“Good morning, little Aria.” Brady sounds nice and chipper. I check my clock and groan inwardly.
Barely past six.
“Good morning. Why are you up so early?”
“I’m always up early. How about meeting for coffee?”
“Your wish is my command,” I grumble.
He laughs. “You’ll feel better with a little breakfast.”
“It’s your fault I’m so tired.”
“Oh, I’m sorry for keeping you up.”
I smile a little bit as parts of the night flash back. Brady on the stage, accepting the award. Brady’s mouth between my legs just before that, making me come.
“I forgive you,” I say lightly and stretch. “Where should we meet?”
“Your apartment,” he says. “There’s a place I want to try around the corner.”
“Okay.” I get up. “How about an hour?”
“See you then.”
He hangs up and I stumble out of bed. I hop in the shower right away, briefly wondering how Zoe did on her exam, but I figure she’ll still be sleeping.
I get dressed and spend some time making myself look nice. I don’t normally do this much so early in the morning, or even for my normal clients, but I suddenly want to impress Brady. Normally I don’t really care about that, since it’s not a sexual relationship, but with him…
Clearly, this is different. I’m in a relationship that I’ve never experience before. I’m not in complete control and I can’t pretend like there’s nothing sexual going on.
Clearly, we have a sexual connection. I can’t pretend like that’s not true. It’s as physical as it is emotional, and I need to come to grips with that fact if I’m going to be able to handle this moving forward.
Mixing business with this relationship is a bad idea. I know it’s a terrible, awful, really stupid idea, but it’s too late. I’m involved and I’m not turning back.
Plus, I don’t want to turn back. That’s the really scary part. I want to keep seeing Brady, even though I know things are going to get messier and messier.
Maybe I need messy. I’ve been so careful, for so long, maybe it’s time to make a mess.
I finish getting ready and head out. I take the old familiar route to my work apartment. It’s within walking distance of my normal apartment, although I take a longer, more complicated route. I don’t want anyone to follow me from my place to this work apartment, although I know that’s totally paranoid. Nobody’s following me, and sometimes, when I’m running late, I just go straight between them. Today though, I take my time.
I reach the apartment a little before seven. There’s a figure sitting on the stoop, and for a second, I assume that it’s Brady. But as I get closer, I realize it’s definitely not him, not him at all.
I slow as the man slowly stands up. He was slumped over to one side, his hair a mess, a jacket spread over his front like a blanket. His glasses are askew, and he adjusts them when he realizes I’m watching him.
Louis jumps to his feet, coughing. He looks like absolute shit, like he slept on this stoop last night.
“Louis?” I ask. “What are you doing here?”
“A-Aria,” he stammers. “I was, ah, just waiting for you, is all.”
I frown. “You got my message, right? I’m not seeing any clients this week. I’m on vacation.”
“Yes, well.” He looks embarrassed, but there’s a desperate tint in his eye. “I wanted to see you. It’s important.”
“Louis,” I say softly, but I don’t approach him. Something keeps me away. “Honey, you can’t be here right now. It isn’t fair to my other clients, and I’m not seeing anyone.”
“But you’re here,” he says. “That means you’re working, yes?”
“No,” I say, shaking my head. “I use this apartment for personal reasons sometimes.”
“Why are you here then?” His tone is almost accusatory. “What’s so important that you can’t even speak with me?”
I stare at him, taking in his appearance. His clothes are rumpled, his hair is sticking up, and there are bags under his eyes.
“Louis, did you sleep here last night?” I ask him as gently as I can.
His face tightens. “Of course not. I was just waiting for you.”
“Honey, you don’t look good. Why don’t you go home and get some rest? I’ll speak with you soon.”
“No,” he says sharply. “I came all the way here to see you.”
My heart starts beating and the fear starts to grow. I know Louis, I’ve known him for years. He’s one of my original clients. He’s a troubled man, prone to depression and anger, but he’s never been anything but sweet to me. I know his relationship with his wife isn’t good, that it’s been strained at best for years, but I thought he was working on that.
At least, I’ve been encouraging him to work on it.
Brady is going to be here soon. If he spots Louis like this, I don’t know what he’ll do. Worse, I don’t know what Louis will do. If he realizes that I’m seeing someone else all week, he might lose it, especially in this fragile state.