“I’m leaving,” I tell them.
“So am I,” Boston says, walking out with me.
I used to stay, even just to watch. But as I walk past Gabrielle in her desperate attempt to gain my attention, I know the reason why she, nor any other woman, has it. They aren’t Cora.
FIFTEEN
CORA
Almost two weeks pass by before I see him again. It’s purely by accident that I run into him at the coffee shop. He’s sitting with a woman, and I can tell they’re in deep conversation, so I don’t bother interrupting. I’ve been standing and waiting for my order for a good five minutes when I quickly glance over my shoulder to see if he’s still there. When I do, I find them both staring at me, and I feel my cheeks flush, knowing they are talking about me.
The woman looks familiar, but I’m not sure where I might know her from. I don’t think she was a client of mine, though I know I’ve seen her somewhere. Arlo sits there, holding his coffee and watching me, and that’s when I notice the beads wrapped around his hand. Something moves inside of me, and I realize I’m jealous that he is sitting across from a beautiful woman with those beads in his hand.
Quickly looking away as my name is called, I grab my coffee, then add sugar before I turn to leave. But all of a sudden, he’s standing directly in my path. He smells good. I try not to take a deep breath so he won’t notice I’m smelling him as I meet his eyes. They’re so dark.
“Were you going to leave without saying hi?” he asks.
“You looked busy.” I flick my gaze at the woman sitting there, and see she’s staring at us with a thoughtful expression.
“Yes, I guess I was. She’s one of my patients but also a friend. Sometimes, we like to take our sessions out of the office.” Oh, she’s a patient. That’s why she looks familiar. She was at his office that time when I went to get his signature.
“I don’t want to interrupt. It was nice to see you again.”
“Was it though? Nice to see me?” he asks, and I can sense the people around us waiting for their own coffees. He doesn’t care though. It is as if he only sees me. It’s intimidating but also exhilarating.
“Sure, it is, but I do have to get going.”
“Can I call you?” he asks.
“Hi, I’m Lilith, and you must be Cora.” I turn to find the woman with soft copper-colored hair holding out her hand to me. Arlo glances at her before returning his gaze to me. Has he been talking about me?
“I am. Nice to meet you.” I shake her hand, and then she turns to Arlo.
“I have to go. Reon is expecting me.”
Arlo tells her goodbye, and she heads off.
“Can I call you?” he asks again.
“Why do you want to call me?”
“Because I want to fuck you. I thought we established that.”
A lady behind me gasps loudly, but neither of us pays her any attention. I’ve had many “relationships” that were purely about sex. I just recently ended one, so would I be a fool to start another so soon? I’m not really sure what the right answer is. I do want to give in to him. I honestly think I would enjoy any time spent with this man. He seems to understand what a woman wants.
But at the same time, he scares me. Not that I would ever tell him that, and I think I do a pretty good job of hiding the fact. He doesn’t scare me in the way that I’m afraid he’ll hurt me. I’m afraid of how he makes me feel and the emotions he brings to the surface when I’m around him. I try my best to stay detached from people I feel I’m not willing to give my time to. Life is short, and my mother is a great example of that fact.
When I don’t answer right away, he reaches out with the hand that has the beads wrapped around it and clasps mine. “Say yes.”
“Yes,” I reply breathlessly, feeling the light pressure of the beads resting in the palm of my hand infused with his body heat, warming me all over.
He squeezes my hand once before releasing it. “I have a few patients to see, but I’ll call you later.”
I don’t say anything because I can’t believe I just agreed to let him call me. Or was that even what I agreed to? I understand he wants to call me because he wants to fuck me. And I do want him to fuck me. At least I think I do.
“Cora,” he says my name when I don’t reply after a few moments. “Breathe. It’s not the end of the world.”
“I never said it was,” I bite back.
