Trsyt

by Shaniel Watson

  “We can't do this again. Do you understand?” I kiss her lips, and she nods.

  I step back fixing myself, and she pulls her gown down.

  She places her hand on my chest. “See you in the morning, Ian.”

  My name has never sounded so good. Her hand slides away as she walks by me.

  I can't let her go like this. I pull her back to me. “It can't happen again, but I didn't regret a thing.” I give her one last kiss slowly brushing my tongue against hers. “Good night, Jade.”

  I watch her walk away and know she's going to be so much fucking trouble.

  Two Months Later

  August

  “Gary, that did not happen.” I laugh, perched on the table beside the copier.

  “I'm telling you, it did.” He smiles, brushing his shaggy sand-colored hair out of his eye. He is really cute when he does that.

  He's sweet but not my type. He would have totally been my type before summer break started weeks ago. I wouldn't have hesitated to flirt back and scoop him up like creamy dip on a chip the first time he asked me out. But things have definitely changed now. My tastes have changed. They're more tall dark, handsome, and forbidden, rather than sweet and charming.

  “I won't believe it until I see it myself.” I touch his shoulder.

  “Come with us on lunch break.” He covers my hand, giving me his signature charming smile.

  “Maybe.”

  “Mr. Moore.”

  The deep rumbling voice of our boss has me jumping off the table and swiftly standing straight as if I've done something wrong, even though I haven't. I turn, and he stares past me, leveling his glare at Gary.

  “Mr. Fox.” Gary clears his throat. His smile disappearing as he stands straight.

  Mr. Fox‘s voice sounds like cut glass as he speaks to Gary. “I'm assuming you have more constructive ways to spend your time during work hours, or is this the new pickup spot where you come to salivate over your co-workers?”

  Embarrassed from the roots of my hair to the tips of my toes, I take a quick glance around to make sure no one is overhearing this. I stare at this man—his ink-black hair and piercing crystal green eyes, with a voice as sharp as a cracking whip. If I didn't know any better, this would be a disquieting situation, but at this moment I'm more outraged on Gary's behalf that our boss is being a total dick for no other reason than he can.

  “No sir,“ Gary says, in a firm but somewhat annoyed tone. “I was updating Jade on an issue in the office that has since been cleared up. If you'll excuse me, I'll get the copies I came for and be on my way.”

  Gary has more of an edge than I thought. Good for him not being a passive employee, being unfairly reprimanded for no reason at all.

  “You do that,” he says dismissively, turning his whip on me as Gary gathers his papers. “Ms. Hollister, once you've gathered yourself, meet me in my office, and be mindful, don't waste my time.”

  I give Gary a weak smile as he waves and walks away. Spinning on my heels in a flash of anger, I train my eyes on the infuriating man, Ian Fox. I blow out a breath and try to get a hold of my temper. Three minutes later, taking my time, I’m walking down the hall. I slip through his door and gently close it, then flick the lock. All pretense of an obedient employee is gone. I march around his desk to give him a piece of my mind. He shoots out of his chair, and I stumble back at his surprising speed. He grabs for my arm and steadies me.

  “I hope you've thought better of what you were about to say, or do, Ms. Hollister. I might have to bend you over my desk and show you the error of your young ways.” He smiles with his wickedly irresistible smile. The sparkle in his eyes has the potential to melt me down to nothing, to make me give in to his will, but not now.

  I stomp my heeled foot, keeping my voice as low as possible. “What the hell is your problem, Ian?”

  “In the office, it’s Mr. Fox for you.” He leans in to kiss me, but I turn my head, refusing his affection for the first time.

  “I don't want to see him salivating over you again. I don't want to see you giggling and smiling like a blushing schoolgirl and giving him ideas.”

  “We were talking. And I wasn't blushing.” I pull my arm from his touch.

  “I didn't like it,” he says, voice stern.

  “How outrageous, two employees having a conversation and not trying to discredit each other while clawing our way to the top.” My eyebrow rises along with my sarcastic outrage. “What you saw was unforgivable.” I let the last word drip with as much sarcasm as possible.

  He smirks, shoving his hands in his pockets. “I saw the woman I'm fucking, flirting with one of my employees.”

  “What you saw was your employee, who is also your partner’s daughter, having a conversation, Uncle Ian—”

  “Cut the uncle shit, Jade. You know I can't stand that.” He bristles, his teeth clenched.

  “Then don't be an ass to your employees. I'm young, but I deserve respect. You being nearly as old as my father doesn't negate that. Neither does having sex with me behind my father’s back.”

  We were only supposed to have a bit of summer fun until my internship was up in August, but I found myself enjoying his company extremely more than I should. I’ve been too scared to ask him if maybe there can be more for us than just amazing hot sex.

  “Is that all I'm good for? You drag me in here to teach me a lesson only as the woman you're fucking.”

  “Come here, now.” He takes my hand and tugs me into his chest, smoothing his hand down my back over my ass and sending a thrill through me. He kisses my lips.

  I hold my breath waiting for him to say something romantic. Maybe declare we're more than a hot summer fling, and what we have is more than physical.

  “Of course not, but you're damn good at it.”

  I huff, blowing out a breath, and try to pull away. He smirks and nips my lip. From time to time a girl needs to hear she’s good for more than just her body. I suck my lip, soothing the sting of his nip and words. I try to pull away, but he doesn't release me.

  A knock sounds at the door, and I stumble back at his unexpected release. He catches me and steadies me on my feet, then goes to get the door, trailing me behind him.

  We call a truce to our nonverbal dueling while we look at each other to make sure we are presentable, to keep our secret office fling from everyone including my parents, who would be shocked and scandalized because of our eighteen-year age difference. Between that and everything else, we'd go down in flames in the history books of the office gossip hall of fame.

  Satisfied with our appearance, we nod, and he opens the door. He tells the person they can come in as he opens the door wide. We exchange hellos as I walk past.

  “On your way to your desk, can you please retrieve the papers I requested but have yet to receive? They're overdue.” Despite his authoritative tone, he winks at me, lips twitching.

  I grind my teeth together, plastering a smile on my face for the benefit of his potential client. “Yes, sir.”

  That asshole. I stalk back to my desk. I was on my way to him when Gary interrupted me. And Ian was the one who scared the crap out of me and made me forget the papers by the copier. And he acts like I’m so damn irresponsible in front of that potential client, when it’s all his fault. He can be such an ass. But, god, he is irresistible when we are alone. Especially out of the office and away from where other employees can see us, or my father, if he‘s in the office. Thank goodness I don't need to worry as much about Dad, since he mainly works from his home office.

  I must have been crazy thinking I could keep my cool with these guys drooling over her tight little body. Her pouty lips, long glossy black hair, and dark eyes with a glimpse of mischief which make you curious of what she might be up to. I overreacted when I saw her talking to Gary, but this young fuck encroached on the woman I consider mine.

  At least until her internship is up, and then she'll be back thousands of miles away with hundreds of good-looking guys her age drooling all ov
er her. I slap my hand against my desk and push out of my chair. What the hell is wrong with me? I shouldn't have started this. I didn't mean to, but she took me by surprise.

  It was a little innocent flirting on her part. Who would flirting hurt? I never thought of her in that way, but I couldn't resist her, it just happened.

  I rub my eyes and take a deep breath. If Alan finds out I'm having a summer fling with his twenty-year-old daughter, he'll kill me. There's an eighteen-year age difference, what could we possibly have between us, apart from the obvious, which is downright spectacular?

  Surprisingly, I‘m discovering more than I thought I would about her. I'm not sure what I was expecting, but she's smart, funny, and I can have a meaningful conversation with her. To my consternation, I want to be around her more, but each day she has left here, ticks away. These feelings for her could cause my undoing, so I know I have to let her go. I'm playing with fire, but she's a beautiful spark of flame I can’t stay away from.

  I‘m clearing my desk when my phone rings. Since it's almost time to leave, I pull it out my bag rolling my eyes at his name and say, “Yes.”

  “Am I forgiven for this morning?” he says. “You've ignored all my calls today.”

  “I've been working. The thing you pay me to do.” I sigh. “I am in a better mood.”

  “I'm happy for that, but I haven't gotten to touch you once. I'm not complaining though, because if you're in a better mood, it means you forgive me.”

  Jenny, another intern for the summer, waves to me walking past my desk. I smile and wave. I take a look around seeing no one near, resting my hand and elbow on the table with the phone to my ear. “If you're nice to me, I can be very nice to you, Mr. Fox”

  “What are your plans this weekend?”

  He usually doesn't ask me about my weekends, but we've met up three weekends since we've been doing this thing together. We were both in the city and ditched our friends to meet at a hotel.

  We talked and got to know each other a whole lot better. I told him I wanted to be a children's author, and he didn't discourage me. He said I should do what makes me happy even if it doesn't guarantee a big salary. Some things were more important than money. True happiness and peace with yourself were two of those things. He then told me about the nonprofit organization he‘s starting for children and families who can't afford to buy food much less healthy food. It's a cause he feels strongly about.

  This is when I truly knew there was a possibility of me falling for him.

  I hope there is the possibility he’s falling for me as hard as I've fallen for him. I wish I could tell him, but I can't. I'm afraid if I do, this will be over. I have two more weeks before I go back to LA, back to a life without his touch and the way he makes me feel when I'm with him. Ian probably knows my body better than anyone I've been with. Playing it like a fiddle, he picks up the tempo at his whim, and slows it down gently from my high, rocking my body with his smooth strokes sending quivers through me that splinter in all directions.

  It's torture feeling the way I do, and not knowing if maybe we can be more. Maybe a summer tryst can turn into love. My heart’s in that direction for sure. For now, I settle on a lighter tone. “You want me to service you on the weekend, my day off? That's your nice?”

  “Stop it,” he chides. “I want to know what you're doing.”

  “I'm stopping by my other fling’s house. He's going to treat me with the utmost respect while we Netflix and chill. Champagne, strawberries, take-out... He's going to sweep me off my feet with the most romantic weekend.”

  He growls my name, and I chuckle. “Don't get your briefs twisted. My mom and Aunt Callie are dragging me into a girls shopping spree, spa day.”

  “Doesn't sound like a better option to me,” he mumbles. “But it beats your unimpressive description of the utmost romantic date. I hope you don't let the guys your age fool you into thinking that's romance instead of what it is.”

  “What's that?”

  “Can't be bothered to put in an effort. It's a lazy date.”

  “Well, not everyone has your bank account.“ I sit back and tap my nail on my desk. “To some, that's a great date night with the one you love. But since you're an expert at this whole dating thing I've yet to experience from you, what would you do on a date?”

  “The only thing I'd borrow from your Netflix and lazy date is the champagne, and the strawberries would be Swiss chocolate covered, drizzled with white chocolate. Moonlight on the most luxurious yacht I could find, only us, and of course the private chef serving a delectable main course of freshly caught lobster and a decadent dessert after.

  He pauses for a second as if he's putting real thought into this before he continues. “The wind would catch her hair pulling it away from her face. She'd probably smile and I would be weak to do anything but kiss her. I'd carry her down to my bed and spend the rest of the night worshiping her body, making sure she gets everything she wants, the way she wants it, so she remembers exactly where she was and who she was with when the perfect date was had.”

  Whoa. “Not bad, Mr. Romance.”

  He chuckles softly. “I aim to please. When the time is right for the woman in my life, one day.”

  I guess that answers that. The fantasy is nice. I'm in too deep now, wondering if I'm young and naive for thinking more can come of a summer fling.

  Admittedly the day is not bad. Shopping was great. Shoes are my Achilles heel; I bought three pairs. One for the day, one for the night, and one for weekends. To my surprise, they're all comfortable. I didn't have to sacrifice comfort for style, which usually isn't the case. I would make the sacrifice for a couple of hours for the right outfit. Like, say if I were that woman in the moonlight on Ian's boat. Comfort be damned, I'm in it for the romance and style.

  As we are lying face down on massage tables waiting for the massage technicians, my mother says to Callie, “I haven’t had a chance to ask you about Ian yet. Have you spoken to him since the weekend at the Hamptons? You seemed extra friendly, but we haven’t heard anything lately.”

  Has he spoken to her? We don't talk about his past relationship with Callie. It's one of those things you know happened, but you don't acknowledge because it's easier that way. No one wants to go into detail about an ex—especially not when it's a family member. But I'm interested if he’s been in contact with her the entire summer we've been together and hasn't mentioned it. It'll be telling, if maybe he still has feelings for her.

  “Do you remember how we were? It was always intense when we were together. Then we would have our spats. We wouldn't talk for days, then one of us would break because we couldn't stay away from each other.”

  “Oh, I remember. And I still believe you would make a great couple, married with kids, the wedding would be fantastic,” she says, her Spanish accent coming out as it does occasionally when she speaks to family.

  What the hell is my mother talking about weddings for? They haven't been together in years, and it sounded as if my aunt didn't want that life with Ian. If I were the woman he proposed to, I would have jumped on it. She missed the boat, and my mom is trying to get them back together? Not if I have anything to say about it.

  “Mom, why are you meddling? Sometimes these things work out the way they’re supposed to. It seems like they’re happy, living successful separate lives.”

  “Jade, you don't remember what they were like together,” my mother says dismissively.

  True. But I know what Ian and I are like together. Our relationship has the potential and makings of something great. It’s not solely built on great sex or the excitement and forbidden qualities of our age difference. “I may be young, but I know when things don't work out in life, you should just let it be. Be grateful for the times you had together. Better it ended amicably. I'm sure she had good reasons for ending things. Right, Aunt Callie?”

  “Actually, Jade, over the years when I think about it things were good between us. Maybe we did end things too fast.”

&
nbsp; “Do you really think so?” I ask, annoyed we’re having this conversation, but hiding it well enough. My mother should stop trying to push them together. Callie should keep moving forward in her life without Ian. Even if it's temporary, he's with me now.

  “For some unknown reason, I thought I might miss out on the perfect guy if I settled down too soon,“ she says. “The ‘what if there's more?’ fear. I'll always admit that Ian is a catch. In and out of bed.”

  “Oh, tell, tell!” My mother raises her head. “Did you two sleep together at the beach house and you didn't tell me!“

  Please no. He better not have, before or after having sex with me.

  She smiles like the cat who licked the cream. “It was amazing.“

  Oh my fucking—

  I'm going to murder him. My heart. I'm about to get off the table when she adds, “But no, not recently. When we were together though, he was attentive and giving. Very giving if you know what I mean.”

  I cringe inwardly, turning my head away, so they don't see my lips and eyes press together, irritated by all of this. She should have started by clarifying they didn't hook up. Quickly schooling my face to barely a grimace I say, “Can we please not talk about my boss. This is not what I want to see in my head when I see him every day.” Even worse my mother is gossiping about the man I'm having mind-blowing sex with. “Mom, let's give this topic a rest.”

  “Callie, your niece doesn't want to talk about your sex life with her mother around.”

  That, too.

  Aunt Callie laughs. “Oh, come on, Jade. You’re not a little girl anymore. We can talk about our sex lives in front of your mother, lecture free.”

  “No thank you. No matter how old I get, ah…no.”