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James
Isat at my desk across from the bed and looked over the most recent company financials while Rose slept. There wasn’t time to go over it all this morning, and I knew I would have to spend more time on it later. It would take away from what little time remained with Rose, but I had to stay on top of this. Only a few days were left before I would have to leave, and I hadn’t told her yet. I didn’t know how.
I worked for another hour before I finally heard her yawn and roll over in bed. Clicking out of my business reports, I shut the computer down and turned around just as Rose sat up in bed. The sheet fell from her breasts as she raised her arms over her chest and stretched. God, I was going to miss this.
“Good morning,” she grinned, her eyes immediately finding mine.
I tried to smile, tried to mask that I was cracking inside, but I was pretty sure I didn’t do a very good job of it. I watched her smile falter at my lack of response. I shoved up from my chair and forced myself over to her. Crawling across the bed, I nuzzled my face against her breast, taking one of her nipples in my mouth. Her hands immediately threaded through my hair as she moaned and laid back down. I followed her, still sucking on her nipple. She spread her legs for me, and I didn’t waste any time shucking my shorts and sliding inside her.
I took my time, memorizing everything about her, kissing her as if it was the last time. Because soon, she would be gone from my life, and I would be nothing but a broken man. I was so lost in kissing her that I almost missed her pained gasp and the small cry she let out. I pulled back, catching the tear streaming down her face with my thumb.
With tears swimming in her eyes, it was clear she knew. “You’re going home.”
I didn’t answer. I was terrible at hiding it. And if I spoke it out loud, it would be real. I kept brushing my thumb over her cheek, not sure what else to do. But this, touching her, comforted me.
“How long do we have?”
“A few days,” I said on a croak. Then my jaw tightened. That was wrong. We had less time than that. “Two days. I have to go home in two days.”
She nodded, squeezing her eyes shut as she pulled me closer. I rocked inside her, my orgasm slowly building with hers. I could feel her body closing in on mine. With a shuddering gasp, we both came. It wasn’t as intense as usual, but that might have something to do with the fact that we both knew the end was near.
I laid down beside her and stared at the ceiling. It was like a bubble burst over us, shattering the illusion of our happy life. Even lying here with her, I could feel what we had slowly draining from us. I had already started erecting my walls to protect myself from the pain of losing her, and I could feel her doing the same.
“We should get started. We only have a few things to finish up, and then we’ll be done.”
The double meaning wasn’t lost on me, and the hurt expression on her face said the same. I didn’t mean to hurt her. I wish she could understand just how much I wanted to be with her, but rehashing our situation wouldn’t do any good.
I got out of bed and quickly dressed, leaving her to get cleaned up. The only thing left to do on the house was finish up the final touches of the living room. Outside, I had the bookcase all ready to be pieced together. I got to work, not even glancing at Shane when he came over. We worked in silence for most of the morning. I had no idea what Rose was doing, and I couldn’t bring myself to stop and find her. If I saw her, it would only break my heart further.
Once the bookcase was finished, Shane and I carried it inside, installing it in the wall over the matching credenza that was built into the wall. I stood back and looked at it, happy with the way it turned out.
“Are we going to talk about why you and Rose are basically ignoring each other?” Shane asked as we stared at the final piece we’d created for the house.
I pulled out my rag and wiped the sweat from my head, staring down at my hands when I was done. “I have to go back in two days.”
“Like two more days or two nights and you leave on the third day?”
“Tonight is my last night. My flight is tomorrow night.”
He sighed heavily. “And I’m guessing you just told her.” I nodded. “How long have you known?”
“From the start. There was always a final date I had to return by.”
“What?” Rose’s voice slammed into me with all the hurt I knew she would feel if she ever found out. And as I turned around, it was evident on her face. “You knew all along when this would end and you didn’t tell me?”
I took a step toward her. “Rose, it’s not like you’ve ever known when you have to return. I thought it would be long before this. I didn’t know my departure date would even be an issue.”
“But…at least this last month…you could have warned me.”
“And ruin our time together? Look at how you responded this morning.”
She swiped some stray tears from her cheek, but she wasn’t crying out of sadness. She was fucking angry. “You’ve been pulling away from me the whole fucking month. I knew it, but I didn’t want to say anything. It wasn’t until this morning that you finally had the balls to tell me why.”
“And if I had told you a month ago, you would have done something fucking stupid.”
“Like leave?”
“Yes!” I snapped. “I know you, Rose, better than you think. You would have said there was no point in staying together when we both knew when we would have to leave. You would have ended things early.”
