Chapter 15

Chapter fifteen

Malcolm 

"Why did you hint at sex between us earlier?"

"I needed to make it sound real." Emily answered, sipping from her ice cube glass.

"Sounds logical, but now I actually wish we'd done that." I joked,  resting my head on the backrest with that same smile still on my face.

It wasn't until I lifted up my face that I realized that Emily hadn't dropped her glass.

“Did I startle you, sweetheart?” I asked, lifting my head and hand simultaneously. She was gazing at me like she'd been struck by lightning. “I was just messing with you. Nothing serious.” I said, in just defence and that seemed to work.

“Sorry, I must've taken that the wrong way.” She  mumbled, skittering nervously, and I thought for a second why that had been a bad joke.

It wasn't everyday I joked about intimate stuff like that, maybe that was why she took it the wrong way.

 "This is paradise, Malcolm. I'm so glad we came to Sicily." She commented, savoring the flaky pastries, and gazing out at the breathtaking view of the city.

“Yeah, me too. It's a great vacation from work.” I answered, resting my head on my hands, and staring into space.

“Do you have such a tedious day at work?” Emily quizzed, calmly.

“Oh, I do. It gets really exhausting and….. lonely sometimes.” I answered, shooting my eyes closed. 

Myriads of thoughts floated through my mind as I laid still, with my eyes closed. I had a bucket list of activities I would greatly love to take part in, but I couldn't. Not because a restriction was placed on me, but because I'd grown too busy.

While my mind reeled like a cyclone, I felt the world around me darken, as if the sun had veered off course and an eclipse replaced it. Jolting awake, my eyes locked onto Emily leaning into me, her features twisted in a mixture of concern and excitement.

There was something in her eyes, or perhaps I'd seen wrong. “What's, what's wrong?”

“Let's make a promise,” she said, her voice low and laced with mischief.

“What's that?” I asked, surprise and curiosity visible on my face at the same time.

“When we return to New York, you have to promise me that you'll always come home for lunch. I'll cook.” 

The promise caused me to jerk my head up and look into her face. “Are you serious?” I'd never considered going home for a break, because I never had breaks. No, not that I didn't, I just never saw the need for one.

“Absolutely.”

“I would love that.” I laughed, and returned my head to the backrest while she took a sip of her drink again.

Maybe she could teach me to take a break when I needed it because I needed to be reminded of how to do so.

***

The sky had turned pink and orange, revealing a breathtaking sunset when I arrived at my condo. The familiar scent of handpicked lavender wafted through my nostrils as I drew the window pane, realizing that something had been occupying my mind since I arrived.

I looked over at the other door which was firmly shut and suddenly felt a pang of unexplainable sadness hit my chest. It was strange, but I couldn't shake the thoughts of her off my mind. Her bright smile and infectious laugh kept ringing in my mind as I took off my shirt and tucked on my pajamas. I had spent the day apart from work for the first time, and surprisingly, it didn't feel hollow without my staff running around to meet deadlines.

Emily and I shared my condo space but slept in separate rooms. We weren't properly married after all, and rules had to be kept.

Retrieving my phone from the table, I scrolled through our pictures together and couldn't help smiling at them. The way her eyes sparkled in the image made my heart swell with happiness. And quite unexpectedly, I felt a pang of longing, wishing she was with me.

Yo, snap out of it! I instructed, shaking my head as if doing that would erase the thoughts of her from my mind.

I walked over to the couch, and ran my fingers over the soft cushions, while staring at her door, and wishing she would slip out for a glass of water, or anything else. 

Should I call her? What would I tell her? “Would you love to see a movie with me?” That sounded like a good enough gesture, but why would she want to see a movie with me?

My mind was still wrapped up in thoughts about her when my phone buzzed on the couch where I'd left it. I glanced at the caller ID as I retrieved it and smiled at the screen. There were tons of work related messages and mails, but my attention was only fixed on one.

“Hey,” I typed into the phone.

“Hey, are you asleep?” she replied, and I imagined her looking extremely cute in a nightie.

“Not yet, why?”

As I waited for her response, I wandered into the kitchen, where my eyes landed on the coffee mug she'd given me and on it was inscribed "World's Best Boss." I chuckled, feeling a warmth fill my chest. My condo used to be made up of my own stuff alone, but not since Emily came with me. It felt like every single item in the condo now held a different energy - get energy.

The sound of my phone beeping broke the silence, and I smiled again at her response: "Are you up for a movie?”

Was I? Why did she message me? Was she craving my presence too as I did hers? Quickly, I shook myself out of that illusion. Emily was just coming out of a damaging relationship, and I doubt she would want to get herself involved with me. 

But wait, I'm not trying to get involved with her either. It's too much work.

“Maybe tomorrow. I'll have an early start tomorrow.” I replied, and dropped my phone.