Chapter 24: Dehydrated

It was 7:30AM and I was sitting in the boardroom nibbling on my knuckles. Typically a cloudy brain could be prescribed with a good cup of coffee in the morning, but I already had two and I was still stuck on yesterday.

"Do you have the files I needed you to print for the meeting?" Chris whispered beside me.

Startled, I quickly handed over what he asked for. "Sorry."

Chris's brows were up high in question, but I dismissed his worry with a smile. The moment he returned to his duties, I was chewing on my skin again. Shortly after, I heard the boss calling for attention at the front of the room but I didn't regard him so quickly.

I was in the meeting, but almost every word went over my head. I was reveling in my backfired wish of having a mental diversion so I couldn't think too much into what was or wasn't happening with the pair of green eyes that focused on me more than they should have for the entire hour.

One hour later, the meeting ended. My reaction to standing up with everyone else was delayed, but I quickly followed suit and shadowed after Chris and Renee. Luckily they were too busy to notice that I was in a completely different world.

I was still thinking about last night– me and Andre.

"You know I still love you, Ada."

I couldn't answer him back. I just stared at him, as my eyes already red from crying before we could even sit down. Hearing those words come from him again hit me like a tidal wave and I wasn't sure what to do with myself. At the end, he tried to kiss me again, but I turned my cheek to him. I couldn't let him go so easily, but at the same time, I was too afraid to remember an old taste.

It wasn't unusual to receive an email from Renee, but this time the content didn't have anything work related in the body.

Are you okay?

-R

I didn't bother to respond, instead I got up and walked over to her desk. Her large eyes were feathered in pretty coral and looking up to me when I mouthed, "No."

"A man?" she asked back.

"How did you know?!"

"I know that look, girl," she groaned, with leveled brows.

I sighed, after lightly stomping, "I'm so sorry that it's so obvious. I'm at work right now and can barely focus."

"Well Ada... it happens. As much as people like to say that you need to leave your personal problems at home, we spend a majority of our day here. It's virtually impossible to leave our personal situations outside of work."

She's right.

"You may be clearly distracted, but not enough to interfere with your work. Thanks for that data compilation by the way," she winked with a huge grin.

"You're welcome, Renee," I smiled.

"And if you want to talk about this guy later, you know where to find me."

Not only was I feeling ten thousand times better, but I took her up on that offer when lunch reared its head. Chris was too busy to come, and I was relieved that my tragic love life was going to fall on only one set of ears this time. We entered inside of a little Italian restaurant, and when I broke down tale of Andre and Ada, it was safe to conclude that Renee was aghast at the very end.

Spaghetti dangled from the fork hovering in front of her mouth, and I insecurely shrugged, "I mean... I can understand why he feels that way."

"Not enough not enough to just break it off without proper explanation... You literally stuck with him through school, convinced him not to quit when shit got rough, and then he gets a job and wants to be all high and mighty? Ada..." Renee scowled.

I looked down to my plate of ravioli, "Well, when you put it that way..."

Renee scoffed, "Yah, sometimes you need someone else to repeat exactly what you've said so you can hear how ridiculous it sounds. I know we do crazy things when we're in love, but that's a huge slap in the face. Ada, you are brilliant, hilarious, and gorgeous. You can and will do better."

*

"Are you with me?" Mr. Leoné asked quietly.

I shook my stupor away and looked him in the eye before nodding. I still hadn't ridden myself of the staring off habit, but it was hard when I was thinking about what I was really going to do after 3PM.

He removed the softness from his voice and narrowed his eyes. "You're not. You've been vacant all day."

"Yes, sir. I'm sorry," I muttered.

His question was quick, "May I know why?"

Would I even tell you?

The strange thing was that I almost felt compelled to tell him. But our stare down was reminding me that there was a wall behind the executive-employee relationship.

You wouldn't tell me if the tables were turned.

Lowering my attention to his hands, I lazily denied, "It's personal."

Moments of silence were a staple of our encounters now, and it always forced one of us to look at the other. The color of frustration was coming to him, and I knew what was coming next.

"I feel as though we have a communication problem," he admitted confidently.

That's... not what I was expecting.

Murmuring with bewilderment, I returned, "I'm not sure I understand?"

He paused for several seconds and looked down to the fingers he linked together atop his desk ,"If there is something that you believe will interfere with your work... whether it be somewhat personal... do feel free to keep me abreast of what is happening."

I was gawking at him, and he swallowed hard before he concluded, "Ms. Young, I appreciate the work that you do for me. You are a very valuable asset to my company. "

"I am?" I whimpered.

The sound of my voice picked his eyes up from his hands before forcing himself to his feet.

"Yes," he panicked with furrowed brows, speeding from around his desk.

He was standing in front of me, and the last time we were this close was flashing in my mind. I looked up to him with my reddened eyes, ashamed that I couldn't hold my stupid feelings together.

We couldn't reenact what happened nights ago, but I was seconds away from throwing all the regulations aside. It was clear that the feeling was mutual while he used heavy breaths to maintain self-control. However, it only took seconds for my rules to vanish and his invisible walls to go with them.

The side of my head was up against his chest. There was a drunken sensation consuming my mind as I was reacquainted to his warmth. Enfolded in his arms, I wasn't able to hold back anymore of the tears that were sick of hiding away. Harboring myself to him wasn't something I hesitated to do, and when I did, I could feel his fingers gently curling into the fabric of my jacket.

Ezra.

Abrupt chimes and vibrations erupted from his desk, and I frantically removed myself from him. Ezra's was studying over me with fearful eyes, and I could see my name about to slip from his lips.

"I'm so sorry," I cried, before he could dare to say it.

In fact, I didn't give him a chance to say one word, bolting from his office and using the stairwell to make sure that I wouldn't run the risk of him catching up to me.

I knew I was going to mess things up!

I was so angry with myself for crying in front of him again, but I had no idea that that was going to be his response. I wish he never did that. I tried to immediately forget how his touch just made me feel, but then it felt nearly impossible when I caught the scent of him all over my clothes. I hardly recall him having a basic clean scent outside of fresh cotton or linens, but now there was the faint aroma of a cologne that I was wildly drawn to. It had me turning my nose to my shoulder more times than I realized, and I was still inhaling deep it as I walked out of the building after 3PM.

The odds that I would see Ezra as I left were low, but of course today's probabilities were haywire. The black car was out front, Kyle was hanging onto the handle of an open back door, but his green-eyed passenger was motionless. That color was stuck on me as I descended the stairs, and his briefcase was in a grip so tight I could see his skin changing color from my distance.

Breathe.

I couldn't breathe until I had to turn away from him, and walk in a direction that strayed from home.

*

"Are you with me?" Andre asked across the booth.

We were sitting in a burger bistro, and my blank expression was erased as I turned to him. Andre smirked with lifted brows, waiting for my answer.

"Uh, yeah," I droned, scratching the side of my head.

He laughed, "I've missed that far off look you get when you're thinking really hard."

You have?

"Hmm," I responded, looking down at the menu.

"So whatchu wanna to eat?" he asked scanning the laminated trifold.

I put my menu down and answered, "I'm just going to have the house salad."

Haven't had one in a while...

"That's it?" he questioned with furrowed brows.

"Yeah," I snipped.

He was no stranger to my attitude. "What's your problem?"

"I'm just tired, and I had a long day," I retorted, crossing my arms over the table and looking away.

"You still an intern at that place?" he asked lowly.

Glaring at him, I grumbled, "Yes."

"I wasn't implying anything, girl," he immediately defended. "I just wanna know more about this place you're working at. I mean, it must be what's up since you're living on your own now."

I looked up to the ceiling and recited, "It's great. I work closely with the owner and he really likes my work."

"Good. Sounds like you'll be full-time in no time," he said with a one-sided smile.

*

I wouldn't let Andre walk me home. I wasn't comfortable with letting him get too close again just yet. My space was one of the few things that I actually had left to myself, and I was happy to unlock the door of the tiny apartment and be greeted by a fuzzball.

The tense muscles in my body deserved a hot shower, and I couldn't wait to be under the cascading warmth. I disappeared into my bathroom, ready to undress to toss my clothes into the hamper, but I had to pause again.

A little bit of Ezra was still lingering around, and there was no denying that I was completely infatuated with the smell considering that I took another secret whiff of my clothes in the hamper when I stepped out of the shower.

Something told me that I should have been thinking about Andre and where I was trying to place him in my life again, but he wasn't the reason why it took me so long to prepare for the night– slowly applying lotion while casually drifting off into an imaginary world where things were very different.

After thirty minutes, I finally escaped the steamy confines of the bathroom and stepped out into studio. However, my brain wasn't quite done nurturing an incredible imagination. I licked and bit my lower lip, thinking hard about my next actions.

Looking at the bed that didn't belong to me, I was wondering if it was anything like his. Plain but elegant, a soft white mattress closed in the perimeter of dark wood. With caution I set myself on it again, taking time to lie flat, under the covers, and press the back of my head into the plush pillow.

And this feels incredible.

Ensconced, in a bed of luxury, it was hard not to declare it superior to my twin-sized that was waiting to be removed from storage. Relaxed and alone in a bed, I closed my eyes and let a thought finally come to surface.

It's fine; it's just my imagination.

But I always underestimated the power of where the mind could take you and how real everything could seem when you let your hands wander. My heavy breathing was growing more audible the more I explored places I had neglected for a very long time. It didn't take long for me to become reacquainted with what I liked with the thought of Ezra's eyes poring over me as I walked out of his building.

I was so close– one hand covered my lips to mask the gruff yearns.

"Are you with me?"

I yanked the plush covers over my mouth, twisting and bellowing with starved eagerness. The intensity was slow to fade as I unmasked my mouth– catching my breath and letting my body unravel back into reality.

My eyes peeled open into fine slits, and I continued to tremble when I gasped, "Shit."