"Want another?"
She studied my gaze then nodded. I repeated everything, only this time, I couldn't hold back. When she opened her eyes and gave me that heady gaze, I leaned in and took her mouth with mine. Immediately, she brought her arms up and rested them on my shoulders as her lips moved with mine. When I heard a soft moan escape her throat, I pulled her tightly into me, allowing her to feel how hard I was for her. I could feel her body start to let go, but then she placed her hands on my chest, breaking the kiss.
"I can't...we can't..." she said, breathless, looking up at me with watery eyes. "What about Nikki."
I didn't have a chance to say anything because she was already gone, having bolted from my office. I clenched my hands into fists and leaned onto my desk. Everything was a mess, and as I stood there trying to figure out how to explain to her that I didn't want us to be over, I heard the loud ding of the elevator. My heart sank as I stepped out into the hall just in time to see the elevator doors slide shut. She was gone.
I spent Saturday morning clearing the driveway from the snow that had fallen the night before. I'd secretly hoped to see Ainsley, as she normally went out early on Saturday mornings for her yoga class, but she was nowhere to be found this morning. I wanted to talk to her, to apologize for last night. I'd left her messages, but she still hadn't read any of them.
I was putting the snowblower back in the garage when I heard my name. I turned to see Jon standing in my driveway. I was expecting Ainsley had talked to him about last night and he was here to blast me but was surprised when he smiled instead. "Hey, you feel like getting out for a beer tonight?" he questioned.
I wasn't sure where this was coming from. The man had not spoken to me in a couple of months, ever since he had caught us in bed.
"Sure. Where you want to go?"
"Just over to Darcy's. It’s close. We don't have to worry about driving," he said.
"Sounds good."
"All right, meet you over there at five?" he asked.
"Great, in time for the game."
"Yep. See you then."
I'd hoped that his invitation meant that he was ready to forgive me and that it would give me an opportunity to explain to him how I truly felt about his daughter. I'd spent the afternoon running over what I wanted to say to him in my mind, and when I was sure I finally had everything down, I got ready. I made my way over to Darcy's and was surprised when I walked into the little neighborhood pub to see Jon already there, milking down a beer and digging into a plate of nachos.
"Hey," I said, sliding into the booth across from Jon.
"Hey, thought we'd watch the game?" Jon said. "You know, like old times."
"Yeah, sounds good."
I ordered a beer and then sat there watching the game, debating on when I should bring up the subject.
"What's new?" Jon asked, trying to break the awkward silence between us.
I shook my head. "Nothing. I really want to take a minute and talk to you about something," I bit out.
"About what?"
"I want to talk to you about Ain—"
Jon held up his hand, stopping me from saying anything more. "Spencer, I think out of respect for whatever friendship we might have left that we should just leave all that in the past. Let's just move forward and pretend that nothing happened okay. Ainsley is off-limits to you now, you know that, and once the new year hits, you will sign her transfer and allow her to move on with her life and job."
When he was finished, he looked right into my eyes. I could tell just from the glare that he was serious, then he turned his attention back to the TV, while I sat there holding my beer. All I wanted was to be able to express just how empty I felt without her in my life. Explain to him how much I loved her, but even if I did, I knew now that Jon would never approve of me dating his daughter, and that no matter how I felt about her, his opinion would probably never change.
Ainsley
Monday morning had arrived, and I knew that I could no longer hide out in my bedroom. The weekend had gone by in a blur, not because I'd been busy, but because I had spent the entire weekend in bed, thinking about that kiss. I had even missed my Saturday-morning yoga class. When I'd arrived home Friday night, I walked by my father, mumbling that I felt like I was coming down with the flu just so he wouldn't see the tears that had fallen on the way home.
I'd worried all the way into the office, white-knuckling it through traffic that I would have to face Spencer after running out on him on Friday night. Instead, his office door sat closed from the time I'd arrived. He was knee deep in phone meetings with some of his CEOs, and I couldn't have been happier.
I'd felt the weight lift off me as I left for lunch, and I now sat alone at a table in my favorite restaurant with a hot bowl of cheese ravioli in front of me and garlic bread smothered in cheese.
I scrolled through my phone at the messages that had come in over the weekend—three from Spencer and about fifteen from Carly. I hadn't spoken to her all weekend and decided I should probably return her messages. I dialed her number and smiled when I heard her pick up the phone.
"You're alive." She giggled.