one night stand.

fourteen

Amber held the phone to her ear carefully and listened as Rio spoke into the phone, He sounded drained but still filled with hope.

"I received an offer to work out of the country and will be packing my things up in a few days. I'll still be able to make it to your art exhibit but not for long due to my flight being around that time." He mumbled as he took a sigh into the phone.

"How long have you known about this? When's a good time for me to come over? Should I bring wine?" Amber worried as she paced the lobby wondering how to process all of this at once.

The phone went silent as she kept listening hoping there was more. She placed her head into her hands and waited for a sign or something to just hit her in the head. Right when she was about to let it out, Her phone went off.

Rio started sharing locations

She peeked over the message received his current location which lead to a small lounge close to their apartment complex. Amber scurried into the limo and popped over to the location. The ride was a short couple of minutes since Devante chose somewhere close to the plaza. Once she stepped out of the limo, She took a deep breath before she noticed a black Camaro parked right in front of the place and saw Rio's head inside checking his surroundings. Taking it upon herself, she made her way over and leaned into the window.

"Get in." He demanded as he noticed her presence breathing up on him while she stood standing by the window.

Amber hurried to the passenger side and buckled herself in while he took off from the parking spot. Nothing else was said and his usual gesture grabbing on her lap came to a stop. She assumed he was taking her back to the apartment but that wasn't the case, He had another place in mind. Somewhere outside the city and hidden in the country. The trip felt like it took hours on hours as she sighed and continued listening to the silence. Her eyes closed as she imagined herself somewhere in that same field but with Rio, They wore white clothes and lay in the flowerbeds embracing each other. She had mumbled the words "I love you" in her mind but it was blur. Amber had to remind herself that they weren't close like that yet, They were just friends or so she thought.

It all came to stop when he pulled into the driveway and turned the car off. She followed his footsteps up the porch and into the warming home, The house looked aged but still held that comforting energy she liked. Rio tossed his keys on the table and stripped from his shoes and jacket gesturing for Amber to do the same. She followed suit and placed her heels carefully beside his shoes and her purse hanging from the wall hooks.

"What's going on?" Amber worried as she walked into his living room and took a seat on the couch.

"This house right here is where I'd stay. I don't live in those apartments like you think I did." he confessed as he took Amber's hands in his.

"Why did you hide it from me and what does it have to do with you moving out of the country?"

"That's why i'm here to tell you. I want you to take this house while I'm gone, I'll always come by to visit but I trust you in good hands to keep my house safe." Rio explained as he put a key in her hands and folded them back to her.

Amber opened her hands and took a look at the sterling silver key, It homed a keychain with the letter A and a tag with the passcode to his room on it. She pulled him into a hug and smashed her lips onto his. She took the opportunity to give him one less kiss before it was all gone forever. He slightly pulled away and took a look into Amber's eyes and kissed her forehead as he held her tight.

"As much as I'd like to go further with you, Let's just sit and enjoy the moment. For me." He whispered as he took Amber into his arms and let her cry on his shoulder, A tear slid down his face as he listened.

Rio had fell hard for Amber, She understood him on a level no one else could. Their relationship was built on trust and compromise, Something he couldn't get with anybody else. Leaving her was like leaving his entire life behind, Without her he'd go insane. He promised to keep in touch and keep her in mind but once he continues working on this project, Rio would soon drift away into the back of her mind. He took this moment to think about on the times they shared, the phone calls they spoke about, the times he'd stay at her apartment, and when she'd steal his clothes. Their relationship grew in the past two months, Even though they had not made it official and broke it off a couple times. He truly did love her and wanted to be with her if she would just took account for it.

The time changed becoming dark outside and the silence disturbed by Rio waking up to Amber sleeping on his chest. He reached for his phone and dialed up a number, He spoke quietly trying not to wake Amber up knowing how much of a light sleeper she is.

"Please keep an eye on her for me when I'm gone."

Amber shifted in her sleep scaring Rio and causing him to freeze up as he hung up the phone. He carefully moved her to the couch and made a run for his room, He dug in his drawer and pulled out a long rectangular jewelry box. Inside held a gold watch with her initials engraved into the wristband, He wanted to wait till the event to hand it off to her before he left for good. Rio held the box to his chest before placing it back in its spot and changing into his pajamas. He chose to let to carry Amber into his room and let her have the bed while he slept on the couch. Luckily, she didn't move on the way there. He laid on the cushioned couch and stared into the ceiling, His mind just sitting blank as he listened to the sounds of Amber moving and the AC turning on every thirty minutes. The silence bothered him so bad that he had to go take a drive somewhere to put something in his mind. He grabbed his car keys from the table and slipped his slides on. 

Rio made a pop up to Anthony's shop, there he would find something for him to do. He spotted Anthony's car sitting alone in the parking lot with the shop's neon lights shining upon it like some scene out of a movie. Rio pushed open the door and saw Anthony counting the cash in his register about to close up shop. 

"What a surprise that you came by you never come this late. What you need?" Anthony questioned as he closed the drawer and paid his full attention to Rio. 

"I don't know what I should do. A part me wants to call off this offer and another part is telling me to follow my future and take the offer." Rio ranted as he put his head in his hands leaned over the counter. 

"What has she told you to do?"

"That's the thing, she doesn't know what I should do."

Anthony sighed and rubbed his hands together. 

"Do you love her? That'll answer the question for both of you." Anthony answered as he looked at Rio.

Rio nodded and dragged his hands down his face distorting it for a second.

"Then tell her."

"But when is a good time?"

"The art exhibit, she'll be present obviously and you can steal her for a moment and tell her how you feel." Anthony explained as he slipped a small jar of weed into a black bag and handed it over to Rio. 

"We'll see."