Part 14 (1/2)
I took off my coat and went to sit next to her on the couch. ”How can you tell?” I asked, dipping into her popcorn.
”The fact that it's almost six in the evening on Sunday,” she said. ”When you left on Friday.”
I could barely believe it myself. ”The weekend became longer than we expected.”
”So you two hit it off, huh?”
”Penny,” I said. ”He's sweet! And caring! And so, so good in bed!”
Penny laughed. ”Good to know you finally lost your post breakup virginity.”
That made me laugh too.
Everything we did over the weekend kept playing itself over and over again in my head. I didn't want to jinx it but everything was just perfect. I couldn't help but feel a little afraid. Usually when things were this perfect there was something truly awful lurking around the corner. But I didn't care. Right now, it felt like the best thing in the world, and I was okay with feeling that way. I couldn't be afraid that every man would be Nick, because that simply wasn't true. I think it was testimony enough that despite detesting men in general, Penny didn't seem to mind my seeing Thorne. She must have liked him if she approved of him. I was going to take that as a good sign.
I had been thinking about the week-long invite, the avacation' as Thorne called it. It didn't seem like such a bad idea anymore, though when he had told me I had freaked out just a bit. Now I knew it might be actually be a good thing. It might help bring me out of the sh.e.l.l that I've been trying to secure myself in ever since the breakup with Nick. I couldn't let Nick run my life anymore. He had already done enough damage; he wasn't going to dictate who I went out with or who I decided to have a relations.h.i.+p with. I refused to give an ex that sort of power.
Maybe this time, for once, it would all work out.
THORNE.
The door to my office opened and Elena stepped in. We hadn't told anyone about our thing, Elena wanted to wait and I wanted her to feel comfortable and not be forced into something. We had been going out a whole month and keeping that secret wasn't always easy but we were managing it so far.
”Hey,” she said, coming over to my table to sit across from me. ”Not done yet?”
”No,” I said. ”I need a few more hours.”
”Thorne,” Elena said. ”It's eight in the evening. Everyone else is already gone, it Friday.”
I felt like someone just broke the trance I was in. I checked the time on my wrist watch and she was right. It was past eight. ”So everyone's gone?”
”Yes.”
”Why are you still here?”
”I thought I'd ask you what you're doing tonight,” Elena said. ”But I can see that you've planned to cheat on me with work.”
I lifted the pen and got up, walked over to her side. I trailed the non-ink side of the pen over her bare shoulder. ”Well,” I said. ”Maybe if everyone's already gone we can f.u.c.k here?”
She looked embarra.s.sed at the suggestion but her chest started to heave. I knew she was getting excited just as she was getting uncomfortable. ”I should go,” she said and tried to get past me but I caught on to her hand. ”I think you should stay,” I whispered in her ear.
She looked like she was swayed for just a second before she pushed me away. ”No,” she said.
I grinned. ”Are you saying that for your benefit or mine?” I asked.
She blushed. ”You need to quit that,” she said, unable to stop a smile from forming. ”Penny's been bugging me for weeks now to go with her. If you're busy then I'll hang out with Penny and her friends for one night. We can do something tomorrow if you're free.”
”I'm free,” I said and leaned against the desk, watched her movements. This was what I was going to be missing tonight. But if I didn't get the work done today, I'd be distracted all weekend and I couldn't have that. It was better to get over with it now.
”Okay then,” she said, hiding a smirk. ”I'll be off.”
”I'll call you,” I said.
When she was at the door, she turned. ”Have a good night,” she said with that lovely smile of hers and I was just about ready to leave everything behind.
”You too, Elena.”
My phone started vibrating on the desk.
I picked it up. ”h.e.l.lo?”
”Thorne?” I could hear Cyndi crying on the other end.
I dropped work and my attention was towards her. Cyndi wasn't the crying type. Most of the time her headstrong att.i.tude made people forget that she enjoyed being a submissive in bed. ”Cyndi? Is everything okay?”
”I need to see you, Thorne.”
”I'm kind of stuck with something.”
”Thorne, it's my father.”
I knew I couldn't ignore that. ”Give me half an hour,” I said. ”I'll be right over.”
”Okay.”
ELENA.
Things had been perfect. Okay so life was actually never that perfect and there was always something happening in the background, but things had happened that had the power to make those other bad stuff look like it was nothing. That was what being with Thorne was like. It made me forget that the c.r.a.ppy stuff around my life was there. It made me not worry about the bad things that were supposed to bother me, and it made them less frightening, less depressing. Somehow, just because I was with him, everything was better because he made it better. There hadn't been a single day that I regretted being with him or regretted making that decision. I even started writing again, which was a bigger deal than the fact that I was finally starting to let my walls down, at least around Thorne.
”Elena,” I heard Penny's voice as I come out of the bathroom.
”Yes?” I went over to the dressing table to blow dry my hair. ”What weird place are we going this time?”
She looked taken aback. I could see her reflection in the mirror and I was enjoying it. ”Do you have psychic powers or something?”
”Living with you all this time might have done it. Now, please. Tell me already.”
”Jess is coming to pick us up with her boyfriend.”
”So?”
”So, you need to get ready,” she said, and I noticed she was wearing the s.k.a.n.kiest top in the history of female clothing but it looked amazing on her.