Maria made it clear she wanted nothing to do with me.
I glanced across the street and saw Chapter and Tea, the coffee shop slash bookstore, still open. I wondered if they carried that new crime thriller I’d been meaning to read. I also felt like a coffee, especially after the dinner I had. Even if I barely ate anything.
I allowed my feet to cart me across the road and into the store's warmth. I ordered my coffee and sat by the window. And waited. I imagined Maria in there, typing away, working hard with her brow pulled down in concentration.
When I brought lunch to her that last time, I remembered watching her in quiet comfort as she answered emails and filed paperwork. I could've sat there and watched her doing mundane office shit for hours.
Forty minutes later, just when I was ready to call it a night and head home, I spied movement through the window of her salon. Because it was dark, the light gleaned bright, illuminating her movements.
I made a note to chat with her about working so late. New Haven was relatively safe but not infallible. She needed someone with her on the nights she chose to stay after hours.
You don't have the right to be concerned about her anymore.
My hopes sank as I remembered the tatters of our relationship.
Undeterred, I quickly strolled across the street. The chill of the evening didn't affect me as my mind focused on the woman who occupied my waking thoughts—and sleeping ones.
My heart quickened as I spied Maria bending over the receptionist's desk, typing something into the screen. Her hair was pulled back from her face, and her little brow was furrowed in concentration. My heart leaped to my throat as nerves took hold of me, but instead of bailing, I soldiered through and lifted my hand.
Her head snapped up at my knock; eyes startling briefly before her expression cleared when she realized who it was.
If looks could kill.
"Can I come in?" I mouthed at her.
She hesitated, her mouth twisting in thought.
Please, sweetheart,I silently begged.
A steely expression cleared her features before her spine straightened, and she strolled towards me. Her gait was slow and without urgency.
Unbothered.
The locks clicked before she pulled the door open and regarded me with a stare designed to zap me on sight.
I slid my hands into my pockets and offered her a small, non-threatening smile. "Hi," I murmured.
My eyes were desperate to soak in the first image of Maria I'd seen in almost three weeks, but instead, I kept them focused on her beautiful face.
"What are you doing here?" She kept her hand firmly gripped on the door. Her husky voice was like a shot of adrenaline.
"I was out for dinner and saw your light on." She didn't need to know that the restaurant was further down from her salon.
Maria raised a brow. "Out for dinner? What, were you looking for your nextpurely sexualrelationship?"
I wanted to close my eyes in shame. "I deserve that."
She rolled her eyes and gave an annoyed sigh. "What do you want, Brian?"
"Can we talk, please? I have some things I need to say to you."
She shook her head. "Brian, we've been on three dates. Well, two and a half," she sarcastically recalled. "What does it matter anymore?"
Because I can't get you out of my head.
"Please?" I implored.
She had every right to be angry, but I needed some closure, if anything. Maybe then I'd stop dreaming of her disappointed face every night. Or how soft her lips felt against mine. Was it selfish of me to come here when she clearly wanted nothing to do with me? Yes.
