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Sleep eluded me, as thoughts and memories of James and the time we spent together came back to me over and over again. I wanted his touch. I missed feeling his hands on me, and the chemistry between us. The sound of his voice and the way his body felt when it was pressed to mine kept circling in my head.
The sensations struck me as odd. This was nothing more than a little dalliance, a friends-with-benefits arrangement at best if we could even be called friends. Nothing more could ever come of it, and I had no issue with that. Still, he was on my mind.
Morning came quickly with the sun blaring through the window, and my thoughts were scattered in a hundred places. A new job, my novel, the west coast, my friends, and so on.
I hurried to shower and dress, realizing it was still early, but not early enough for James to be asleep. I was ready to leave and was heading for his room when I saw an envelope stuffed under the door. Its white, smooth finish and elegant handwriting in blue ink stood out on the green carpet.
I picked it up and sat down to read it after I opened it and found both a letter and a check.
I don’t want you to feel forced to do this for me. I truly want you to come and try working for me, and I want you to want that too. We are like oil and water, there are no two ways about it, but one never knows if that will change. This is your money, the money I owed you. I want to meet you today before check-out, so we can discuss this matter and decide if you're coming with me or not. Either way, I want to see you again so we can say goodbye and I can kiss those beautiful lips one last time if that is the case.
James Renegade
I clutched the check in my hand. It was written for close to ten thousand dollars, more than I ever expected to receive for the services I’d provided. The only thing I could chalk that up to was a bonus for my quick intercept before a disaster hit, and helping when he really needed it.
Torn between what was right and not wanting to hurt him, since I knew it was a bad idea to go to California, I decided to just leave. He would be leaving soon anyway. He had a flight to catch, and my no-show would make it clear to him that I wasn’t going with him.
It was for the best, and I knew this. Our final kiss, our fateful goodbye, would only make things harder for us both. Sex was the one thing we had. We didn't have all the other characteristics of a budding relationship — friendship, connection, emotional understanding, trust, patience, or open-mindedness, which one needed to get things done when you worked together.
I had a few hours. It was early yet, and check-out wasn’t until noon. Before I left, I decided to go cash that check at the nearest bank and do a bit of shopping.
Chapter Nine
James
I saw Gwen leave and knew I’d done the right thing by giving her the money, but I could tell she had no intention of coming to talk with me. She didn't want to come with me to California, but I wasn’t going to take no for an answer.
I didn't like myself when I used skills, I’d acquired a long time ago to break into her hotel room. Then I sat, waiting for her while I admired the room I was paying for and thought.
There was no way to convince a woman like Gwen to do something she didn't want to do. If she had it in her head that she wasn't going to do something, she just wouldn’t do it. I had to find another idea, a way to entice her that didn't include money, especially now that she didn't need mine for a little while.
Anyone who knew me would tell me I was out of my head for behaving in such a manner regarding a woman I’d simply shared sex with, but Gwen was different. Somehow, in the space of a very short period of time, she’d become like an addiction for me.
The sex, being with her, holding her, hearing her voice, and talking to her were all things I craved. I couldn’t get it out of my head. I wanted more and I wasn’t ready to let any of it go.
So, there I sat for an hour, and when I heard the door to the room click, I opened my eyes from rest and smiled. Gwen stood in front of me at the edge of the bed, frowning.
“How did you get in here?”
“That’s irrelevant. I knew you had no intention of saying goodbye, let alone taking my offer. I wanted to see you one last time. The hope that the money would do it was misguided, so here I am.”
She sat down, her bags at her feet on the couch that looked very similar to the one I’d slept on. “Okay, so let’s talk for a minute and then we can say our goodbyes. I want to thank you, first of all, for honoring me and the work I did by not stiffing me this money.”
I tossed my phone on the bed, the smell of her perfume still lingering around me from the night before. “You're welcome, but you don’t need to thank me. I had every intention of paying you, even if you decided not to come with me. So, I guess you’re not coming then?”
Her chin rose. “No, unfortunately not. It would be a very bad idea. I can’t go with you for obvious reasons — the sex — but also because my life is here. Even if it didn't matter and we got along great, the sex would still be there, and I don’t want to continue that part of our relationship. It’s toxic, and bad for us both, even if you’d never admit it as a man.”
“What if I said we won’t have sex again? That would be left here, and when we get to California, all will be different. You’d have a chance to build your career, under my watchful eye, and I’d get your help. By the way, you’d get to work with your cousin Martie, whom I know talks non-stop about you.”
He was trying very hard to persuade me, without much success, of course. “I can’t do it, James. You’d get on my nerves, I’d get on yours, and sooner or later we’d be at each other’s throats. No amount of great sex or amazing relatives would be able to help that.”
“Come on, Gwen.”
I stood up, determined to make her see my way, and walked to the couch to sit beside her. “I need you; I want you to come, and it will be a short trial run. You have absolutely nothing to lose.”
The urge to touch her was tremendous. I wanted to sit her atop my lap, press my hard shaft against her body, and make her scream. The desire to pull her head to mine and taste every inch of her succulent mouth was going to be the death of me.
Her eyes looked questioning. “Why are you so intent on this happening? Me going to California with you?”
