With a loud squeak, the door opens into my small kitchen and I reach for the light switch on the wall. A dull yellow light fills the small dated space. “Thanks for walking me up,” I say, turning to Drew.
His eyes scan the kitchen, the small living room, and trail over to my bedroom as if he’s looking for something before he nods at me. “You’re welcome,” he answers, pulling me into his arms and into a hug. “I don’t like you staying here, Gracie.”
“I’ve lived here for almost two years,” I remind him. “It’s my home, and I’m safe here.”
He sighs in frustration.
“Plus, the Four Seasons is so stuffy.” I shudder in mock annoyance. He rolls his eyes at me and I let out a little laugh. “Now go!” I nudge him toward the door. “I want to take a shower and crawl into bed and read.”
“You can do that with me at the stuffy Four Seasons.” I continue shoving him toward the door and over the threshold right out into the hallway.
“I can’t imagine you leaving me alone long enough to read,” I tell him.
“Touché,” he says with a wicked grin.
We stand, taking each other in. Our first night apart since we met. “See you tomorrow, Mr. McPherson,” I whisper.
His wicked smile turns sweet. “Goodnight, Ms. Morgan.”
I close the door and lock the deadbolt. It takes a minute before I hear his heavy footsteps descending the creaky old staircase. I pad across the small living room and push aside one of the thrift store curtains to see Drew jogging to the waiting Town Car. Before he gets inside, he turns and looks up at the building and spies me in the window. He smiles before ducking into the car. I watch the black car drive away, the red tail lights fading into the sea of other cars traveling down my street.
I do exactly as I tell Drew I was going to do. I take a hot shower and slip into a pair of yoga pants and a long-sleeved t-shirt before tying up my wet hair. Finally sliding into my bed, I shoot off a quick text to Jamie, who has texted me no less than eight hundred times this long holiday weekend, and I’ve casually ignored every single one.
Me: I’m alive and home. We’ll catch up tomorrow. I love you.
I see the three little bubbles pop up indicating that she’s responding and I wait, but nothing comes through before they disappear. I finally power down my phone and reach for my book. I used to roll my eyes at the cheesy instalove romances that I enjoy reading, never believing that love could happen so easily. Now I’m proof that love happens on its own timeline. A brief glance across a room, or a brushed shoulder in the grocery store, even a one-night stand after a night of drinking…love can happen instantaneously. I truly believe that now.
Even though the hot shower helped clear my head, I find it hard to read. I can’t stay focused with thoughts of Drew at the forefront of my mind. I had no intention of falling for him, but every minute we spend together is making it harder for me to believe I’ll be able to let him go. I barely read a chapter before I find myself falling asleep. Leaning over, I place the book on my nightstand and shut off my lamp before sleep takes over.
The next morning, I wake up feeling refreshed. I even make myself a piece of toast with bread I keep stashed in my freezer. A dollop of glorious peanut butter spread over the toast makes my stomach happy. I’m out of coffee grounds, so coffee will have to wait until I get to the office.
Sometime overnight, thunderstorms moved in and it’s pouring rain outside. I love the rain, so it doesn’t bother me in the slightest. I slide a pair of heels into my bag and throw on a pair of flats to commute in. I also toss an extra pair of black pants and a shirt into my bag just in case my half-broken umbrella fails me. Collecting my purse, I manage to leave my apartment on time at six forty-five in the morning, which never happens on the day after a long holiday weekend. I’m anxious to get to the office to see Drew and catch up with Jamie, however, I’m also glad I spent the night at my apartment. It’s given me time to regroup and I feel refreshed this morning.
Fortunately, luck is on my side. The rain seems to have temporarily lightened and I wait for less than a minute before my bus arrives. Two transfers later and I arrive at the subway station to catch the train that will take me to Manhattan. I’ve done this commute so many times, I could do it in my sleep. I see familiar faces, although they’re complete strangers. In Montana, we would have become friendly seeing each other daily. Here, everyone keeps their heads down, noses in their phones, and earbuds in, in an attempt to keep to themselves.
I score a seat on the train, another rarity, and mentally run through what I need to get done at the office today. I can feel my phone buzzing in my bag, but I ignore it.
By the time I get off at my stop and get up to street level, the rain has begun to come down in sheets. My rickety three-dollar thrift store umbrella barely gets me to the office, but I manage without getting too wet. Cloyd, greets me with a plastic umbrella bag and I offer him a kind smile as I shake water off my jacket and do my best to tame my hair that has now frizzed up due to the humidity.
Arriving on the floor, I glance over at Drew’s office. The door is open and the lights are off. He’s not here yet. The office is just starting to come alive when I slide into my cube. The weather—on top of it being the first day after a long holiday weekend—has everyone getting a late, lazy start. I fire up my laptop just as Jamie comes gliding across the floor, carrying two cups of coffee. I smile at her, and she smiles back. I wouldn’t know what to do without her.
“You always have my back, don’t you?” I say as she shoves the cup of steaming cardboard at me.
“Always.” She side-eyes me sarcastically. “Except when you ignore my texts and calls for an entire weekend.”
I glance away from her and hold the coffee between both of my hands, letting the contents of the cup warm my fingers. “Guilty,” I manage between sips of the hot liquid. “And I’m sorry. It’s just been so crazy, I don’t even know what to tell you or where to start—”
She cuts me off in her endearing, commanding way. “How about we pick up where we left off on Friday.” Her eyebrows raise knowingly, and I pinch my eyes closed, feeling awful for ignoring her.
I glance across the office and notice that Drew’s office lights are still off, which means he hasn’t arrived yet. I heave a sigh of relief, knowing that he’s not here and I can catch up with Jamie before he arrives. I stand up and reach for Jamie’s hand.
“Conference room,” I tell her, nodding toward the dark room. I drag her down the hall and the room lights up when we enter thanks to the motion sensors. I close and lock the door, drawing the privacy screens next so people can’t see us.
Throwing herself into a chair, Jamie grins at me. “Must be good if we have to talk about it in a conference room.” She spins in her chair like an excited little girl.
“I can’t have anyone in the office knowing about this,” I tell Jamie seriously. “I can’t have this jeopardize my career or have anyone thinking I’m doing anything inappropriate,” I start.
Her eyes widen like she knows this is going to be juicy, but she says with all seriousness, “I know. I didn’t mean it like that—”