Rookie in Love [SYTYCW 2013]

Greg and Emily! Thank you for helping Rookie reach 9M reads!

                 

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Every wonder how it went down between Emily and Greg? Wonder no more! ENJOY!

Greg

The amber liquid swirls around the bottom of my short glass. I watch it rise up one side as I twirl it in my hand and lift it to swallow down the sip that I've been staring at for the last thirty minutes. It's warm and flavorful as it travels across my taste buds and then down my throat to meet the malt liquor from the three full glasses that came before it. It doesn't burn as it did two hours ago, but the numbness that has begun to spread across my lips travels a bit further. I wipe at them with the back of my hand.

            It's quieter now than it was when I first came out here. The buzz of the after-work crowd is beginning to die down and from my perch up here on the top floor balcony of the penthouse suite I can barely make out their shadowed forms as they travel just beyond the beams of the dim street lights. This building is the tallest and with the night being dark and the city lights below me, it is impossible for anyone to see me out here. I wonder for the tenth time tonight if she's out with him, and then I wonder when it stopped mattering to me if she is. I just can't put my finger on that moment in time when I let her go, but I know her brothers will want answers from both of us.

            Madeline and I are perfect for each other. She has been raised in this world, my world, and knows what a life with me would be like. I have been groomed to take over part of her family's business, and she is expected to stand beside me and look beautiful as I do it. I shake my head as a small chuckle falls from my tingling lips. She is so much more than beautiful.  Maybe that's when this all started, when I realized the sacrifices she would make to fit into that perfect picture with me would crush her spirit. I may not be in love with her, but I absolutely love her with all my heart. She's my best friend.

            I've bought us a little time to figure out how to break it to everyone. Actually, what I bought her is the freedom to explore life outside of her family rules and I know that once she gets a taste for what's out there she will never want what we'd become. She will always want more.  That's just one of the many reasons I love her. I just haven't quite figured out how I'm going to live without her, which is what I'm trying to do with the time I've bought.

            I've already toed off my shoes and loosened my tie, so when I move to sit on the lounge chair I only have to slip my coat off and drape it over the back to get myself more comfortable. The heavy glass stopper makes a satisfying pop sound as I remove it from the aged bottle of brandy. The rhythmic glug of the alcohol filling my glass again is almost hypnotizing. Leaning back, I cross my feet and close my eyes, breathing in the fragrance as I lift the glass under my nose. I shouldn't have another, but I just got off the phone with Madeline and I know she's dipped her toes into the ocean of freedom she finally realized lies just beyond her family's front door. She's not coming back.

            Something else floats across the warm night air, the fragrance of roses and perhaps the faint scent of jasmine. Emily. I keep my eyes shut as I hear the determined click of her stiletto heels when she steps out onto the patio. Awareness is already prickling at my skin, my nerve endings coming to life with a burning need to touch her. I already know how smooth her delicate skin is, working and traveling together has put us in many situations where we've accidentally brushed against each other.  I know right now if I open my eyes she will be able to see the desire in them that I've fought hard to try hide from her. She is my employee and therefor is off limits, which if I'm honest, might be working to make me want her even more.