The next morning when I opened the door, there was a bouquet of roses lying outside my apartment, with a small note that said, “Good Morning Beautiful :)”. I quickly slipped the note in my pocket. I didn’t need Meg to obsess with this. I wanted to see where this is going before I give it a label. Slow and steady was going to be my mantra.
In the evening, I got dressed and went to the restaurant to do my evening shift. I had taken a lot of leaves and I needed to be regular again if I wanted to keep my job. As I was waitressing, I saw Chris sitting at a table in the corner, smiling. “What are you doing here?” I asked him, surprised.
“Shouldn’t you be taking my order?” He eyed me teasingly.
“What would you like to have?”
“You.”
“Then you’ll have to wait here for the rest of the night.” I laughed and left to cater to my other customers, expecting he would leave. But he didn’t. He sat there for five hours, waiting patiently for me. His eyes were fixed at me all the time. When I finally completed my shift, we left the restaurant.
“You could’ve waited for me at the apartment.”
“Then I would have lost the pleasure of looking at you for so long.”
“Where are we going?” I asked him as he began driving in the opposite direction. He shrugged. “Why are you here?” I finally asked him.
“To be with you.”
“No, I want to why you’re here, like in this city.” I looked into his eyes.
“It’s no big deal.”
“It is. You don’t work here, nor do I know how long you’re staying. Every Thursday you leave for someplace. Just trust me.”
“It’s my…..” He hesitated and took a deep breath. “Four weeks ago I finally came to know that the man who I thought was my dad wasn’t my real dad. My mother…..she cheated on her husband. My real father is a drunkard living downtown. I just wanted to see him, just once. And I did today.”
“I’m sorry. Why didn’t you meet him?”
“And say what? That I’m the result of the mistake he committed 21 years ago?”
“You can’t punish yourself or your mom for this. You need some answers, go find them. I’ll come with you.”
We drove to Chris’ father house. He was shabbily dressed, with unshaven beard and red eyes. He was smoking a cigarette when he opened the door. He didn’t recognize Chris until we mentioned Annette, his mother. They awkwardly shook hands.
“I’m sorry; I’ll never be the father figure you expected.” That was all he said.
Maybe that was the answer Chris was really looking for. All that he needed was a simple apology for not being there. The man had a separate family here so they both concluded that it was better they part their ways and never meet again.
As we were in the elevator, Chris pulled me closer and said, “Thank you. This thing had been killing me for so long.” We kissed again till we reached my door and made our way to the bedroom.
I lay down on the bed, with my defense down and gave him the permission to do what he wanted. “I trust you. I’m ready.” I whispered into his ears.
Instead of making his move, he kissed on my forehead and said, “I’m sorry. I can’t do this.” With that, he fastened the buttons on his shirt and left.
I sat there, puzzled, my fingers stuck in my hair. Did I do something wrong? Was I a bad kisser? Did he not want me anymore? A tide of questions came flowing in. I waited for him to call. Two days went by but he did not contact me. Was this his way of breaking up with me? Even though we weren’t officially committed, there was something between us; at least that’s what I had thought. His door was always locked; he never came out when I was around; probably changed his routine to not match mine. I finally heard Amelia tell Chris had packed and was going to leave in a couple of days. That was it. I needed answers. That night, I decided to wait outside his door. Four hours passed by but he did not show up. I didn’t realize when I fell asleep outside the door. Finally, somewhere around 12 and 1, when I woke up, I found myself in his arms. I was in my bedroom.
“I was just tucking you in.” He began to leave awkwardly.
“Chris……why are you doing this to me?” I asked him.
“You should stay away from me.”
“But why?”
“I never loved you. I just said those things to get you in bed. I’m a playboy, Katy. I never go on a date with a girl after the s*x. This is who I am. I have slept with a million girls in my lifetime.” He turned away. His eyes turned red and I could see he was about to break down.
“You’re lying.” I said through tears. “If that’s all you wanted, why didn’t you sleep with me when you had the chance? You had a past, so what? You’re just afraid because you want to be with me too. You are scared to fall for one girl for your entire life. You’re afraid that if it doesn’t work out with me, it won’t with anyone else. But love is all about taking chances. It’s worth it, I know that.”
I came forward and kissed him before he could say anything else. That night, Chris finally had his shield down. No more games or lies; just raw and pure emotions. We were us for that night.
“Why were you interested in me after all?” I put my head on his shoulder.
He smiled disarmingly. “Well, to be honest, you were like just another ‘conquest’ for me. But as I got to know you, you messed up with my brain and stole my heart. You are the one girl who has ever been able to make me so happy. You changed me. It’s like when I’m around you, I want to be good. You saved my life, Katherine Hayden.”
“And you saved mine.” I kissed him one last time before I fell asleep in his arms.
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