A White Lie

Chapter 11: A Weekend Away

CHAPTER ELEVEN: A Weekend Away

“The usual for Mr. Kingsley and a Hazelnut Frappuccino for me please,” I told the Starbucks employee with a wide grin that seemed to appear on my face whenever I thought about Jason. A blush couldn’t help but make its way to my cheeks as I remembered the way his eyes twinkled when he opened up to me and the safe feeling that I had when we gazed at the bright stars in the night sky as I stayed nestled between his arms last night. Not many words were exchanged after he opened up to me about being tired of his life, but the comfortable silence that fell over us felt so natural that I could have stayed there the entire night, if not for the slightly chilly weather.

“Here you go,” the bored-looking girl said as she handed me my order. After sliding her some cash and telling her to keep the change, I pushed open the glass door of Starbucks and emerged into the scorching hot summer weather with the wide grin still on my face. Minutes later, I arrived at the magnificent building and took the elevator up to the office.

“Is that for me?” Xavier asked the moment I stepped out of the elevator, successfully pulling me out of my thoughts of the previous night. Swatting his hand away with my elbow as both my hands were still occupied with the drinks, I shook my head.

“No,” I said, rolling my eyes at him as he pouted childishly. I ignored him and made my way to Jason’s office as Xavier dramatically wiped the non-existent tears off his cheeks. As I walked right into Jason’s office without knocking, I wasn’t surprised by the bewildered look Xavier shot at me because I knew almost every employee in the office would have the same reaction. They all knew about Jason’s temper and how much he hates being interrupted.

 “Coffee delivery,” I sang as I set his drink down on the table. He looked up from his laptop and shot me a grateful smile and drowned a third of the cup before standing up.

“Can I get a hug?” he asked timidly. Without another word, I put down my drink on his desk, walked into his embrace and wrapped my arms around his waist whilst nestling my face into his hard chest. “Thank you for the drink,” he murmured into my hair, “I needed it really badly.”

“Don’t worry about it,” I replied, still surprised that he asked for a hug. It was such a huge change from yesterday, when he would flinch at the slightest contact. My mind couldn’t help but wonder what or who made him the way he was today, however I knew that it was far too personal to ask.

“I forgot how comforting a hug is,” he admitted before pulling away from me so I could see his smile, which didn’t correspond with the sadness in his stunning blue eyes. “I wish I felt as comfortable with everyone else as I do with you.” Before I could reply, I felt Jason quickly retract his arms from my waist. Awkwardly, he took a few steps back with his eyes trained on the doorway. When I too turned to look, I saw Xavier leaning against the doorframe, his arms crossed, a smirk on his face.

“Well, well, well. Looks like someone got himself a girlfriend.”

“She’s not my girlfriend,” Jason quickly shot back.

“You guys sure looked comfortable together.” Jason straightened his crumpled shirt and ran a hand through his hair, clearly frustrated.

“You of all people should know I’d never date a girl like her.” The smile immediately fell off my face as what he said registered in my mind. The immediate hurt I felt in my heart was comparable to the pain I would feel if a bullet pierced through it. I knew we weren’t dating and I knew he was way out of my league, but did he really have to say something like that?

“You didn’t have to put it like that even if you aren’t interested, you know.  Even though everyone told me otherwise, I thought you were actually a really nice person and that we were friends at the least, but I guess I was wrong about you.” I shook my head in disappointment and held back the tears that were threatening to fall as I grabbed the book that I left on his desk the night before and walked out of the room as calmly as I could, my drink long forgotten.