Behind Locked Doors

Chapter 36

It took three hours for Tom to show up at Anna's apartment.

Truthfully, she had been expecting him to be right behind her, zooming through the streets with his fancy car. She was anticipating a knock on the door no more than five minutes after she got settled into her apartment. Maybe ten minutes, he'd probably be putting on one of his finest suits.

He obviously knew what she was implying - she had given him that look that he knew all too well. Part of Anna bubbled with nervousness. Had she gone too far? Did she overstep their boundaries? The worries were building up in her, yet when the doorbell persistently rang three hours later, all of her fear washed away.

Anna swung open the door and smirked at Tom in the doorway. His chest was heaving from running up all the flights of stairs to her door. He hadn't changed out of his clothes from before, which was truthfully shocking to Anna. Still, he looked beautiful in his loose sweats and tight black shirt. Anna dragged her eyes back up to his and found them a dazzling deep blue.

"Took you long enough," Anna chuckled. She stepped to the side and waved for Tom to come in. He paused in the doorway, pressing his lips together before taking the first step in. Anna shut the door behind him as he looked around the small apartment.

"I was giving you time to change your mind," Tom mumbled. He turned around, watching Anna step around him with her eyes glued to his. Suddenly, Tom felt like the prey in this situation. Aside from their first mysterious meeting, Tom had always taken Anna into his environment. His office, his house, his classroom. He had always been the one in control of the room. But here, in Anna's new apartment, she was the one in charge. He had entered her space and handed her the reins of power. Truthfully, he didn't mind. If this was what made Anna comfortable then that's exactly what he wanted. She paused in her prowl, tilting her head to the side and smiling softly.

"Do you want me to change my mind?" Anna asked. Tom smirked and took a step towards her, keeping his hands behind his back.

"Not at all," he purred. Anna hummed and took one step closer, dragging the toe of her foot on the ground behind her.

"I was expecting a suit," she murmured with mirth in her tone.

"I'm used to wearing that as a defense, in all honesty. When you wear a suit, you have this sort of armor. No one messes with a rich man in a nice suit," Tom said. Anna looked up at him and squinted curiously. Tom sighed and gestured to his body. "This...no one sees me in this. You did a few times. This sounds terribly cheesy but I wanted to come to you without the suit, without that armor, and just be here as I am."

"And what are you?" she asked. Tom almost blushed as he looked down at his feet.

"A mess. Someone who has never truly had control over anything so he looks for it in bed. Someone who has been wealthy his whole life so he doesn't know what it's like to work for something. Someone who lies and cheats and hurts people just to save his own ass. But between all of that, someone who wants your forgiveness," he whispered. Reaching out one arm carefully, Tom placed his hand on Anna's waist. He ran his fingers down her side before pressing his hand to the small of her back. "Yeah, I did a lot of soul searching these past few months."

"You gave up on me," she whispered. Tom shook his head and spread his fingers out over her back. He didn't pull her closer, yet her feet moved towards him.

"I never gave up on you. I wanted to be with you every moment you were away." Tom paused, searching for the right words. "I needed you, but I was sure you didn't need me. I had hurt you so badly that when you told me to stay away, I knew it was what you needed. I couldn't hurt you again. And then when you left the coffee store, I didn't chase you because I knew you needed the space. I didn't want to overwhelm you. I couldn't hurt you again so it was easier to stay away. If I wasn't around, I couldn't do anything to hurt you."