Jayded (17 page)

“
I didn
’
t want to wake you. I have to go back to my hotel so I can shower and change for today. I
’
m sorry. I would have woken you up, but you looked so peaceful sleeping,
”
she tells me.

I can
’
t tell whether she
’
s telling the truth or lying. She has one up on me because of our lack of history. I don
’
t want to force her to stay, and I know she is right. I
’
m sure the people at the office would start talking if she came in wearing the same clothes from the night before. So, instead of asking any more questions, I get up to walk her out. I give her a kiss that she won
’
t forget and return back to bed.

The next time I wake up is from the alarm shrieking in my ear. I hit the snooze button. I just need fifteen more minutes of sleep. I close my eyes, but I can
’
t nod back off. The vision of Max screaming my name echoes in my head. I immediately get hard, but there
’
s no way I
’
m spoiling myself. I have plans for her later tonight.

My phone rings.
“
Morning, Ma.
”

“
You sound terrible. Are you sick?
”
she asks, worried.

“
Nah, just tired. Can you grab me a coffee?
”

“
Sure, honey.
”

“
Grab Max one, too. It
’
s always overcrowded in that kitchen in the mornings,
”
I tell her, sharing the half-truth. I really don
’
t want my mood ruined this morning by seeing Beth
’
s face. 

I hear the speaker come on.
“
Okay, I
’
m ordering now. See you soon.
”

I drag myself over to the bathroom and turn on the shower. After last night
’
s escapade, it
’
s definitely needed. I let the steaming hot water beat on my back for a while, loosening up all my over-worked muscles. After twenty minutes of scorching water and thick steam, I am finally ready to get dressed and head out into the cold. The only reason I am doing this with a smile on is because in ten minutes I will be in the company of Max.

I walk into work, past Elise.
“
Good morning, Elise.
”
I wink at her as I swipe my key. She smiles, and her cheeks turn a light shade of pink.

“
Morning, Kyle,
”
she responds softly.

I
’
m happy to see Jeff isn
’
t hovering over her this morning. Jeff
’
s a great guy, but he
’
ll eat her alive. She wouldn
’
t even know what hit her. She just looks so fragile and na
ï
ve.

I head straight for my mother
’
s office without clocking in. That coffee is screaming my name. Once I inhale the bitter sweetness, I will feel much better and my day will be manageable. When I walk into her office, she is already on the phone. I grab both coffees, but before I can head out she holds her finger up for me to wait.

I take a seat in front of her desk. I sip the hot liquid and my body releases some tired tension. My mom finally hangs up the phone.
“
I
’
ve been meaning to ask you about the other day
—
the fight with Junior.
”
She waits for me to explain.

“
Ma, you know how he is toward me. I
’
m sick of him butting into my life all the time when he
’
s not even a part of it!
”
This was not the conversation I needed at eight in the morning. Ugh!

“
I know Kyle. I
’
ll try to talk with him. Maybe your father needs to step in this time. I know Junior loves you. Just don
’
t take it upon yourself to confront him in the office next time, okay?
”
She walks around her desk to give me one of her famous Mom hugs. The little boy in me smiles and hugs her tight.

I head over to Max
’
s office with her coffee in hand, but when I get to her door, I see Jonathan inside. I knock quietly. She looks up and smiles. Jonathan gives me a nod.

“
Good morning, Kyle,
”
Jonathan greets me. I nod back.

I look to Max.
“
I thought you might need some good coffee
—”
I hold up the Dunkin Donuts cup.

She holds up a cup back.
“
Jonathan just beat you to the punch. Thanks anyways, though.
”

I feel a little awkward still standing here. I
’
m secretly fuming inside.
“
Okay then! I
’
ll go see if Jeff needs a cup.
”
I nod my head to them both and bow out. That didn
’
t go as well as I planned
—
totally killed my good mood.

I must be sulking when I walk over to Jeff
’
s desk.
“
Dude, who died?
”

“
More like who
’
s gonna die,
”
I answer, looking back at Max
’
s office and seeing them laugh in sync. Jeff peeks over the cubicle.

“
Ah, I see what
’
s going on. You went home with her last night. That
’
s why you both disappeared. You lucky man, you!
”
Jeff pats me on the back. I smack his hand away.

“
Dude, that
’
s not what happened at all. She
’
s different. She
’
s not a notch on my bedpost.
”
I can see Jeff slowly beginning to comprehend the situation.

He holds his hands up in surrender.
“
Okay, my bad. I just didn
’
t realize you were that serious about her. In that case
—
let
’
s go beat that dude
’
s ass!
”

I can
’
t help but laugh at Jeff
’
s stupid-ness. I can always count on him to cheer me up, though.
“
Nah, bro. It
’
s not the time or the place. I already got my ass chewed out by my mom this morning over the whole Junior thing.
”

He shakes his head.
“
Yeah, that sucks. I shot some pool with him last night. He wasn
’
t as douchey as he normally is. Once you left, it
’
s like he became a whole new person.
”

“
Awesome. So it
’
s all me. Great.
”

I make sure to keep myself in a hushed tone. The people surrounding us thrive off of the gossip, as if they don
’
t have any lives of their own.

He shrugs his shoulders.
“
Hey, someone
’
s gotta take the blame.
”

“
Thanks, man.
”

I walk back to my desk, pretty bummed out. When I open my email, I see one short message waiting for me from Max.

“
Tonight? My place?
”

I email back.

“
Definitely. 6?
”

Another email pops up.

“
I have some work I need to get done. So, 8:30 sound good? I
’
ll grab us a late dinner?
”

She just made my day. Take
that
Mr. Jonathan!

“
I
’
ll be there!
”

I read the email chain one last time with a huge smile and then hit delete.

The rest of the day couldn
’
t go any slower. The conferences this week were between the big shots and my brother. I was not invited. I honestly didn
’
t even mind. I have some work that needed to be caught up on from all the hours I spent last week in the conferences.

Finally
. I look at the clock, and it says five thirty, but now what? I have three and a half hours to kill. What the hell am I going to do? I clock out and head to the door.

“
Kyle? Wait up
—”

I stop and hang my head. Fuck! I turn around to Beth and try to brush her off.

“
What
’
s up? I gotta be somewhere,
”
I tell her sternly.

She looks nervous.
“
Can we just go somewhere and talk?
”

I roll my eyes. She just doesn
’
t stop!
“
I
really
have to be somewhere. I
’
m sorr
—”

“
Okay, okay. I get it. I guess I deserve this treatment. I just want to say I
’
m sorry for last week. I was just really upset. Can we just start over and be friends?
”
she asks. She looks sincere, but I
’
m not buying it. Her looks are deceiving.

“
Yeah, sure. Sounds good. Let
’
s just forget about it all, okay?
”

“
Okay,
”
she responds with a small fake smile.

“
I gotta go. I
’
ll talk to you later.
”
I turn abruptly and walk out the door.

I wish I could believe her, but there
’
s just something off about her. She just throws off the
Fatal Attraction
vibe, and it skeeves me out.

I head to my place for a much-needed nap. I figure tonight
’
s going to require my energy, so I better be nice and rested up. Just thinking about seeing Max outside of work completely gets me giddy and excited. I hate having to pretend all day that I haven
’
t tasted her or felt her wrapped all around me. If only her office wasn
’
t visible for everyone to see, I would totally sneak in there, bend her over, and have my way with her over the desk.

Damn. Just the thought of that gets me hard. I can
’
t even think about her without getting myself excited. I thought fucking her would make my need for her go away, dissipate, but it
’
s made me crave her even more. Maybe it will change within a couple of weeks. Who knows, boredom might eventually take over. I just better enjoy this while it lasts.

I peel my clothes off, throw them over the couch, and jump into my bed, burying myself deep under the covers. Within seconds, I am asleep.

I
wake up to the sound of my phone
’
s alarm clock. I set it for eight o
’
clock to give me some time to get dressed and head over to her hotel room. This feels like I
’
m having an affair with a married woman, meeting her at her hotel room and all. I
’
m not going to lie, though
—
it puts a little extra pep in something that
’
s already spiced up. I am not complaining whatsoever. 

I pull up to the Crown Plaza and park in the parking garage. Normally, I would park on a side street, but the wind chill tonight is freezing. I throw my hoodie over my head to protect myself from the elements and head into the garage entrance.

Immediate warmth soothes my skin. I
’
ve been in this hotel before, years back for my high school graduation. Some of my friends had a hotel party in here. We ended up getting thrown out on our asses for the noise complaints. Let
’
s just hope that doesn
’
t happen tonight.