Page 18 of Ache
“It’s late. I’m tired, and we need to do it all again tomorrow. If I don’t get a good night’s sleep, I’ll be worthless in the morning.”
“Well, we don’t want that.”
“No.” I place my take-out containers in the garbage and then slip my glasses back on. Alec watches my every move, like he’s studying me. It makes me feel very exposed.What is he looking at? What does he see?
“Thank you again for dinner.” I smile sweetly.
“It was my pleasure. It’s the least I can do for all your hard work . . .and for putting up with my crankiness.”He rips open the top button of his dress shirt.
I find his chagrin cute. “Tomorrow is a new day.”
“Yes, it is, Miss Paige.” He fiddles with his collar. “Yes, it is . . .”
7
Tage
Iwatch Everly exit her office building several hours later than usual. I was tempted to go inside and check on her, but I decided against it. She’s a big girl now, I continually remind myself. She grew up.
But I still want to protect her.
I do still protect.
I will always protect her.
Even if she doesn’t want me to. Even if she hates me. She was one of the reasons I was put on this Earth, and I will always be loyal to her, even if it’s from a distance.
I follow her into the subway, staying just far enough away. I trail her like a shadow as she waits for her train, engulfed in her phone, listening to music, hair braided, clothes professional. She’s the perfect picture of a normal young woman. It’s what I always wanted for her. Normalcy. It’s what I was hell-bent on giving her. Freedom to choose. Freedom to be her.
Freedom, plain and simple.
She hops into a car when the doors slide open, and I follow suit, blending into the mass of people around us. She has no idea I’m only yards away from her. She has no idea, and yet, I want her so badly to notice me.
I just want to peer down into those big green eyes and get lost in them again, the way I used to.
And one day soon, that’s exactly what I’ll do. Forge a broken bond. A bondIbroke but plan to piece back together again.
Everly hops off her stop, and I follow behind, tracking her up the stairs back onto the street. The sun has set, so I use the shadows of dusk to conceal myself. A few blocks down from the subway, Ever enters her apartment building. This is as far as I’ll go for now. I wait and watch for her lights to turn on. And once they do, I settle into the dark alley diagonal from her bedroom window. Here I stay until she falls asleep. Until the lights in her apartment dim. I pull a piece of paper out of my pocket and slide it through my fingertips. It’s tattered and worn from the passing years, but the writing is still legible. It’s my last tangible link — to her. It brings me comfort during the darkest of nights. It’s my company when I’m lonely, and my reason when I’m lost.
It’s my reminder of all the best moments of the past.
8
Alec
The potent smell of coffee assaults me as I stand in line at the crowded coffee bar. I hate this place. I hate feeling like a sardine squished in a can, fighting for a cup of hot liquid I could send an intern to get. Butshe’shere, standing right in front of me, so I’ll put up with the annoyances just to be close to her.
This is crazy. It’s all so fucking crazy, my attraction to a woman who is totally off limits. Who could cost me my job, and so much more if this little obsession goes too far. But I can’t stop thinking about her. She’s clouded every thought I’ve had like a hit from a bong.
A fog of fascination lingering around me. Settling at my feet and following me everywhere.
I eye Everly as she stands there, her brown braids just begging me to pull them. Funny. I never found them appealing before, but working side by side with Everly this past week, I’ve developed an appreciation for them. Had fantasies about them. About her, dressed in nothing but white lingerie, those naughty braids, and brainiac glasses.
The image makes me shiver. Her smell makes me heady, and her voice hypnotizes me. I am a damn goner, and there’s no turning back now.
“I’m sorry, Miss, but your card has been declined,” the hipster guy behind the register informs Ever.
“Declined?” She looks down at her credit card. “Can I try one more time?”
