I placed my hand on his face and looked into his eyes. “I wish I could give you more.”
“I wish you could give me all,” he said and kissed my forehead. “Would you like any more strawberries?”
“Yes, please.”
He stretched out his hand and I bit the strawberry that was in it and he ate the rest of it. We finished the last strawberries and he started putting the plates in the basket.
“Shouldn’t we wash them?” I asked.
“Don’t worry about it. I’ll wash them later. We have to get to work in 15 minutes so I don’t think we’ll have enough time.”
We both stood up. He snuffed out the candles, put them inside the basket and started folding the blanket. I helped him fold the rest of it and we grabbed our stuff to leave. We headed toward the elevator and back to R&R. We got there just in time and clocked in.
After Tom left and I was at my desk, Mr. Reynolds stopped by my desk. “Hey, Rachel. While you were out for lunch Ethan called. He said he couldn’t reach you on your cell phone. I told him you were out for lunch.”
“Thanks for telling me, Mr. Reynolds. I’ll give him call soon.”
“You’re welcome,” he said and walked away.
I opened my purse and took out my phone. There were two missed calls from Ethan. I dialed his office number and after three rings he picked up.
He must have assumed it was me by the way he answered. “Hey, babe, I was calling you. What happened?”
“Sorry. I went out to lunch with some coworkers and my phone was set on vibrate so I didn’t hear it. Is everything ok?”
“Yes. I just wanted to see how your day was going.”
“It has been good until now—nothing special. I had steak and potatoes for lunch.”
“Oh, that’s good. Well, I have to get back to work. I clocked in about an hour ago, so I’m not really supposed to be talking. If you need anything call me. I’ll see you when I get home if you’re still awake.”
“Ok. Talk to you later.”
“I love you.”
“I love you too.”
I hung up and instantly went to my brain. Five minutes ago my mind was immersed in the thought of Tom and now all I could think about was how much guilt I had. I knew that Ethan didn’t deserve this, but I couldn’t help what I felt. I wanted Tom so bad, I wanted to know everything about him. His likes and dislikes, his fears and what got him moving. I wanted to think that in the future he could say that I was someone important in his life no matter what transpired. At that moment I knew that I was in trouble. I was stuck in Tom’s world and no matter what I tried I would find myself back in his arms. So at that moment I decided I would fight for Tom. The problem was: what was I going to do about Ethan?
Work was very hard for me the rest of the day because I kept getting distracted so easily. My thoughts would drift to Tom frequently and the decision I was about to make. I hoped God could forgive me and if Ethan ever found out I hoped he could forgive me as well. The worst part of this situation was that I said I would never cheat on someone, and here I was about to willingly engage in a situation with another man. A man who was not mine. Time passed slowly but four o’clock finally arrived and with it so did Tom. I waited for him to stop at my desk before I went and clocked out.
“Did you have fun today?” he asked with a smile.
“I did actually. Tom, I was wondering...Would you like to go to the beach with me?”
“Really?” he said with surprise.
“Yes, really.”
“What about Ethan?”
“He doesn’t get home until midnight.”
“I guess we have a lot of time to kill,” he said with a smirk.
“I guess we do,” I said with a coquettish smile.
“But I have a better idea than the beach.”
“Oh really? And what’s that?”
“We were so busy eating and doing other things that I didn’t get to show you my apartment loft.”
“That was your fault.”
“Let’s not point fingers here. I accept my faults with pleasure. The point is I’m one of the lucky residents in my building that has their own private indoor pool. So instead of going to the beach, how about if we go to my apartment instead? We can use my pool and that way it could be private.”
“That sounds like a good idea.”
“Perfect. Let’s go then.”
“Let me clock out and we can leave.”
I clocked out quickly, then went back to where Tom was standing near my desk. I grabbed my purse and faced him. “Ok, let’s go.”
Chapter eleven
We started walking toward his apartment, and even though I wanted to have his hand in mine I restrained myself. I knew anyone could see us and, more importantly, I didn’t know if Ethan would show up out of the blue again. I started walking faster as I thought about this, and Tom followed my lead. We reached his apartment in a few minutes and when he opened the door I really noticed how beautiful his apartment was. I guess I hadn’t really noticed how mesmerizing it was at lunch because I was so distracted, so focused of keeping everything platonic. Now there was nothing blinding me. There was white everywhere. Most of the walls were white, while some, like the ones near the stairs, were made of glass. The couch we had sat on at lunch was white and four smaller couches were in front of it, two to the left and two to the right. There was a black coffee table in the middle of all five couches, a clear vase in the middle of the table with a black and white ribbon that hung loosely from the vase. There was a white rug under all of this, which had a thick black rim. The wall to the left of all this faced hundreds of buildings and you could tell a great view formed at different hours since most of the wall was made of glass. If you kept walking to the left you could see the kitchen, which was also white but had a lot more black. The cabinets around the kitchen were black while the counter tops were made from white marble. We didn’t go into to the dining room or his room since he just grabbed two water bottles from the fridge and started walking back to the living room. We walked past the living room through a doorway into his home gym. There were machines everywhere; it looked like a gym you would pay to attend. We walked to the other side of his gym and he opened a door that led directly to the pool.
We went through the door and then I saw how big the pool was, it looked about 20 by 32 feet. The pool floor was a dark cyan color, the ceiling had a diamond pattern opening where a forensic light was coming out of. The edge of the middle ceiling had low glowing florescent lights. The floor tiles around the pool were a light beige color and there were plants on the edges of the room. There were three beige reclining chairs in each side of the pool. While on the far end of the pool there was a medium size kitchen area that I assumed was used for parties in the pool area.
Tom looked at me and smiled. “Do you like it?”
“Like it? I love it. You should have done the picnic here,” I said with a grin.
“Oh whatever,” he replied and nudged me. “You loved that picnic.”
I started laughing, “I did... It was very nice.”
“Ok, so give me a sec. I’m going to go find a swimsuit. You can stay here, wet your feet a while or maybe lie down on one of the reclining chairs.”
As he walked away I started walking toward the reclining chair. I stretched out on the first chair I found and closed my eyes. I was starting to doze off when I felt a towel land on me. I opened my eyes to see Tom standing in navy blue Lactose trunks and shirtless. His body looked even better than I imagined it would. His chest was not too big but just big enough and well defined. His biceps and triceps were definitely marked while his shoulders looked broad. His abs were not too marked but showed just enough, as if they had been brushed on, and his v didn’t seem too marked either, which was perfect. I must have looked like an idiot because I could feel myself staring intensely at him. But he just smiled at me.
“Are you ready?” he said, holding out his hand.
“I guess...but wa
it. I don’t have a bathing suit. “
“Just take off your clothes.”
“Ummm...”
“Come on, don’t get shy on me now!”
I gave him a dirty look.
“I’m kidding,” he said. “You usually use a bathing suit, right?”
“Yeah,” I said, glairing at him suspiciously.
“Do you ever wear a two piece?”
“Yes.”
“Then you can just use underclothes.”
“I guess I could.”
“Whenever you’re ready.”
I had never been so relieved that I had decided to wear cute underwear, although it was way to revealing. I turned around because I didn’t want to see his face while I undressed. I started taking off my pants and then my shirt, and I could feel his gaze on me, staring at me from behind. I turned around to find Tom’s eyes locked on me. He just stood there completely still.
“So... are we going to swim now?” I asked, interrupting whatever thoughts were going through his mind.
He shook his head roughly and then started laughing. “I’m sorry,” he said. “You’re just so stunning I lost my train of thought for a second.”
“It’s ok,” I said, my face turning red.
“Let’s go,” he said, stretching out his hand and waiting for mine.
I grabbed his hand and he pulled me close, kissing me intensely, his hands locked onto the back of my neck. Then they slowly lowered down to my shoulders and continued to my back. I felt a tug as he pulled me forward and his body smashed into mine. He detached himself from my lips and started to laugh. “That’s something. Still fills me with adrenaline every time.”
“Trust me, I understand,” I said, putting a lock of hair behind my ear and giving him a small smile. “Let’s get in.”
“Ok, let me turn the engine on and we can get in.” He went through a back door and in a few moments the pool filters roared to life. When Tom returned, he reached for me and grabbed me by my waist. “Ok, now we are ready,” he said, kissing my neck.
I started to melt away as he put his hands on my back again and pressed his lips under my chin. The next thing I knew I was in the pool and he jumped in after me. “Did you seriously just push me into the pool?”
“Technically, I didn’t push you. I threw you into the pool.”
“I was at a disadvantage when you distracted me.”
“How about you try to distract me?” he said with a smirk.
“I could do that,” I said, wrapping my arms around him and lowering my hands down his arms. I got closer and kissed his neck softly but with determination and I could feel him shake softly under my touch. He picked me up and pinned me against the pool edge. I felt him grab my thighs and his hand moved forward. This was escalating way too quickly and I couldn’t let that happen. It was too soon.
“Wait,” I said between gasps.
“What happened?” His head flinched back slightly.
“I’m sorry. But it’s too soon for me.”
“It’s ok. Don’t worry. There ‘s something about you that makes me lose control. I just want to have you close, get to know you and give you everything. I understand perfectly that it is too soon and I’ll wait as long as I have too. I don’t want to gain anything physical from you, I just want to be with you.”
“I’m glad you understand.”
“Rachel, I want you to know I really like you and I feel like I am falling for you.”
“Tom.”
“I know it’s too soon to say something like that. But the reality is I have extremely strong feelings for you. I care about you.”
“I care about you too.”
He started laughing, and that really threw me off. “This conversation is way too serious. I brought you here to have fun, so let’s have fun.” He clapped his hands twice and the main lights turned off, followed by the fog lights turning on around the border of the middle of the ceiling. Then he stood up and turned on a radio that seemed to have speakers in the wall.
“Oh my God, I love this song,” I screamed as he jumped back into the pool.
“So do I!” he said, laughing and mimicking my reaction.
He picked me up and spun me around; I just couldn’t help but start laughing. I put my hand in his hand; he grabbed my other hand and started dancing with me. I loved every single thing about this moment, everything I had ever dreamed of, now in the palm of my hands. Yet it wasn’t right... none of this was right… yet that made it all the more thrilling. “What time was it when you turned the music on?”
“It was about 5:30.”
“Ok, it’s still pretty early. How about if we swim for a while?”
“Sure, but you have to race me.” As soon as he said that we both took off for the other side of the pool. But as to be expected from a person who had been swimming since childhood he reached the other side long before I did. By the time I reached the other side he was already resting. He pulled me to him by my waist and kissed me. “Are you sure you want to keep swimming?”
“Whatever. Come here,” I said, pulling him by his hands. “So tell me more about yourself,” I said as I hugged him. “You seem like a ladies man. So...why are you single?”
“I won’t deny I have dated many women, but until now there has never been anyone who really seemed extra special. Most of them show me what I want to see and eventually I notice the truth. There was one woman I loved. I loved her very much. I loved her so much that I proposed to her, but she declined. She said what we had was nice and she really cared about me but that she had never loved me the way I wanted her to. Three years of my life I spent on her, giving her everything she could hope for or even desire, just so she could pull that crap on me. All that time wasted, but at least I learned that I wasn’t a heartless man and that I was capable of loving. It has been three years since then and I have never felt anything strong for anyone else. That is until I met you. Something about you is different. You are extremely special and you don’t even know it. No matter what happens I want you to stay in my life. Can you promise me that?”
“Tom, I’m sorry. I’m sorry that happened to you.”
“It’s not your fault or anyone’s fault. Not Even Bethany’s. She was an insecure woman who didn’t know what she wanted and I got caught in the crossfire. But that’s not important anymore. Will you promise me that you will stay in my life no matter what?”
“I don’t know if I can do that. I don’t want to break my promise.”
“Then at least promise me you will try.”
“That I can do. I promise I will do everything in my power to try and stay in your life.”
“So what about you?”
“What about me?”
“How was your past love life?”
“Not much to tell... Ethan is my first for almost everything so it’s actually pretty boring.”
“So you’re telling me you’ve only been with one man?”
“I mean I had guys I’ve liked and kissed, one or two that tried to touch me, but besides that nothing special.”
“You definitely needed a guy like me in your life.”
As he finished saying this sentence he started to get closer to me, and I started backing away into the edge. He pushed me softly toward the edge and we kissed. Like all the times before everything exploded, not a slow explosion but all at once. He lifted me out of the pool and sat me at the edge; he kissed my thighs then lifted his body out of the pool. We started kissing again as he sat down and the next thing I knew his body lay on top of mine as his lips continued to conquer mine. Then he stopped, looked at me and sat down again. “Wow, now that was something. Even my chest hurts...God, so intense. I love this uncontrollable desire you bring to my life. You make me want to live again,” he said, a fire in his eyes. “It must be around six already and we should eat something. Are you hungry?”
As he said this I noticed how hungry I was; actually I was famished. “I’d love to. I hadn’t noticed how hungry I was.”<
br />
“What do you want to eat?”
“What do you have?”
“A little bit of everything. Just throw something at me and I’ll make it.”
“Ok. I want some tacos with beef.”
“Your wish is my command.” He grabbed my hand and we started walking to the reclining chairs where we had left the towels. We both grabbed one and started drying ourselves off.
“Do you really have everything to make tacos?”
“I said I’d handle it. So don’t you worry your pretty little head,” he said in a steady voice.
“Ok then.”
“So where can I take a shower?”
“There’s one through that door near the barbecue area, but you can just use the one in my room.”
“You call that a barbecue area? It’s almost a second kitchen.”
We walked out of the pool area, into the gym again and back to the living room. “Ok, so just go up the stairs and you’ll see three doors. The first is my library and office, the second is a storage closet, and the last one at the far end of the hall is my room.”
“You have a library?”
“That’s what you focused on? “
“I told you I like to read.”
“Yes, you did. If you need to wash your hair there is shampoo and conditioner inside the shower.”
“Ok.”
I walked up the stairs and past the first two doors. Even though I was tempted to go into the library I didn’t because I was wet, so it wouldn’t be the best thing do to. I reached his room only to notice that it was just as nice as the rest of the apartment, maybe even nicer. As the rest of the apartment the walls were painted white except the one behind the bed, this one was painted a dark gray. His bed was almost in the middle of the room but slightly shifted to the left. The whole room was extremely modern; the bedroom set was dark brown with a hint of black. The bed was lower than most beds you’d see in the homes of other people and it had white covers mixed with gray on it with four pillows, two white and two black. The part of the floor under the bed was made from the same color and wood as the bed set. There were two long bedside tables that had white cabinets and edges were made from the same brown material the bed was made of. There were two circular lamps on the end of each bedside table that looked like giant balls. There was a rug in front of the bed that was a mix of green, brown and gray, but there were other colors in it, too. Two black and white paintings had been hung above each bedside table, one much lower than the other, almost as if it rested on the table itself.
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