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“I had something else in mind for breakfast,” he purrs, still nuzzling my neck. I giggle.
“No, you need to eat, and I need to go to work. If we don’t stop now, I’ll be late.”
“So, be late.” I try to push him off me, but he’s too heavy. His mouth travels to my ear, and he nips it. A low groan escapes from deep in my throat. He knows my resolve is weakening.
“Breakfast,” I implore.
He grumbles, “Since you went out of your way to cook for me, I will stop to eat.”
“Good. I’ll make coffee. You need to let me up.” I smile up at him sweetly. He smirks and rolls to his side and lets me off the bed. He grabs his t-shirt, throwing it on as he follows me into the kitchen.
After I hand him a cup of coffee, he takes a seat at the kitchen island. “Looks fantastic.”
“I can cook breakfast,” I say. “It’s the rest of the day I have issues with.”
“I could get used to this.”
“Used to what, me serving you?” I ask half joking, maybe affronted.
“No, waking up next to you every morning,” he corrects, his head cocked to one side with that shy smile that makes me melt. Oh. I flush at the thought. We haven’t been dating long enough for me to even consider that. I like having a place to myself, even though I feel like he’s here all the time. With my coffee finished, I add milk and Splenda, and sit down next to Chase.
“That was delicious,” he says standing, taking both our plates to the dishwasher. I look at the time. Crap. I need to leave now, or I’ll be late.
“I’ve got to go. I’ll see you later.” I walk over to Chase. He turns towards me and pulls me into his arms.
“Thank you.”
“For what?”
“For breakfast. For just being you.” He leans down and plants a tender kiss on my lips. I kiss him back, nipping on his lower lip. He groans. Releasing me, I look up and smile at him.
“Don’t tease,” he warns. “I can make a few phone calls and get you the day off.”
“Okay, okay.” I place my hands up in defense. “I’ll go.” I turn and head out the door.
I get home from work later than normal. I was doing a field study in Little Neck Bay and needed to wait until dusk for the tide to go out. I collapse on the couch exhausted. I haven’t heard from Chase all day, which is strange. He must have been in meetings. I take out my cell phone and call him. It doesn’t ring but goes straight to voice mail. Hmm, that’s really strange. I decide to change into something more comfortable and head over to Chase’s apartment.
The walk over is a quick trip, and his doorman lets me in. I head over toward his door. Just as I’m about to knock, the door opens. A tall, skinny, blonde strides out of his apartment, buttoning up her designer silk blouse as she walks. She sees me and gives me a devious smile. Chase appears in the doorway, naked from the waist up, wearing nothing but a tiny towel that barely covers anything. I stand there in utter horror, remembering the nightmare I had.
“Natalie,” he yells after her, not realizing that I’m standing there. Then, he sees me. His facial expression changes from anger to surprise to fright.
“Olivia,” he mutters in panic. My jaw is still on the floor. I start to have flashbacks of Evan from when I caught him with my roommate. He looks just like Evan had. A knot forms in my stomach. Tears start to stream down my face. Chase stares at me in horror. “Olivia, it’s not what it looks like.” Holy fuck. That is exactly what he said in my dream. I stand there paralyzed and dumbfounded.
He takes a step toward me. I snap out of my shock. “Olivia, please,” he pleads. I feel nauseous. Why didn’t I see this coming? He was always too good for me. I was just some conquest for the rich boy to win. I can’t breathe. He looks desolate. I take a deep breath and summon all of my inner strength.
“How could you, after everything you know about me?” I say, my voice low and controlled. I’m struggling to hang on, feeling like I’m going to faint. He tries to speak, but I put my hand up in warning. “Don’t. I don’t want to hear it.” I take a deep breath. “Don’t call me, don’t text me, don’t show up on my doorstep. I don’t want to see you ever again.” I can barely get the words out of my mouth my throat is so dry.
“You don’t understand,” he beseeches me.
“I can’t do this. Not again.” I turn toward the elevator. He doesn’t make a move, but his eyes never leave mine. I hit the button and wait, tears still streaming down my face. All things considered, I’m holding up pretty well. I don’t want to totally lose it in front of him. I don’t want to give him a reason to try and comfort me. It’s taking every fiber of my being not to curl up into a ball on the floor.
The door to the elevator opens, and I back in. “Goodbye, Chase,” I whisper. I see Chase make a move toward the elevator as the doors close.
Back in my apartment, I lock the door behind me. I lean against the door as I fall to the floor. I can’t bring myself to stand because of the immense pain I feel. I can’t breathe. I need to breathe. I sit for a moment trying to calm myself down, but it isn’t working.
I crawl across the apartment toward my bedroom, tears streaming down my face. I pull myself up to the bed sobbing uncontrollably. A howling, my heart is broken cry. I am devastated, yet again. After such a short amount of time, Chase has really gotten under my skin. This hurts more than when I caught Evan. I cry until I can’t cry anymore.
I awaken from a nightmare, covered in sweat. I struggle to catch my breath as I look at the clock. Two thirty A.M. I’m cold. I never changed or got under the blankets. Then, without warning, the events that led to me lying on top of my bed come flooding back. I’m hoping it was just a bad dream, but I know it wasn’t.
