I put my phone down, but he responds right away.
Walker:I’m still chugging away at work. Mrs. M is my new videographer.
I smile.
Me:Awww. I’m so glad she is working out. What a relief!
Walker:Mrs. M is amazing. But she isn’t going to be good for my abs. She keeps cooking huge Italian feasts and bringing me leftovers.
An image of his abs tightening as he came in my mouth flashes through my head. I shift in my seat as a wave of desire floods me.
Me:Poor baby might have a six-pack instead of an eight.
Walker:Miss Turner, I do not appreciate the sarcasm. I’ve already warned you once about that. My hand is itching right now, waiting to punish you.
I fan my face with my hand. The temperature in the room feels like it just went up twenty degrees. I have never once thought about that kind of sex, but the idea of Walker touching me that way is doing things to me.
I try to come up with a response, but I end up deleting every single thing I type.
Walker:Cat got your tongue, Jessie? Don’t think I didn’t see your reaction the first time I threatened you with a punishment. I know you want it. I’ve got to get back to work. I’ll call you after I get Eli in bed tonight.
He’s going to call me tonight? I don’t know what any of this means. For the first time, I let myself consider the possibility that he may be reconsidering the idea that we can’t be together.
I should be pressing him further on what he is hiding. What if it’s big and I can never look at him the same?
My computer chimes with a flood of new emails, pulling me away from the start of an internal meltdown. Once five o’clock hits, I close my laptop and take it off of the docking station and slide it into my bag.
I call my dad on my walk back to my apartment.
“Hey, Jessie girl.”
I smile at the ground. “Hi, Dad. How are you doing?”
He chuckles on the line. “I’m in my office, trying to get some emails out before I call it quits for the day.”
“Well, you didn’t have to answer my call, Dad. I don’t want to bother you.”
“Oh, you’re never a bother, sweetie.” I hear his fingers typing away as he talks. “Are you just leaving work?”
“Yeah, I needed to get out of there. I couldn’t focus,” I admit.
The line goes silent, the sounds of the keyboard gone. “What’s wrong? Are you all right?”
“I’m fine, Dad. It’s just been a long couple of weeks.”
“Ah, I heard you were at the Harlows’ yesterday. I suppose Walker was there to break the good news to his parents?”
I huff in annoyance. “I’m not so sure they thought it was good news.”
“They’ll come around. We live in a very judgmental world. Once the news is out and the gossip moves along to someone else, they’ll be thrilled.”
“Dad, they shouldn’t care what a bunch of entitled assholes think. Eli is a gift, and she should never be thought of as anything but.”
“You’re right. She is. How is Walker handling it?”
“Not great. He’s got a lot on his shoulders. His parents disapproving looks didn’t help.”
“You care about him,” he says.
