I backed away and placed my hands in my pockets.
She cleared her throat, ignoring my reaction. “I’m sure you’ll enjoy the monogrammed stuffed heart.”
Our first Valentine’s day landed seven weeks into our relationship, and we were crazy with a lust that only a new relationship could possess. I usually avoided the stress that came along with holidays, but for this one, I put in a lot of effort. I ordered the flowers, candy, and made reservations well in advance. I didn’t know why that date mattered.
I tucked the slight away and stood closer, the length of my rock-hard penis poked against her hip. “Watch it. Or we’ll go to the car, and I’ll take the gift I want.”
She stared up into my eyes and unnoticeably shifted her hip against the meat tenting my slacks. “How was work?” she panted.
“Busy. There were issues with requirements, but we got it all squared away.” I swept the curls aside, exposing her long, lean neck. The pulse there throbbed erratically. She shrugged a shoulder and leaned away.
“That tickles. I trust you handled the requirements and other challenges . . .”
“Of course. And you? How was your day?”
“Awful. Sitting in long back-to-back meetings is a pain. I suppose I’ll get used to it. I’m sorry that I’ve not had a lot of time for you.”
Colette was two years into a new position. She spent her days acclimating to her new life and figuring out time for me.
“At some point, you’ll want to figure out work-life balance.”
“About that—”
A greeting from a neighboring barstool cut her words off.
“Colette? Is that you?”
The woman, petite and with large round eyes, approached us. She brimmed with enthusiasm when she opened her arms for a hug. Colette shook her hand from mine and gave the woman a wary, sidelong glance before leaning into the embrace.
“Victoria! How are you?”
“I’m doing well. How long has it been?” The woman stepped back, and her gaze roamed approvingly over Colette’s attire, eyes settling on her exposed cleavage. “You haven’t changed one bit.”
“My goodness. It’s been over a decade. Where has the time gone?”
Victoria looked over at me with a curious gaze, which Colette ignored.
“My husband is over there. It’ll be ten years on Saturday.” She waved at a man across the bar then turned back to look at me curiously. The woman stared between the two of us, expecting an introduction.
Fuck this. I reached my hand out to Victoria.
“Hello. I’m Garrett Hamilton.”
“Nice to meet you, Garrett. I’m Victoria Ainsley. My, you two are an attractive couple.”
“Thanks, Vic. It was great seeing you. I hope you enjoy your dinner,” said Colette.
Victoria’s face blanched at the blunt brush off. Colette didn’t seem concerned that she’d been rude to her friend.
“Well, it has been nice seeing you. I’ll let the girls know that I ran into you.” She added a polite smile. “Nice to meet you, Garrett.”
Infuriation and hurt were the knives that stabbed me in my lungs and forced me to take shallow breaths. I tried to stuff down my fury, but I was unsuccessful. My eyes narrowed and sent lasers of heat to the top of her head, but she avoided all contact with me.
Not introducing me to her friend and treating me like I was nothing was a shitty thing to do. Colette’s rudeness was a guillotine that severed the happiness of the holiday from the joy in our relationship. Once seated at our table, we proceeded to have longest dinner ever. The conversation was surface-level and professional. No more flirtatious winks. No more warmth and laughter.
As we left the restaurant, I intentionally neglected to hold Colette’s hand while walking to the doors. If we would be a secret, then I’d put distance between us. Once in the car, I programmed the GPS with her address.
“Garrett, I thought we were going to your place.”
“I had a long day at work. I’m going home to get a good night’s sleep.”
“Oh.”
I followed the directions to her Gold Coast townhome. Silence blanketed us as we drove through the dark streets. I’d planned to drop her off and then see if Hunter was in the mood to meet at a pub.
I pulled in front of the Greystone townhouse, hopped out of the car, and sprinted around to the passenger’s side to open her door. She stepped out and stood in front of me.
“Garrett . . .” In an attempt to reduce the friction, she reached out to stroke my face. I leaned out of her reach.
“Colette, if you’re ashamed of me, then why did we go out? We could have fucked in a hotel room and been home by now.”
“Let me explain. I am not embarrassed. Victoria is a gossip with loose lips. Trust me, the less she knows, the better. I don’t want her circulating misinformation. Why are you angry? She didn’t bother to introduce us to her husband. I want to be the person to introduce you to my life. I want to explain what we are.”
The ice thawed when she wrapped her arms around my waist. I closed my eyes and concentrated on the sensations spreading throughout my body. I quickly reopened them and shook away the feelings of desire, I needed to be clear on where we stood. I didn’t want to give into her, but it was Valentine’s Day and I was so horny. I needed Colette to remedy my blue balls, but not at the expense of my ego.
“Well, what are we?”
“We’re friends working on more. Remember?”
“I don’t like feeling like I don’t matter.”
“I’m sorry. I need time. You had to know that this was difficult. Give me time. Please,” Colette pleaded.
I grabbed her by the hair, my fingers weaving through her waves, and leaned in for an angry, passionate kiss. Our tongues reached to meet as we sought, soothed, and entangled with each other.
“Figure out my place in your life. I won’t be around forever.”
Her behavior should have opened my eyes. Our relationship was perfect when we were alone, but in public, it was awkward and strange. The restaurant in the boondocks, not introducing me to her acquaintance, and her unease in public spaces. I should have ended it right then and there. It took two more weeks and numerous slights later to call it off.
I exhaled sharply and stared down at the text message. I didn’t have any regrets in calling off our relationship. The Colette of my dreams was not the Colette of my reality. I would be a fool to hook up with her or take her back. I didn’t want to encourage her, I just wanted her to go on with her life and leave me alone.
Jasmine
Garrett was right. Getting up to speed at Dynex was like drinking from a firehose. In the first three weeks, a whirlwind of meetings with leadership teams caught and trapped Lilah and me. The place was a madhouse. I’d never received so many last-minute invitations for meetings and status updates.
By our third meeting, it was apparent that the initial public offering was a money grab. The short timeline to payout had the executive team creaming in their pants. Not that I blamed them. It surprised me that materialistic people guided a company that prided itself on advancing science. Where was their concern for humanity?
That little status report incident gave us a reprieve from grumpy Garrett. I took a professional risk with potentially upsetting the client, but there was no way we could do our jobs if he was going to be a hindrance. He was an ass for a few weeks but had backed off considerably. He was playing nicely in the sandbox, and having coffee with him seemed like a turning point in our working relationship. We were no longer mortal enemies.