Aleks wasn’t a sentimental guy. He was cool, calm, detached. After all the years of being friends they never had a heart-to-heart. Except for that drunken revelation of feelings that took place over ten years ago.
“Al, there is only one more part to my plan. She made it perfectly clear that night we overheard her talking that she wanted sex. Just sex. Why would I–”
“You heard?” The soft voice drifted from the hallway, causing both men to turn their heads.
Martina stood in the doorway dressed only in one of his t-shirts, looking soft, sexy and horrified.
“You overheard that night when I said I wanted sex with no strings. That’s how you knew what I wanted. That’s why you guys came on to me.” She looked like a knife had just been shanked through her heart.
“Martina, it’s not–” Aleks tried to explain, but she raised her hand
to stop him from talking.
“How often did you laugh behind my back?”
Rob didn’t know what to say. For the second time in five minutes, he was speechless. She looked him right in the eye, hers flooded with tears but not one had made their way down her creamy cheek.
He needed to tell her the truth. “Martina, you don’t–”
“I don’t what? Understand? I understand. I actually don’t know why I am upset. You gave me exactly what I wanted. And now it’s time for me to move on.”
He watched her rush into his bedroom. Aleks motioned for him to follow. Urged him to chase after her and explain.
“Dude. She didn’t hear the beginning of the conversation. Go and tell her.”
Rob stood motionless, his feet fixed to the floor. He was unable to move. Unable to speak.
He saw her through the door, rushing from one end of the room to the other gathering her things. She was going to make a break for it, and Rob had a feeling there would be nothing he could do to stop her.
She ran. Why else would she have flitted around the world for the last two years? If that was her mode of operation, what could he possibly say to make her stay?
* * * *
Martina hurried from one end of the room to the other. How her clothes were thrown all around the room was beyond her. How they got into the bedroom was an even bigger mystery since she was disrobed in the living room.
She slipped on her underwear and eased out of Rob’s t-shirt. That’s all she had been wearing when she went looking for him. It still smelled like him. To hell with him!
Martina was humiliated. She thought he was different.
She found her shirt tangled in the bed sheets. Putting on a bra seemed unnecessary.
They had connected, didn’t they? Was she just a fuck? A joke? A game? Even though she may have been only looking for a casual fling at least she was honest.
Or was she? She never did ask him to be the one to help her on her journey. In a sense she was using him too. Maybe she had a hand in her destruction, she was the one leaving. Maybe she was just as guilty. No! She would never make a fool of him.
She grabbed her bag and jammed in her bra then shrugged into her zip-up hoodie. The chime of her cellphone sang from inside of her bag. It was probably Carrie or Amie wondering how the night had gone.
She dug to the bottom and pulled out her cell, glancing at the screen, but didn’t recognize the number. She was in no mood to speak with anyone, but the persistent ringing made her head spin.
“Hello?”
“Is this Ms. Jackson?” The female voice on the other end was chirpy.
“This is she.”
“This is Lori Ingram, manager of the Niyama Ashram. You did a fantastic job in your interview and we would love to have you on our team.” Her dream had finally come true. She could finally stop running. “We were hoping you could start in one week.”
“Really? One week. I can do that. I’ll book my flight in the morning.”