I wanted to brand myself on her so that every man around knew she belonged to me.
She was MINE.
I showed Maddie to her office, which I had assigned to my floor even though after a few weeks she wouldn’t be here as much as I would like. We spent the rest of the day going over the intricacies of the program and began to map out potential connections.
I ordered in lunch, or I think Maddie would have worked until the end of the day without eating. I wanted to provide for her, worship her. If making sure she ate or took breaks was what she allowed me to do for her, I’d take it for now.
Maddie’s phone rang into the office and startled both of us into silence. It was the first outside contact she had received since we’d been locked inside this perfect bubble we created. I hated that someone was about to take her attention away from me.
She looked to me to make sure I was okay with her answering, even though the work day ended a half hour ago. I gave her an acknowledging smile and began to look over the paperwork we had spread out over the large table, trying to not eavesdrop too much on her conversation.
She glanced at the phone and quickly answered it with the biggest smile on her face.
“Hey Aunt Lisa! How is everything?…Okay. Sure. We would love that! ….So, Friday night or Saturday morning? …Perfect! Okay…. I love you too! Bye!” she closed her phone with a huge smile on her face.
“Good news?” I smiled brightly back at her.
“Yes! My Aunt and Uncle are coming up to visit this weekend. They said they’ll be here Saturday morning, for the weekend. Uncle Joe is going to a baseball game with some of his old Army buddies from home and he is dropping her off at the apartment before they head to the stadium. I haven’t seen them in a few months and I can’t wait to spend time with her.”
“Are you close with any other family members?
Her face immediately fell and she looked away from me, trying to gather herself. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to pry, its just that you don’t talk much about your family back home. I said I wanted to know everything about you and I meant it. Whatever you feel comfortable in telling me, I’m here to listen.”
“Can we maybe not do this here? I don’t mind talking about it, but I would rather not discuss personal things in the office. I never want to bring those memories into this space, if you can understand that,” she said sorrowfully.
“Why don’t we get out of here. I’ll drive you home and we can grab a drink and some dinner at the bar around the corner. We can talk about it, or not. I don’t want you upset.”
“That sounds nice. Let me get my things and we can head out.”
The car ride back into downtown was quicker than usual. Maddie was lost in thought, so I took her hand and gave it a gentle squeeze. I wanted to give her strength to face her past so we could have a future. I pulled into her parking area and she directed me into her assigned spot. I turned the engine off and shifted so I could get a better look at her. She was so beautiful.
“You are so beautiful,” I whispered as I leaned in for a kiss. When her lips touched mine, I groaned and quickly took control of the kiss, my hands gripping her hair. I didn’t want to stop but I slowed down until I was peppering her face with light kisses
I gently took her hand and looked at her sitting in the passengers’ seat. Lips bruised and swollen, hair slightly mussed and her breath coming in small pants.
I’m glad she feels this connection as strongly as I do.
“I think we should get that drink now.” I knew this might be the end ofsexytimefor tonight.
We walked to the bar hand in hand and I couldn’t help but walk a little straighter, feeling like I could conquer the world. I had the most beautiful, sweet, and kind woman on my arm and I wanted everyone around to know how proud I was that she chose me. We found a table and I went to the bar to order our drinks while she relaxed. I needed to coax this conversation out of her and I needed her relaxed and anxiety free when began.
“I took the liberty of ordering us some appetizers to go with our drinks. I didn’t know what you like so I got a few different items.”
“I appreciate that. Somedays I forget to eat until I get home.” She said, as she took a sip of wine. I’d ordered her the same wine she had the last time we were here, so I knew I couldn’t go wrong.
The waitress brought our food and we chatted about the project and the estimated outreach for the first year.
She was so animated and her blue eyes were alight with excitement as she spoke about the work we accomplished today. I don’t think she realized she gestured so much with her hands when she was this excited, and it endeared her to me even more.
I loved to see her this happy and I hated that I had to guide the conversation back to less than pleasant topics.
After the waitress brought another round of drinks, I gently started the conversation that I hoped would not cause her to run from me.
“Tell me about your aunt and uncle,” I suggested, thinking they would be a safe topic and allow her to work into talking about her parents.
“They are amazing. Aunt Lisa was my mom’s best friend growing up and they were as close as Caroline and I are. Probably closer. She and Uncle Joe adopted me when mom died and they raised me like their own. Mom and Aunt Lisa had always promised each other they would look out for each other’s children if something should ever happen to one of them. They gave me stability and a loving home and I can never repay them for their kindness,” she said when conviction in her voice.
“They sound amazing and you are lucky to have them. What about your father?” I asked the question I had dreaded.
