Chris: I just checked, and your car is still here, so I know you’re in there. Are you in the shower? I’m going to go home and shower. I’ll be back in ten minutes, then we can say our sexy goodbye before we have to pretend like we’re only colleagues at work. I miss you already.
My mouth gaped open as I read his messages. Who did he think I was? I wasn’t someone he could just lie to and get away with it. I was reaching my boiling point the more I thought about it. “Your sweet act isn’t going to fool me anymore, Chris Miller!”
I ran up the stairs and got ready as quickly as possible, putting my hair up in a bun so I didn’t have to shower. I grabbed my makeup bag and briefcase, went downstairs and grabbed my purse, and car keys, slipped on my heels, and was out the door with one minute to spare. I was likely out of the survey before Chris was on my doorstep again.
I sighed a breath of relief as I pulled out onto the main street. My heart was still racing when I saw Chris’s number flash across the screen on my dashboard.
Dammit!
“I am not answering, you lying excuse for a man! No sir. You can call me as much as you want, and I’m not going to answer your call,” I told the inside of my car in the loudest voice I could muster.
By the time I’d reached the office, I was a mess of nerves, knowing I would have to face him as soon as he’d made it there. I already knew he would rush into my office and demand to know why I had left so suddenly without so much as a goodbye kiss.Well, you aren’t getting any more kisses from me!
I put all the necessary files in my briefcase and left it on the table by the door, ready for my quick exit. It took longer than I thought it would before Chris poked his head into my office. “Marilyn?”
I didn’t even look up. I picked up my phone quickly and pretended there was someone on the other side. I even went so far as to nod my head and say, “Yes, yes, I understand. Of course. Yes. Oh, alright. I’ll meet you there as soon as I can. Thank you.” I grabbed my jacket and walked toward him, clutching my briefcase and pushing past him, still holding my phone to my ear. “Yes, I’m leaving as we speak.” I walked quickly down the hall and around the corner, where I put my phone in my purse and breathed in deeply.
Once I was in my car, I finally let out my breath. Perhaps I would have to look for another job and maybe even move out of the city. I’d always wanted to open my own law firm somewhere in Hawaii or Florida, Texas even. Anywhere but California. Anywhere but in the city where Chris Miller lived. I’d call a real estate agent when I got home and put my house up for sale. My lovely, wonderful house that I loved so much and had spent so much time and money fixing up when I’d bought it several years ago.
I couldn’t go home. That would be the first place he’d look for me. No, I had to go somewhere he would never dream of looking for me. I drove the twenty minutes to the neighboring town and went through the drive-thru of a fast-food joint, then found the library. I’d be safe here, and they had free internet. I’d remembered to charge my phone on the way here so I could hotspot it if need be.
I felt like a fugitive, hiding where the police couldn’t find me. I really should get a disguise. I managed to get quite a few hours’ worth of work done before I felt like I just wanted to go home. I packed up and picked up the ingredients to make tacos on my way home. It was one of my favorite comfort foods. I even went to the liquor store to get a bottle of wine. God knew I would need it to get me through the night.
My phone beeped again. I read the message across the screen in my car on the way home.
Chris: Marilyn, where are you? I’m getting worried about you. Is something wrong? You just vanished out of nowhere. Please call me as soon as you get this text.
“You’ll just have to keep worrying,” I said out loud. I cranked the music and started singing to the song “Hello” by Lionel Richie.
I pulled the car into my driveway, half expecting Chris to be sitting on my front steps, but he was nowhere to be found. There were no lights on in his house.That’s weird.I parked in my garage for the first time since I’d bought the house. Luckily, I wasn’t one of those people who stored all my belongings in the garage to the point that you couldn’t even walk into it. I’d seen some of my friends’ garages and vowed never to let that happen. I was thankful I was like that right about now.
Once inside my house, I went about the rest of my evening, wondering when I would hear the knock on my door. But there was nothing for the rest of the evening. No knocks, no calls, no text messages.
I’m not sure what irked me more; Chris hounding me to talk to him or him not trying to get in touch with me at all. If I was honest, I liked the attention.
Where is he?It was getting close to 10:00 p.m. I knew Chris, and he was usually going to bed around this time. I found myself at my front window looking for him. By 11:00 p.m. I gave up as he hadn’t come home yet. I looked at my phone. No more messages.
I curled up in bed with my book, hoping it would take my mind off him and help me get sleepy so I could fall asleep and stop wondering where my neighbor was.
It didn’t work. My mind was alive, with many different scenarios going around my brain. I rarely took sleeping pills, but tonight was a difficult night, and I needed the extra help. I often suffered insomnia because my mind was usually running through a case, so this was something I was used to.
I focused on the fan above me, watching it whirl around and around and around, and somehow I finally found sleep, even if it was filled with dreams of Chris making love to me.
TEN
CHRIS
The past month had been a real struggle to get through. The change that had come over Marilyn was light night and day. We’d shared some really great times before we’d slept together, and I thought our union that night, even though we were drunk, was incredible. I wasn’t so drunk that I didn’t know what we were doing, and I knew she did too. It was a conscious act for both of us, and I felt how we connected on a deep level, and I can assure you she felt it too.
Then why the change? If she consciously chose to be with me in that way, why would she crank the air-conditioning right after we’d made love? I would never understand how her mind worked. I always experienced that after you made love with a woman, the relationship only got better with a deeper connection to each other. I’d never experienced this with someone before, ever. She truly was the Ice Queen.
She didn’t speak to me for a week, except at work, and even then, most communication was either by post-it notes, emails, or phone calls. Many times, she stressed that I didn’t need to pop by her office, but instead, just email would suffice. It was getting ridiculous. I had half a mind to confront her, but I was tired of being the one to tend to our relationship. The next move would have to be hers. Until then, I would follow her lead and just lay and wait. I figured the only way to melt ice was with warmth, so I made sure every time I interacted with her, I was as sweet as honey. It was slowly working. The ice wasn’t quite as frigid anymore, and I swear little droplets of water were starting to run off. Only time would tell.
I went against her wishes most days and stopped by her office to hand off paperwork in person, much to her chagrin, and today was one of those days.
“Here are the files you requested,” I said as I laid them down on her perfectly organized desk. Did she come in every morning and clean and neaten her office? I’d considered going in here when she was in the washroom and moving everything around just to annoy the shit out of her, but she was already always in a grumpy mood, and I would be the one she took it out on.
She didn’t even look up from her desk. She didn’t have her hair in a bun for once. It was hanging in loose curls over her shoulders, and I was trying as hard as I could not to react to how beautiful she looked. I longed to see her features soften with a smile, but I hadn’t seen that ever since we’d orgasmed together. That moment was frozen in time in my mind, and it might possibly be the last time I’d ever see her that happy.