"Whoever you are, just letting you know that I'm armed, and you are on my property, so I am within my rights to shoot you." It's not Em, that's for sure.
"I'm in here. Sorry for barging in. I was just looking at these magnificent paintings." I walk out of the room, and I can see an older version of Em looking back at me. She lowers the gun and stares at me.
"Alex?"
"Yes, it's me. I'm here for Em."
"She doesn't want to see you. You hurt her."
"I know, but she misunderstood. I wasn't paying her for sex; I was paying her for the fact she was taking photos for the paintings. I didn't want her to think that I only wanted her for free paintings. I wanted to pay for her time that she worked, not the time we had sex." I look at her mom, and it feels weird talking to her about having sex with her daughter.
"She thinks you paid her for sex. She thinks that you thought she was a prostitute. She fell hard for you, Alex, and she is hurting. She's my only child, and I found it hard to watch her the first couple of days. I've never seen her this distressed in my life."
"I want to fix that. Where is she?"
"She just left. I dropped her at the train station before coming home." She looks back at her car and then mine.
"You might be able to catch her before her train. She texted me to tell me there was a delay."
"Thank you so much, I'd love to get to know you more, but right now I need to find my girl and convince her that I love her." I run back to my car and squeal out of the drive. When I get to the train station I don't even find anywhere to park my car, I just dump it outside the door. Lock the door as I walk away and go looking for my girl. I look up and down, but can’t see her.
Is she on the other platform?
I run under the platforms to get to the other side and she’s not there either. Looking at the overhead sign I see her train is on the other side, so I retrace my steps under the platforms and when I get up there I find a coffee shop.
Maybe she’s in there.
I see her when I look through the door. She looks sad and I know that I put that look on her face and I am about to change that. When I open the door, the small bell above it rattles and she looks up. Her face changes when she sees me. It starts off with joy and then sadness.
"What are you doing here Alex... Alexander?" She stands and tries to move past me. I grab her arm and pull her outside and around the corner, blocking her against the wall.
"You are going to listen to me, Em. And only speak when I've finished." She nods her head. "I gave you money the other night for the time that you had taken to take the photographs for more paintings. I didn't want you to think that I was with you so that I could get free paintings. Your time is precious and the more galleries you show your work in the more valuable your time will be. I wanted you to know that I appreciated how valuable your time was. I did not pay you for having sex with me against my window. Absolutely, definitely not. I told you that I wantedmore. I told you that you were mine and no one else’s. I did not once say that I wanted to pay you for sex and that I thought you were a prostitute. It took me five days of trying to track you down in the city and then being shouted at by Bianca to realize what I had done and where you would be. I owe her two pay raises now as she had your mom's address too. I want to take time off to be with you. I've never done that before. I have fallen madly in love with you Em and I need to know that you feel the same way too."
She doesn't say anything, but there are tears in her eyes. "I thought you were paying me for sex. I thought you thought I was a whore. I knew everything you had said but it still felt like you were treating me like a prostitute. While I've been down here, I've had time to think, and I've painted lots too."
"I know. I saw your work. I was at the house when your mom came back. I hope you are not going to sell the ones of the two of us. They are private and I want them hanging inourbedroom which we are going to share together." I look at her, bringing her chin up with my finger.
"I want to show my work in a gallery. Not our paintings obviously, but I want to do this so much that it hurts. It's my lifeline and something that I've got such passion for."
"I can help you with that. I realized that you were really the only one who sold anything that night. I wanted to ask you to show your paintings at all the buildings that I buy and sell. I want to help you with your art career, and I can buy you a gallery if that's what you want. But I want to do it with you. Bianca is going to take over some of the day-to-day running of my business so that I have more time to spend with you. This is huge for me, and I want to be your man. The man who helps you achieve your dream. I love you, Em."
The tears are now overflowing. "So, I'm not just a random girl who you fucked and gave money to? You mean I'm the woman that you want to spend the rest of your life with, just like you told me that night?"
I laugh. "Yes, Em. I have never lied to you, and I never will. I want everything we talked about and more. So much more."
She stands on her tip toes and kisses me. I can't help but deepen the kiss until both of us are breathless.
"Let's go home." I guide her to my car and open the door for her. "I want you to move in with me, so I am taking a few days off work to help you do that."
"It's too soon, Alex."
"It's late, it should have happened that first night. I didn't want to let you go and thought once I had you in my apartment that you would never leave anyway."
She smacks me on the arm. "You're very presumptuous."
"I know," I laugh. "That's why I'm so good at business."
While we drive home, my mother calls me. She's on speaker.
