Into the Darkness

This was not the Charlotte I knew. This chick was a hard-ass. Fuck, it was turning me on. She hung up the phone.

“I’m so sorry,” she said again.

“It’s fine. I get it, the whole work thing.”

“So what is it you do, Mr. Edwards?”

Oh no, there she goes agai

n. I adjusted my pants. “Too much, I can’t keep track anymore. I’m a workaholic.” Call me Mr. Edwards again, pretty please with a cherry on top… She took a bite of her brownie, licking her lips as she did. Was there a restroom in here? My pants felt like they were two sizes too small. “Delicious?” I asked.

She licked her lips again. “I’ve had better.”

I took the fork off her plate and tasted a piece. “Tastes perfect to me.”

We sat there, I could see the lust in her eyes. I looked at her chest, her cleavage apparent, and her tits… Oh for fuck’s sake, they were staring at me. I wanted to taste her but I needed to give her the space she asked for if we stood any kind of a chance. I broke the tension. I wanted her to know my intentions.

“I’m heading back to London tonight.” Her demeanor changed, her face turning to what looked like anger. It caught me off guard so I quickly followed up. “I expect to be back in New York next Friday.”

“As in, two weeks away?” she asked quietly.

I felt terrible. Suddenly she was back and I was leaving again. Good ole’ Lex just couldn’t get his shit together. I wanted to stay with her but I had a meeting on Tuesday which had taken months to plan. We had a lot riding on this and I knew what it would do for Lexed.

“Yes.” I was about to lean over when she started grabbing her things.

“I’ve really got to go. My next meeting is in twenty minutes.” She stood up, averting her eyes from mine.

“Can I call or email or text you?”

“I’m really booked up with appointments this week and a few events I need to attend.”

“With Julian?” I asked, regretting it immediately.

“Lex, don’t.”

“Charlotte, c’mon. Why do you have to go? Please stay a little while longer.”

“Goodbye, Lex.”

She walked out of the coffee shop and once again I felt like my whole world was crashing down around me. Leaving me there alone, I tried to figure out what I had done so wrong. I told her my intentions of going back to London but I was going to return. Something changed in her, and I didn’t know why. This was not goodbye, far from it. I was going to go to London to sort out all the shit there then get set up here. All I had to do was get through the next two weeks without seeing her. If I could last seven years without her, I could last two weeks. At least that’s what I told myself. Yes, I can do that. I’m used to being in control.

Then why did it fucking hurt like hell to leave?

Chapter 15

Charlie

Monday morning, my favorite day of the week right? Not today. I was spent. The ache between my legs was persistent. Out of frustration I screamed in my bed, annoyed with whatever this was that was taking over me. My cell buzzed and I was ready to beat the crap out of whoever thought it was OK to text me this early.

Are you free today for coffee? I promise I’ll be on my best behavior.

Oh. I quickly checked my schedule. I didn’t want to make Lex think I would easily agree to meet him for coffee so I played hard-to-get. After making him beg for it, I agreed. As soon as I hit send, I immediately felt guilty. I shouldn’t be seeing him behind Julian’s back. How would I feel if Julian was seeing his ex behind my back? I thought about it for a second and to be honest I wouldn’t have cared. I trusted him.

I was feeling a little anxious about meeting Lex, but what was the worst that could happen? It was a public place. Then again so were the charity ball and the night club…

As I entered the café he was already sitting there, typing on his blackberry. As he saw me his face broke out into a smile. He stood up and kissed me politely on the cheek, catching me by surprise as I felt that spark between us ignite. Dammit, I thought, I needed to get through this with my clothes on.

I made the mistake of mentioning that I had spoken to Adriana. He teased me, asking if I wanted to know what happened. I shot him down, telling him to hold onto the secret. It was best I didn’t know the complete story; if I knew then maybe the questions would start and ultimately only he was the one who could answer them.