Never Ending

~26~

I am mute for some time as my brain whirls in every direction. "Cat's got your tongue?" He asks in a playful tone I do not appreciate.

I clear my throat to dislodge the fear building up in me. "Why are you calling?" I ask, trying to sound calm even though I am nowhere near that.

I hear a sigh on his end, he tut tuts before speaking. "I am inviting you to lunch at Gabriel Kreuther beside Bryant Park at 1;00 pm. Dress formally. I'll be waiting on you." Before the shock wanes, he has already hung up.

I am shaking, unable to fathom what on earth he wants from me. The audacity he has to order me to lunch with him, who says I even want to be there? I take slow breaths, in and out, to steady my racing heart.

Carter catches onto the change instantly. I can tell from the way he stares at me, analyzing me intently, that he knows something is wrong.

"What are you doing today?" Carter asks and I wonder if he can read my mind.

"I am going out for lunch." I answer evasively.

"With one of your friends?" He is eating pancakes with a lot of maple syrup drizzled on it.

"Not really, just someone I know." He focuses back on his food. "My father." I add.

He looks taken aback. "What does he want?" He asks.

"I can take a few guesses." I give a short laugh. Carter laughs with me, finally the tension ebbing from the room. "I have been prodding him recently, and he wants to silence me." I offer. He nods in agreement, looking at me with keen understanding eyes.

"Well I think you have something to say so let the world know. We'll thank you later." My lips curve upwards with appreciation. At least I know Carter supports me.

The conversation dissolves into comfortable silence.

I get up. I am no longer in the mood for food. I try to do some work at the dining table as the time for lunch approaches. I see Carter milling about. He doesn't say anything but he keeps passing through the kitchen, getting this and that from the fridge, from the cabinets. He is not helping one bit. I turn the laptop off .

"Let's play a game." He stops in the doorway, oddly taking a lettuce to the bedroom. He turns in his tracks and sits in front of me.

"What do you have in mind?" I laugh at how eager he is.

"Twister." I say a sly grin on my lips. He leans back ready to refuse. His brows are knitted and I can see him calculating all the ways things could go wrong. "Don't say no. It was fun in highschool. We are not too old for Twister."

"Fine." He goes to collect the mat which I know is lying somewhere in a closet abandoned.

We set up on the kitchen floor and start smoothly. Each of us assumes easy targets, gradually calling out harder maneuvers for each other. Thirty minutes later, I am on the floor straining to reach a patch of yellow with my right hand. I m A few inches away from a win. I reach across the mat and land on the yellow, winning the game. I collapse on the mat unable to get up anymore.

Carter hooks his arm on my back and pulls me up, a little too forcefully. I land flat on his chest, our faces inches away from each other. I lean in. He closes the distance, initiating a series of fireworks under my skin. My hands wrap around his neck as he hoists me up with his hands under my bare thighs. I had forgotten about how short my pajamas are until I feel the force of his open palms on my skin supporting my weight.

He doesn't break the kiss. It goes from being soft and playful to something fierce and fervid. The tension pulsing between us only gets stronger, I feel a need being unleashed from within and I know he wants me just as much.