just sit here and talk like we used to when we were first discovering each other. We laugh and talk and laugh some more until we get scathing glares from the waitress, who probably wants us to leave so she can clean up the table for some paying customers.

  Being the perfect gentleman, Andrew walks me to my car with our joined hands swinging between us. The same electrical current runs through me and I smile a genuine smile, thankful to have that wonderful feeling back.

  When we reach my car, Andrew closes the distance between us and presses me against the door. A rather intimate scene, but one I won’t deny from happening. My body craves him like an addict craves its next hit. The way he ignites my blood makes me almost dizzy yet it’s not enough to make me stop wanting him. His hands move along my backside, following the curves before settling on my hips. I pull him closer to me, loving the feel of his body pressed up against mine.

  I’m not sure slow is in our vocabulary.

  This is going to be harder than I thought.

  “Which hotel are you staying at?” I ask, trying in vain to keep my underlying desire hidden from him. A lascivious gleam shines in Andrew’s bright blues as he gives me a smirk.

  “Why? Are you planning on breaking the rules already by visiting me at night?”

  He’s teasing me. I shove his shoulder and laugh, causing his own laughter to mix with mine. But then he presses against me again, making me stop everything I’m doing. A longing desire fills me instead, a need which can only be satiated by him. He’s tempting me and it’s not fair. His body is forbidden fruit at the moment, something to look at but not touch.

  But the serpent is there, tempting me at every turn and the knowledge of knowing how juicy the fruit is, has my mouth salivating already.

  “The Radisson downtown,” Andrew says, seeing the new dilemma in my eyes.

  I nod and am amazed my head can even do that. But the pull I have toward him can only be ignored for so long. My chin lifts, seeking him out. Andrew reads my silent plea and dips his head down to brush our lips together. When his arms wrap around me, I can’t stop the shaking of my body. Our lips press lightly together before parting, allowing our tongues to gently dance with each other. Never pushing or taking, just casually getting to know one another again. The heat of his breath mixes with my own as my fingers dive into his hair, a place they’ve yearned to touch since he walked into the diner.

  “This is going to kill me, leaving you right now.” His voice dips low as he whispers against my lips. “I’ve missed you too much to want this to stop.”

  Our eyes lock together with our lips just a whisper apart. “I’ve missed you too, Andrew. I know this will be difficult, but if we’re going to give this a real try it needs to happen. We need to take it slow. Almost like we need to forget what happened in London.”

  Andrew shakes his head. “Not forget. It’s impossible, even if our brains want it to be that way. The best we can hope for is temporary amnesia. Because the power between us, the gravitational pull we have is too strong for it to be completely forgotten.”

  I lean back, biting my lip as I nod in agreement. “Temporary amnesia. I like that.” And really I do. It’s a perfect way to describe what needs to happen.

  “Until next time sweet Tessa.” Andrew lightly kisses the back of my hand before opening my car door. Smart man, staying away from my lips because I think we both know if we had one more kiss like that, our resolve would be obsolete. “I’ll call you soon to set up our first official date.”

  “I can’t wait.”

  “You’re going to see how good we can be together. I promise.”

  Andrew shuts my door, closing me in on my thoughts. I live in my head way too much where nothing good happens when left alone to think. As his form gets smaller and smaller in my rearview mirror, my heart grows larger and larger. He came here for me, wants to date me, and is willing to go at my pace, even though we already know how good we are for each other. Perhaps there is hope for us after all.

  “I DIDN’T THINK IT WOULD be this hard,” I grumble, leaning over my desk with my head in my hands. Kara laughs at me and shakes her head.

  “Welcome to my world, Chickie. You were an easy choice for my assistant. But now, well you definitely have your work cut out for you.”

  Out of sheer frustration and her amusement of my dilemma, I toss the Post-It pad at her head. It narrowly misses her, causing her to cackle even louder.

  “You are absolutely no help, you know that? Did you find my replacement yet?”

  Kara shakes her head on a sigh. “No, but I have half a mind to hire some random hot guy just to get a reaction out of Chris. He’s been acting weird all week and it’s starting to piss me off. Do you know what’s going on with him?”

  Trying to keep my best poker face on, I shake my head while avoiding eye contact with her because I know I’ll break if I do. The fact is I do know what’s going on with him. And if all goes according to plan she will love it. I just need to keep her in my office for a little bit longer while everything gets set up.

  “Nope, not a clue. I haven’t really noticed anything different about him. Then again, I’m not sleeping with him either and I’ve been slightly busy around here doing my own thing. I’ve barely had time to do anything other than getting myself organized, setting up my new accounts and fighting the urge to eat every piece of chocolate in the city.”

  Kara’s brows furrow together as she points a slender finger at me. “You know you’re a shit liar, right?”

  Unable to suppress it any longer I smile and laugh. “Yeah, I know.”

  Sitting on her new perch on my desk, she swings her feet, letting her heels dangle off the ends of her toes. “What’s he planning? Come on, help a sister out.”

  For once in my life it’s my turn to exact some sort of revenge against my loving best friend and boss, er, coworker. For all the torment and situations she’s put me through, only to gloat at my expense when things work out in her favor, this was my time to shine. And what Chris is doing is the utmost romantic thing I have actually ever witnessed. My heart constricts as I wonder if anything like that will ever happen to me.

  But to torture her more, I shake my head and pinch her leg hard.

  “Ow! What in the hell was that for?” she cries, rubbing the abused spot.

  “That, my dear friend, was for last Friday. You can’t tell me it’s sheer coincidence that I call you Thursday night to say Michael is bringing me to the party and then magically Andrew shows up to crash it. Especially since he wasn’t supposed to arrive until next week. Huh, I wonder who tipped him off.”

  Her hands rise in defeat but still sporting her amused grin. “Okay fine, it was me. I knew you needed a push and that seemed like the best opportunity to get you two together.” I pinch her leg again and she punches me in the arm, causing us both to laugh. “Knock it off! You’re going to give me a bruise! Then I’m going to have to explain it to Chris, who will more than likely get ideas of his own and he does not need help in that department.”

  Wiping a tear away, I recline back in my chair, clutching my stomach. “Oh my God, I do not need that visual.” With a heavy sigh, I lean forward again and resume my prior position. I place my head in hands and look over the applications, feeling the beginnings of a headache at my temples. “But seriously, a little help here would be appreciated. I need to make this decision.”

  “You need to relax a little,” Kara says wryly. “How are things with Andrew going?”

  My head slips
out of my hands, landing with a thud on the hardwood desk. I have decided that Operation Take Things Slow is the hardest thing I have ever done with Andrew. Every part of my body craves him when he’s around and it’s killing me to hold back my true feelings for him. Every day this week he’s shown me something new about him, letting me dive a little deeper into his soul. A soul that is already mine, according to him.

  We’ve been keeping it to lunches every day and then the occasional office visit during breaks in our schedule. We laugh and talk and laugh some more. It’s like he’s becoming a permanent figure in my life, which is exactly his plan. He told me that our relationship would seamlessly fit into my life and I can see now how possible it could be.

  But a woman has needs and taking sex completely out of the equation has aided in my growing frustration of this little experiment. It’s virtually impossible to sit next to Andrew for any extended period of time and not want to rip his clothes off. It’s just not possible. All we’ve done is kiss so far, which is lovely, but it sparks a deep seeded need within me. A need he awoke from a long slumber back in London and now that he’s back, it wants to play again.

  “This sucks,” I mutter into the top of my desk. “Remind me again why I said I’d take it slow instead of just continuing on with how we left off?”

  Kara pats my shoulder, causing me to twist my head toward her as she leans toward my slumped over body. She pulls a Post-It off my forehead and sighs.

  “It’s only been a week Tessa. You can’t make a life-changing decision after a week, remember? That was your big argument with Andrew. You are so sure that someone can’t fall in love after only a week so why are you shocked when you’re having a hard time with the pace you’ve currently selected? There isn’t some flashing neon sign somewhere giving you the answer. Things like this take time and unfortunately for you, my friend, this is one of them. Listen to your heart. It knows what it wants and won’t steer you wrong.”

  With a resigned sigh, I lift my head back up, rubbing the reddening spot on my forehead where a new pain has formed. “Yeah, I know. But this whole thing of fighting my feelings for him is getting exhausting.”

  ”So change it up a bit. Do something different. Feed your wild side. The beast within you likes meat and Andrew’s got exactly what it’s looking for.” She walks to the window and looks out, but not before giving me an evil smirk.

  My mouth hangs open briefly. “I cannot believe you just said that. You know I’ve taken sex off the menu with him. It complicates things and I don’t need more complications in my life.”

  “It only complicates them because you’re in love with him and you refuse to admit it. Did you at least take my advice for the weekend?”

  Kara’s plan involves me spending the entire weekend with Andrew: sleepovers, meals, the whole nine yards. And I have to admit it’s a great idea. If I want to really know him, the best way to do that is to spend as much time with him as possible.

  “Yes, I took your advice and, of course, Andrew thought it was brilliant. He wants to cook dinner for me at my apartment so he’s going to pick me up after work. Then we’re going to the grocery store because you know my place isn’t well stocked for dinner type meals.”

  Kara’s nose crinkles in mock disgust as she walks over to one of the many bouquets of flowers that fill my office. Touching the petals softly, as if they may fall right off, she laughs lightly. “I swear you live like you’re still in college. How can you survive off of the crap that’s in your place? It’s all boxed goods or soups. Live a little woman. Branch out. Do you get any meat in you, besides Andrew’s?”

  My mouth drops open, unable to believe she seriously just said that to me. Well, not really. I can believe it. “Seriously? Did I not just say that there will be no sex between me and Andrew?”

  Turning, she walks back to my desk, getting back on her perch on the corner. “I swear you must be a nun. There is no way I’d be able to keep my clothes on with him around. How do you do it? I mean, a woman has needs you know.”

  “I just said no sex. I didn’t say no to messing around. We just haven’t come to that juncture yet.”

  Kara’s face brightens and I’m almost afraid of what’s going to come out of her mouth. “What exactly is your definition of sex then? Are you talking in the biblical sense or Bill Clinton’s definition?” She wiggles her eyebrows and I roll my eyes at her.

  “Oh my God, you did not just refer to the infamous cigar scandal, did you?”

  Her smile grows wider and I shake my head, laughing silently. The things that come out of her mouth never cease to amaze me. She should be a stand-up comic in another life. Kara shrugs her shoulders, looking back at the flowers again. I follow her gaze and admire the bright and beautiful bouquets. Apparently Andrew has been on a mission to find my favorite flower. Every day he brings or sends me a new vase of flowers, all ranging from red roses to orchids to lilies. And with each bouquet, he asks if he’s found them yet. When I say no, his reply is just a smile. He said he wants to make me happy by showering me with all my favorite things. I told him it’s unnecessary but he’s bound and determined to do it, so who am I to say no?

  “Yeah I did. And if sex is off the market then you need to get some kind of action so I’m curious as to which flavor is off the menu. Messing around is well and good but nothing beats a good stiff …”

  “Stop right there,” I say, holding up my hand to her. Kara laughs, her eyes bouncing with delight at my embarrassment. “I will not discuss my sex life with you.”

  “Fine. Don’t let a girl live vicariously through you. But seriously, get something, anything. I don’t care if it’s just with a finger. It’s been way too long for you. Plus it’s a proven fact that it relieves stress and is an all-natural mood booster.”

  I shake my head, still laughing under my breath. “I’m not discussing this with you.”

  She groans loudly. “You are such a bore! Try it tonight with Andrew. Do something, anything. You know he’s good for it.”

  I smack her arm. “I’m trying to have temporary amnesia when it comes to Andrew and our past. I want to learn new things about him instead of relying on what happened in the past.”

  Kara rubs her abused arm, scowling slightly at me. “If you keep abusing me I’m going back to my office.”

  That would not be a good thing because I haven’t gotten the signal from Chris yet letting me know everything is ready. She starts walking toward the door and I bolt out of my chair, reaching her before she turns the knob.

  “Fine, fine, I’m sorry.” Placing my hands on her shoulders, I push her back to her spot on my desk. After retaking my seat, I spread the applications out again and sigh. “But seriously, I need your help. All of them are so similar I have no clue which one to choose. What do you think?”

  Kara taps a finely manicured nail against her lips while she shuffles through the different applications. All the notes I took during the interview process are attached to each one, along with mountains of Post-Its, highlighting each of their strengths and weaknesses. Kara places them back on the desk, lining them up next to each other. I raise my brow, wondering what exactly she’s doing and watch as she twirls her finger above the three pieces of paper, closing her eyes and then stabs one of the papers with it.

  “I like this one.”

  I laugh, picking up the paper she selected. “Very scientific and sophisticated. Did they teach you that in business school?” I can’t help rolling my eyes at her.

  “Hey, you asked, I delivered. Your new assistant is picked. What more do you want?” Apparently she finds this hilarious. Then again, I said it myself that all three finalists were very close so truly it didn’t matter too much. I would get along with any of them and all would excel in their assigned position.

  Charlene Jacobs is my lucky winner. Twenty-two years old, recently graduated with a BA in Marketing from the University of Minnesota, working toward her MBA. On the application she states she needed real life experience for her
graduate program and was impressed by the work that our company does. Definitely a plus in her category. And I know about needing real-life experience. I wouldn’t be in my position if Kara didn't take me with her to every meeting she had. Strong typing skills and, according to my notes, an eagerness to learn rounds Charlene out. I can work with that.

  “I’ll give her a call and let her know the good news, minus the way she was selected of course. She may not be thrilled to hear about that.”

  Kara nods and moves to the window again. She seems forlorn and sad. Chris had better hurry up or she’s going to think the wrong thing. I move to stand next to her, gently draping my arm around her shoulder.

  “What’s wrong?”

  She sighs and looks down at her shoes. “Nothing. It’s just … Chris has never acted this distant before, even when we were fighting. At least we still saw each other when we fought. He’s been gone almost all week and it’s sort of freaking me out.”

  I give her shoulder a reassuring squeeze. “I’m sure it’s nothing. Maybe he’s just stressed out. His work schedule has been overloaded this week, having to sit on interviews for two new assistants on top of all the regular work he’s supposed to do. That’s not an easy task you know.”

  Kara nods her head, still looking down. “Yeah, maybe you’re right. But today is our five-year anniversary. You’d think he would have done something for that. It’s a big deal and I know there’s no way he’s forgotten it. He always does something elaborate every year.”

  My phone vibrates in my pocket, letting me know that it’s time. “I’m sure he hasn’t forgotten. That man has a mind like a steel trap.” I lead her to the door, my arm looped through hers. “Come on, let’s grab your stuff and blow this place off early. I think we both could use a drink. My treat.”

  “What about your date with Andrew?”

  I shrug. “I’ll text him and let him know I’ll be a little late due to a change in plans. You’re my best friend and your happiness comes before any date. Chicks before dicks and all that.”