Ten days later...

Wellesley, Massachusetts

With every day that passes since Aims and I checked out of the Beacon, the small flame of hope in my chest is snuffed out a little further.

I refuse to call him myself.

For a moment, hope flared briefly again when I'd missed a call from an unknown number.

Before I could call back, I'd shown Aims in my anxious excitement. She'd immediately recognized Beau's sports management agency, though. Then she became curious. Ultimately, she decided he must have been calling secretly to plan a surprise party for her birthday in a few weeks—her excitement slide over me, crushing my hopes without her even realizing it.

I'd immediately texted Beau, asking if he had something in mind or if he tried to call. He couldn't remember but thought he might have. He'd immediately dived into the planning for the big even then and there, the original question long forgotten.

And so, all I had left was my pride, after all. That day, I'd tucked Griff's note and business card into the small box of memories I kept in my closet and decided to look ahead rather than into the past. It was high time I let myself try to be happy with someone who valued me.

As soon as I'd closed that box of memories and tucked it away three days ago, my phone rang. When I'd answered, it had been Rob on the other end of the line like another karmic sign.

So, I'd agreed to see him that night, and he'd followed up again this week, insisting we spend more time together. I like that he wants to be with me, that he prioritizes it.

"Where is that beautiful mind at, Anna?"

The man in question's voice pulls me out of my internal bubble, so I smile at him and take a small sip of wine to buy myself a moment.

"Sorry, Rob. I was just thinking of the future, of what's important— mostly my kids, and getting a class of my own, full time." I tell the white lie with ease, refusing to feel guilty over my wandering thoughts. My students were never far from my thoughts.

He places his hand over mine and squeezes gently. "I love that you care so deeply for your students, Anna."

His eyes meet mine as he watches me from over the rim of his own wine glass. Neither of us speaks for a moment, but something shifts across his expression.

As he sets his glass down, he turns my hand over on the table and links his long, slender fingers through mine. They are smooth, without the trace of calluses, there. A small attestation to his softer life of privilege. "Might I be so presumptuous to ask if you think there's a place for me in that future?"

"You may." I can resist teasing him, just a little.

It's been nearly eight months of casual dating, I'd been expecting for him to take a step in this direction. It was time for both of us.

After all, he's everything I should wish for, everything I should want. I could be happy with him if I let myself.

I let my eyes wander over him, his tall, sleek build—elegantly dressed in his work attire today. The sandy brown hair is perfectly styled into a thick, luxurious comb-over that screams C-suite executive.

His all-American good looks are a tool he knows how to use—both in the boardroom and outside of it. To top it all off, a nearly-too-charming smile is often lingering over his expression, like he's smiled so much in his life that it's become his natural resting expression now.

But I think his best feature is his eyes. The light, golden hazel color is striking with his lightly tanned skin. His gaze is kind, interested, and engaged. He can make anyone feel like they're the center of his world. And right now, that's me.

His soft chuckle makes me smile, and I lift my eyes to meet his.

"Well, if you're going to be like that, then I guess I'll have to be more direct." His eyes light with humor, and he continues, "Anna, I'd like to take our relationship to the next level. Come home with me for this weekend, meet my family. It's my grandmother's ninetieth birthday and will be the perfect opportunity. I'm in this for the long run; I hope you are, too. I think we'll make an amazing team, an amazing couple, and perhaps one day, an amazing family."

I take a deep breath, steadying myself for the plunge. "I'd like that, too, Rob. I couldn't agree more."

"It's settled, then." He lifts my hand to his lips, lingering just a little over the otherwise chaste kiss. When he releases me, he lifts his class and cocks an eyebrow. "Here's to us, and a beautiful future."

I lift my glass, lightly clinking it against his before settling back to finish my wine.

Once he's signaled for the bill, I excuse myself to the ladies' room, agreeing to meet him by the valet in a few moments.

Like a true gentleman, he's waiting with my jacket and slides it over my shoulder before opening the door and ushering me ahead of him.

He's nothing if not the perfect gentleman.

"I'd like you to spend the night, if it suits you, of course. Should we stop by yours on the way? Selfishly, I'd like to ask you to pack at least a few days' worth."

I smile and nod. "That would be great. I can stay a few nights, at least. Do you mind dropping me at the school on your way to the office? Otherwise, I'll need to follow you home in my car." Due to the more casual side of our relationship, I already have a few things at his place, but it's not as much as I'd like to be comfortable.

An hour and one brief stop later, we're pulling into the garage of his townhouse. An odd feeling of foreign domesticity settles over me as I think about my routine change for the next few days.

But Rob doesn't leave me much room to ponder my new situation. He tugs me inside, tossing my overnight bag at the bottom of the stairs and pulling me in for a deep, slow kiss.

I twine my arms around his neck, letting him hold me to him. The feelings roll through me like slightly cool molasses; slow, and just a little stiff. But I try to ease into the sensations as his hands roam over me.

"I've missed you. It feels like I haven't had my hands on you in weeks, rather than days. Somehow, it feels different this time Anna. I'm glad about it. Let me take you to bed."

I smile against his lips, then rub my cheek against his smooth one, with only the slightest shadow of stubble after the full day that's passed.

I've come to know what to expect from Rob in the bedroom. He's not a bad lover, or an overly selfish one, for that matter. But neither is he excessively generous.

When we reach his bedroom, the dark hues and mahogany furniture make the room feel dark, masculine, heavy. Everything is perfectly placed, and Rob navigates the path to the bed smoothly as he kisses me.

When he backs me into the edge of the bed, he begins to undress himself, leaving me to do the same. His actions are precise, methodical, routine. As is the way he pays attention to my body, to my needs.

My bare back hits the soft, high thread-count sheets, and I jolt at the feeling of the cool material against my skin.

Rob kisses a trail across my collarbone, up my neck, then back to my lips, sinking into the kiss with a sigh. His hands are soft, gentle, lacking urgency or desperation.

Like clockwork, after what he defines as an appropriate amount of exploration, he's moving over me, moving into me, moving with me. It's been months since we'd agreed we could safely move ahead without protection; I was on birth control, after all.

I make a mental note to check my calendar to switch my NuvaRing, since I don't want to get my period over the weekend, then close my eyes and let my hands stroke up Rob's back. After a few more strokes of his athletically narrow hips, he collapses against me, sated.

I snuggle into his embrace as he shifts to his side and kisses my temple. "That was amazing, Anna. I knew it would be, even more so once we agreed to a more permanent relationship."

Sighing, I nod, too embarrassed to say anything about my own lack of climax to him at this point. I suppose it's something that will come once I relax more with him. Once I get used to this new reality.

I know it takes some women a long time to learn their body's response to a specific lover. Perhaps it will be the same for me.

Rob's hands slide into my hair, stroking, lifting the heavy mass of it to the side, and I shiver. At least he's a cuddler. At least this, I can really enjoy.

He props himself up on one elbow, his free hand continuing to trace patterns on my bare back.

"Tell me, Anna. What do you want for the future?"

I close my eyes and smile. Now this, I appreciate—his attentiveness to my hopes, my dreams, to how we can align our hopes together.

"I want to be happy."

Rob chuckles. "How can we break that big end goal down into smaller chunks? Let's start professionally, then work our way to more personal topics."

Trust Rob to take the practical, analytical approach lying naked in each other's arms.

"Well, in the immediate future, I'd love to move from teaching part-time to teaching full time. I love the school, but I want to work with kids, not with admin, or marketing, or events."

He nods, encouraging me to continue.

"I want to make a difference for my kids. If I can even impact one child in each class, or help them find their way, then I've done my job. I want to foster that beautiful, untouched, unjaded, unbiased potential in these kids and help them find what makes them different, unique, happy."

I guess that's a lot to ask if a kindergarten teacher, but to me, it's the perfect age to tap into and identify the activities that start to bring them joy and a sense of accomplishment.

"A noble pursuit." His lips rub over the sensitive skin under my ear, and I smile, turning my face to meet his for a short kiss. "And personally?"

His tone is more serious this time, so I roll onto my side to face him.

"Well, one day, I'd like a family—maybe two or three kids. I was always so lonely as an only child. I'd like to have Gran move closer, but we'll see about that since she loves the heat. I want a partner who accepts me, who encourages me, who loves me, and who will always love me. I want someone who will choose me first over any other commitments in their life. To me, that's what love is. It's putting each other first."

Rob is quiet for a moment as he reflects on everything I've said. When it's clear he doesn't intend to respond right now, I turn the questions back to him.

"What about you? Same questions."

He bites my shoulder lightly, then flops onto his back, pulling me to rest my head on his chest. "I want to grow my family business, attract a new generation of money to manage. I'd even like to consider expanding outside Boston, but we'll see. That might be up to a future generation."

When he winks at me, I know he's teasing, just a little, so I smile back. "Perhaps I should add, it's important to me that kids find their own path, rather than follow a path laid out for them."

He tweaks my nose. "We can discuss those particulars later. While I'd never force a child to pick up the mantle, I'd certainly push for it and encourage it."

"At any rate," he continues, pushing past any further objection or commentary from me. "Personally, I'm looking for a steady partner who will engage with the local community, who will engage with my family. I'd like two kids, not sure about three. Depends on how the business is going and all that. Three kids going through the American college system already gives me a headache. I want a partner who will stand by me as I continue to drive the business's community outreach and hopefully help me do that. Someone who could pick worthy recipients for the outreach and manage those programs with me."

For a moment, I get a flash that he's looking for a business partner, and not a personal partner, but I stay silent, letting him finish, just as he'd let me. Dreams are dreams, after all. And everyone is different.

"Of course, it wouldn't hurt if she were beautiful, like you." This makes me smile, and he tips my chin up to kiss my lips gently. "Why don't we get ready for bed and get some sleep. I'd love to take you for breakfast in the morning before school starts."

"That sounds perfect. Let me just go clean up for a moment, I'll be right back."

He follows me into the bathroom, handing me a towel as I step into the shower. I hang it on the back wall of the gorgeous, large, open concept steam shower, luxuriating in the hot water.

"I'll leave the toothpaste out, Anna. I'm going for a glass of water. Do you want anything?"

"I'll have a glass of water, too, thanks. Be out in a few minutes."

I rush through the rest of my shower, hoping to go to the bathroom before he returns. I laugh at myself and shake my head. It shouldn't matter if I have to pee in front of him, but somehow that seems like a step you can never go back from.

I sit on the toilet, wrapped in a fluffy, white towel. I don't know what prompts me to check, but I quickly slide one finger up to check the position of my ring and freeze. It's not there.

"Anna? You almost ready? I'll set the alarm for five-thirty."

I flush the toilet, then wash my hands, calming myself with my logical thoughts. It likely slipped out tonight in bed. It will probably be between the sheets.

And if not?

I push the thought away and hurry to the bed, then flip the covers back, running my hands over the dark blue sheets. Rob immediately flicks the overhead lights on.

"Did you lose an earring or something?"

I shake my head. "Did you feel my birth control ring tonight when we had sex? Do you remember if you felt it the other night?"

Rob's face freezes in that affable expression that I'm so familiar with.

"I can't say that I noticed either time." His voice is soft, carefully calm.

I close my eyes, frantically checking the sheets again and again. Rob's hands close over my wrists, and he pushes me to sit down on the edge of the bed.

"Calm down, Anna. Talk to me, what's going on?"

"My NuvaRing fell out. If it isn't here, it means that it fell out before, and maybe days ago, I don't know. I haven't checked for it in a while. I'm due for my period in four or five days or so, I think, so I haven't checked since I changed it. I was thinking of trying to skip my period for the party this weekend but now I don't know. If it fell out before, I could be at risk of getting pregnant. I'm not sure. I would have noticed, right?"

I scramble, trying to do the math, but I can't think straight. We had sex three days ago, but I don't remember checking it.

Where am I in my cycle? Am I ovulating? Am I potentially fertile? Am I still protected by the hormones from the birth control depending on when it fell out? What am I going to do? I can't be a twenty-four-year-old single mom.

But, what if he doesn't want what I want? Could I manage alone? What are my options?

My lungs constrict tightly as the realization of what could happen crashes down on me. As the choices I need to face weigh on me.

Rob immediately kneels in front of me, squeezing my knees. "Take a breath, Anna. There's nothing we can do tonight. It's clearly not here, we'd be able to see it against the dark sheets, right? It's clear? White?"

"Opaque, cloudy-clear, sort of. It's like the size of a golf ball in diameter."

"Okay. It's okay. Let's just be rational about this. I'm twenty-eight, financially stable, looking for a long-term relationship. You're twenty-four, arguably a little young, but it's okay, Anna. I don't have sex lightly; I know there are always risks, even if you're safe. If a man decided to have sex with a woman, they have to be prepared for taking on moments just like this. If I weren't ready for such a discussion or potential reality, I would never have stopped using a condom. If— and that's a big if— it happens, I know what I want. We can talk about it when you know more."

I nod, feeling relieved that at least one of us is rational. His certitude is a balm to my own nerves.

"Come, let's get some sleep. We can wait until your period is supposed to come, or we can get a pregnancy test. Either way, we'll be better equipped to deal with everything when we aren't so tired and emotional."

As he pulls the sheets back into place, I curl on my side, the numbers running through my head as I try to figure out what kind of risk there is and what I might be inclined to do about it.

When his warm arms close around me, I let him pull me into his embrace. I let him be the strong one, the certain one. I let him be the brave one.

I let him hold me until, eventually, I drift off. And in dreams, a totally new life unfolds before me.

- - -

Passion, pride, fear, anxiety, ambition, stress, selfishness, hope, grief, and desire. These are all emotions that can easily cloud our judgment. Each of these characters so far has had their judgment in the moment clouded by one or more of these feelings. Only time will tell what happens next.

So, tell me- are you currently team Rob and Anna(belle), or team Griff and (Anna)Belle?

Looking forward to jumping ahead a few years in the next section. I'll be jumping back in with Griff's POV next- five years from now, or so. Then we'll dig into the core of the story from there.

Please let me know what you think so far! Love hearing from you all. If you're enjoying the story, please consider voting.

Xx Toria