A Million Tears (Wish 2)

12 - Hypothesis

Brenna cried after he left. She had no regrets. Being together made up for their first time. He could lie, but he had made love to her and she felt the connection between them.

She dried her eyes and texted him. Are you alright?

She waited for his reply, but eventually had to sleep and go to work in the morning.

When she woke, he hadn't replied. She knew what she was doing when she seduced him. He was ready to stop, but she encouraged him. Damn Mia was right! Some men were better than others.

Esmae took one look at her. "Rough night?"

"I was helping an upset friend. Tell me I don't have meetings all day."

"You don't have meetings all day. You have them half the day."

Her colleague in the office next to her was old school and had the daily Globe and The Wall Street Journal delivered. She asked his assistant if she could peek at the Boston paper. On page two, there was a small article about a fatal crash — three injured, one critically, and one fatality, an eight-year-old girl. Her name wasn't listed, but she was gone and her family would have to figure out how to go on. Would they be afraid to live and love again?

"Brenna. Brenna!"

"What? Oh, sorry."

"Are you all right?"

"Yeah. Yes. I was just thinking."

"Do you need coffee? You have a meeting in five minutes. You haven't even sat down yet."

"Please, coffee will help. Thanks."

She really wished Noah would reply to her text. She wondered if their dinner plans were off. She knew he had the day off, so hopefully he slept and woke up feeling better. If she didn't hear from him, she would knock on his door after work.

Her day dragged, but she got through it. Without a response from Noah, she went straight to his condo. She was about to give up when the door opened. She didn't see him until she walked in. He must have opened the door and gone right to his sofa where it looked like he had been since he left her apartment.

"You never texted me and we had plans for tonight."

"Is it supposed to be a date?"

His eyes were dull and rimmed in red. "You can call it anything you want."

"I screwed up again yesterday, literally."

"No, you didn't. You were damn good and I think I asked for it."

A half of a smile crossed his lips. "You were persistent."

"Move over. I promise I won't grope you." He sat up and slid over she sat down and put her arms around him and squeezed. "You are not alone." She kissed his cheek. The stubble pricked her lips. "I'm not going anywhere, so get used to it."

"I could get a restraining order."

She laughed. "And you tell me you're no fun. You're funny, Noah Gentry. So have you talked to your mother about what happened yesterday."

"You want me to tell my mother I had sex for the first time in... Oh Lord! Let's just say a really long time."

"No, I thought maybe..."

"Yes, I told her about my day at work. She reminded me my father was her rock and helped support her."

"Who supported her when he died?"

He looked down. "She and I supported each other. We were like two people shipwrecked floating on a small piece of wood clinging to each other."

She could see his eyes were filled with tears. "But you went away to school and for the summer."