“She’s an employee. Your emplo
yee. You remember what happened last time you went there,” he reminded me as Lola’s face flashed through my mind. She worked with us five years ago and was Brent’s assistant. We started talking at a bar after work and before I knew it, I was waking up in her bed. We managed to keep it going for a few months, but Lola got pissed off that I was seeing other women and caused a bit of a scene at the office.
It was then that I swore I’d never sleep with someone at the office again.
“She’s not Lola and it’s not gotten that far to begin with.” I assured him as we ran in silence for a few minutes.
“I knew there was something going on. I’ve never seen you push me away from a woman like that before.” Brent told me as I nodded.
“I know how you are and she’s better than that,” I shot back as he laughed.
“In that case, should I warn her away from you? We’re a lot alike, my friend.” Brent said as I thought about his words. We’d been that way in our twenties for sure. I think we slept with every girl that would let us and sometimes together. We weren’t above sloppy seconds in those days, either. I shuddered at the idea of doing any of that with Soledad.
“I am not going to rush this along. I won’t see her until Monday and she might have moved on by then.” I made my tone a joking one and increased the speed of the treadmill. I needed a reason for my heart to be beating like this other than my emotions getting the better of me.
We ran for an hour and then hit the racquetball court for another hour. We were brutal when it came to competing against one another and not left with a few aches and pains. Brent asked me if I wanted to grab some lunch and we headed to a deli around the corner from the gym. We chatted about lighter subjects and made plans to go to a friend’s house that night before I headed home to shower again.
I arrived home late Saturday night or early Sunday morning, depending on how you looked at it. I was drunk but alone and Brent told me I had it bad when I turned away some women at the party. I just didn’t want the complications after thinking about the problems it had already caused me. I took the day to relax and catch up on sleep as I considered getting a hold of Soledad. I had the number to her work phone and it would be so easy to send a quick text, but I shouldn’t. We could face this tomorrow and see how we felt.
I did head to the store to stock up on some groceries that afternoon. I passed a park along the way and stopped at the red light as I looked over at the swings. I smiled when I saw Soledad pushing a little girl with a huge smile on her face and took them in for a moment. Her daughter looked a lot like her and something about Soledad’s joy in this moment got to me. I heard someone honk and glanced ahead, moving forward with a jerk as I brought myself back to reality. I kept going and bought some food for the week, keeping it all clean and healthy. I’d given in to temptation this weekend and eaten complete shit and drank too much.
Chapter Five
Soledad
I couldn’t stop thinking about Alex all weekend. Everything happened so quickly on Friday night and I swore that my lips were still tingling on Sunday night. I had no idea how to act with him on Monday, but I was a big girl. I could make this work with my job and my boss. Of course, I’d pick the job between the two for the sake of Lindsay.
I was surprised when Carly called me Sunday afternoon and asked if I’d like to take the week to move in. I barely had anything, but she didn’t know that, so I took her up on it. I brought Lindsay and Rosie along with me, so they could see the place, not surprised by Carly’s slightly aloof attitude towards me. She was professional to the naked eye, but I could see past that and merely thanked her for the keys and left the office.
I led the way to the unit and Lindsay babbled about the three large pools and pretty flowers that were planted everywhere. It rained a lot here, but the color was nice when the sun was out. Being that summer was just beginning, we should have a few good days of that. I led the way up the stairs, reminding my daughter that she needed to be careful when walking up the four sets of cement steps. I also told her that she needed to be quiet when she was home and to not disturb the people living underneath us.
“Oh, Soledad. This is gorgeous,” Rosie told me as we walked into the foyer. We’d made a deal that she’d help with groceries with her small retirement and disability coming in, but I’d pay the brunt of things due to the fact that she was my sitter. That would cost me half of my salary in one of the learning centers scattered all around Seattle. I was happy to have Rosie with us.
“It is,” I agreed with a smile as I remembered how Alex’s lips felt on mine Friday night. I sighed when Lindsay picked the room to the left of the hallway without a balcony and allowed Rosie to take the one to the left of that. That left the room that I’d been making out with Alex in and I walked inside and looked around at the familiar furniture. The bed was large against the wall and I let my imagination roam for a moment, picturing myself under the covers with Alex. I knew from his kisses that he would be great in bed and shivered at the idea.
“Mommy?” I smiled at Lindsay. “I love my room.”
“I’m glad, baby girl.” She’d been sleeping with me for the last several months and I wondered if she would transition well to having her own space. It was a gorgeous room with plenty of room for her to add clothes and toys to her small collection and offered a beautiful view of the courtyard. Now that I had a reasonable place and this job, I’d be able to build something for us again.
We sat in the living room and decided to move in the following evening after I was finished with work. We had just a few bags of our things that I’d moved with and it would be one trip in my old Camry. I drove us back to the hotel and prepared myself for the following morning.
I selected a black pencil skirt and ruffled red shirt for work before pulling my hair into a low ponytail. I knew that Alex was picking me up and I left the keys to the car and apartment with Rosie, urging her to take anything over today. I didn’t drive on a normal day. I slipped my purse over my body and left the room to see Alex sitting in the parking lot. I smiled and got into the SUV, smiling as he handed me a coffee. “Thank you.”
“Cream and sugar?” he asked as I nodded. “I watched you make it at work before.”
“You’re observant,” I noted as he pulled out to the road.
“I am when I have some interest in something, or somebody,” Alex assured me as I flushed pink. “How was the rest of your weekend?”
“Good. We got the keys to the apartment yesterday which was a surprise. We’re just going to go there tonight and sleep. It’s so much nicer than my room.” I glanced at him as I sipped the perfect coffee with a smile.
“That’s a great idea. You don’t have much to take over?” Alex asked as I shook my head at a stoplight. “Need any help?”
“I told Rosie to go ahead and start moving stuff today. It should be an easy job,” I assured him, appreciating the help. We pulled into the parking lot and he found a spot in a corner before he turned off the engine. I watched as Alex sat there for a moment before turning to look at me.
“I won’t apologize for kissing you Friday night,” he said softly as our eyes locked. “I wanted that, Soledad. I want to do more of it.”
I nodded as I played with the cup in my lap. “What about work?” I looked at the brick building across the parking lot and worried in silence for a moment.