Almost a Family

She turned, slowly, met his gaze.

“I don’t want you to go yet,” he said.

She sighed. She couldn’t let herself feel hope at his words

. She’d been broken enough over him before. But hope…hope always ended badly. Something always happened to disappoint and then all that was left was to pick up the pieces.

“We’re only prolonging the inevitable. My flight does leave tomorrow; we can’t pretend that it doesn’t.”

Jason crossed his arms over his knees. “That doesn’t mean you have to be on it.”

“What do you mean?”

“Stay.”

She waited, willing him with all her heart to say the right words this time.

“Stay with me tonight, Molly. Come to my bed, make love to me again. Let me change your mind.”

Molly froze.

Let me change your mind. Those words echoed through her, stretching back six long, lonely years. This had been her greatest fear. And now, in the aftermath of their lovemaking, he had the power to do it all again.

He couldn’t realize that those had been the exact words he’d used that June morning. As if somehow she’d come around to the way he wanted things.

“Don’t. Don’t do this to me again.”

The line between his eyebrows wrinkled in confusion. “What exactly just happened? What am I doing again?”

He rose, grabbed his pants and pulled them on, leaving them unbuttoned.

Panic threaded through her. “Persuasion, that’s what!” She took another two steps backward, putting distance between them. “What’s your plan this time, Jason? Make love to me until I’m a puddle of goo, and then mold me to fit all your plans?”

“What in the world are you talking about?” His arm swept wide. “We were dancing! Kissing! We made love, and don’t say you didn’t feel it too because I was there! I’m asking you to stay this time! How much clearer can it be?”

“That’s the problem. It’s crystal clear!” Oh, why couldn’t he have just remained asleep then, so they didn’t end everything with an argument?

Jason heaved a sigh. “You were going along just fine, to my recollection,” he snapped back.

Her chin flattened. “That’s a low blow.”

“I’m a little frustrated here. All of a sudden I’m under attack and I’m not sure why.”

“So what happens after tomorrow?”

“I don’t know.”

She laughed bitterly. “Sure you do, Jason. Just say it. What’s the plan?”

His eyes darkened, wary. He couldn’t escape the thought that he was somehow walking into a trap. But he couldn’t put his finger on it. She was right, he did have a plan. He’d been thinking about their situation a lot lately, so of course he’d come up with a scenario or two.

“Well, since you’re job’s already on the line, you could quit before they have the chance to fire you…and stay here. Kim and Sara would love having you around more. We could take the time to see where this is going… I never stopped loving you Molly, you know that.”

“And then?”

Her voice was dangerously low and his lips thinned in response. She could tell he sensed the trap she was setting but wasn’t sure where it was. His response had been so close to her own plans it was eerie…and terrifying. Yet he still couldn’t see what it was she needed from him.

“And then I suppose our relationship will go to the next level. I never told you this but I kept the…”