A Locked Door and a Long Night

I took a closer look at her and I realized I wasn't being fair to her. Here she was, separated from her family with no other company but mine and I ran out on her every night. I warred with myself, I wanted to stay but I also couldn't stand the torture of being beside her and not being able to touch her, to feel her. What would she do if I reached for her?

I took a step towards her, and another and another. The closer I got, the more evident the tension in her body was. Her fingers gripped the blanket she had wrapped around her like some sort of protection talisman but she stood her ground, tilting her chin to look at me, daring herself to be brave. 

I stopped inches away, my hand wrestling with my heart, to reach out and touch her hair, her face, her lips. Slowly, I bent my head, leaning in as if to kiss her. Her breath hitched, her lips thinning in fear… I think. 

I kissed her cheek instead, lingering just long enough for her to rethink her request. "Goodnight, Nita," I whispered, pulling back. 

"You're leaving?" she asked, her voice barely above a whisper.

"I can't stay, Nita. I'm sorry,"

I turned and walked out before I could change my mind.

*****

I stepped out of the shower, attacking my hair with a towel as I glanced toward the bed. Nita sat cross-legged, on the bed pretending not to have been looking at my bare chest a few seconds ago. She had been doing it quite often these days; to save her the embarrassment, I didn't say anything to her about it. Besides, I loved that I interested her in the tiniest sexual way. She flipped through a magazine I knew she had no real interest in. 

"I don't understand how one can spend five thousand dollars on a pair of heels," she said, her voice laced with wonder. 

"Stop sounding cheap. You're a Numero now. Five thousand dollars is change," I said sitting on the edge of the bed. 

She rolled her eyes, tossing the magazine aside. "Are you ready to go back to the real world?"

I leaned back on my elbows, two weeks were finally over. "the resort is a nice place but not enough for me to not get any formal work done. My dad is handling things again for now but I know he can't wait for me to get back. He would pull the plug on the honeymoon if my mum wasn't going to give him hell,"

"So, he is finally handing over to you then?"

"Yeah,"

"I guess our one-year arrangement is already yielding fruits,"

"It's going to be chaos, the first few weeks anyway. Meetings, press releases, boardrooms filled with people who'll hate my guts for being younger than them."

"You can handle it," she said confidently.

"How would you know that?"

"Because I have seen what you can do when you set your mind to something. Besides, Just turn on your ridiculous charm," she teased, 

I chuckled. "What about you?" I asked, shifting the focus. "Are you ready for your interview?"

"I still can't believe I'll be working at your company. It feels... strange." She said fiddling with the blanket.

"Why? Because we're married?"

She nodded, "People will think I didn't earn the position,"

I sat up, my expression serious. "You think I would offer you the job if I didn't know you could handle it. your former boss, even though he was almost pissing his pants when we spoke had nothing but high praise for you,"

"Thanks."

"Don't mention it," I said, "Now, go to sleep. Tomorrow, we switch on the ridiculous charm for the world to see,"

She chuckled and lay down, pulling the blanket up to her chin. I grabbed my shirt from the chair, preparing to leave as usual.

"Don't even think about it," she said.

I turned to look at her, her form still on the bed with her back to me, "Think about what?"

"Leaving," she said, 

"Nita, I have to," I said pulling my shirt over my head and walking to the door. I put my hand on the handle and pulled but it wouldn't budge.

"Nita," I said slowly. "Did you lock the door?"

She didn't answer.

"Nita," I tried again, turning back to her.

"Oh, come on!" I exclaimed, patting my pockets for the key. Nothing. "Nita, Where's the key?"

No response.

"Nita!"

I sighed and began searching the room for the key, I checked under the bed, behind the curtains, even in the bathroom.

Finally, I gave up and plopped down on the couch, "This is going to be a long night," I muttered.

*****

Sometime in the middle of the night, I felt a gentle nudge on my shoulder. I had dozed off while watching Spongebob.

"Richard," her soft voice called.

I opened my eyes to find her sitting beside me, a blanket wrapped around her shoulders.

"What?" I grumbled and sat up.

"Come to bed," she said.

"I'm fine here," I replied stubbornly.

"Richard you can't sleep sitting down,"

"I'll survive," I said, turning away.

"Richard," she said, "Please."

I looked at her, surprised by the emotion in her voice. What exactly did she want from me? Her eyes held mine, pleadingly.

She leaned in and pressed her lips gently to mine. I froze for a minute, my brain temporarily shutting down before kicking back on. I let her kiss me, giving her the chance to set the pace herself even though it was killing me to have this much self-control. I wanted to take her to bed and explore every single inch of her with my tongue. Her lips were soft and sweet, oh the things I could get that mouth to do to me. She pulled back looking into my eyes, unaware of the explicit thoughts going on in my head, ignorant to the fact that I now, thanks to her, had a very rigid and annoyed erection. I knew it would be a long night.