The Interning Assistant

A Walk And A Confession

Stuart's POV

"What?" She asked, taken back.

"Do you want to go on a walk with me?" I repeated.

"Ummm, okay," she shrugged. I smiled as she grabbed her phone before following me out of the office.

"I know just where to go."

*****

When we got out of the cab, I held in a smirk when I saw the confused look on Liz's face.

"Where are we?" She asked.

"You'll see," I winked before grabbing her hand and leading her down the path. As we walked through the woods, I couldn't help but notice how nice it felt just holding her hand.

"Seriously Stuart," she sighed. "Where are we going?"

"To my favorite place in the city," I said before leading her through some trees. I smiled when I heard her let out a gasp.

We were at a clearing with the perfect view of the San Francisco bridge. I led her over to a table and sat on it with my feet on the bench. I bit my lip when Liz sat next to me.

"My old group and I found this after we went clubbing one night. It's where we had the idea for the app that stopped you from texting drunk."

"I remember that," I heard Liz mumble. "Chetty really liked that idea. Even asked if I thought it was good enough to consider developing."

We sat in silence as we watched the cars drive back and forth across the bridge.

I heard her let out a small sigh before saying, "I've lived here for over three years and have never actually seen the San Fransisco bridge. I mean, I've driven it like a thousand times, but I've never actually seen it."

I looked over at her to see the wind blowing her hair out of her face. "I have to confess something to you," I said before I could stop myself.

My breath got caught in my throat when she looked over at me. I instantly got lost in her eyes, forgetting what I was going to say. I felt like an idiot as I opened and closed my mouth, feeling like a fish.

Without thinking, I grabbed her face in my hands and pressed my lips to her. She gasped, but quickly recovered and started kissing me back. My arms wrapped around her waist and hers wrapped around my neck. The butterflies in my stomach went crazy as our lips moved in sync.

I pulled away when neither one of us could breathe. I pressed my forehead to hers as we both struggled to calm our breathing. "Stuart," she whispered.

"I know," I sighed, pulling away. "I know that we could lose our jobs, but I also know that I can't keep ignoring the way I feel about you."

I looked down at her hands, took them in mine, and intertwined our fingers. I took a deep breath before looking up at her and continuing, "Ever since we met, there has been something about you that I can't get out of my head. And when we slept together. . . I know you said we had to forget about it and move on, but I can't. I tried, Liz. I swear, I tried. I just. . .  I couldn't stop thinking about you and I honestly didn't want to stop. I know we said it was just a one night stand, but it wasn't to me."

"It wasn't?" She asked, softly.

"No," I said with a small laugh. "At least, I don't want it to be."

She looked down at our intertwined hands with a smile on her lips. I held my breath as I waited for her to say something.

"I don't want it to be either," she whispered.

"Really?"

She bit her lip as she nodded. "Stuart, I. . . " She started, but I cut her off.

"I know the risks Liz and I'm still willing to risk them." I reached up and cupped her cheek in my hand. "I really care about you and I can't stand not being able to be with you."

"How are we going to do this without getting in trouble?"

Luckily, I have spent way too much time thinking about this and already had an idea. "Just because we can't be together at work doesn't mean we can't be together."

"What exactly are you suggesting?" She smirked playfully like she already knew where I was going with this.

"Well, we could date on the weekend and at night, but at work we pretend we are just boss and intern."

She opened her mouth, but hesitated. I could tell by how she was nibbling on her bottom lip that she was nervous.

"How often do you see someone from work after 5pm or on weekends?" My question made her smile. "And work trips don't count," I added making her laugh.

"True," she shrugged. "It's just. . . Are you really okay with being together one minute and then pretending nothing is going on? Just like that?" She asked.

I leaned forward and pressed my lips to hers. I heard her moan as our lips moved in sync. I pulled away, pressed our foreheads together and I whispered, "I'd rather be with you in secret then not at all out in the open."