No more dropped samples this time, I thought.
We carried everything inside, and I started putting it all together. Will popped in to check on me while I was in one of the boys’ rooms, struggling a bit to hang up a heavy signed Aaron Donald jersey.
“Let me help,” he said, taking the weight.
Together, we got it up on the wall. I could see the room feel more alive. And Will aside, I felt good about what I was doing here.
When we were finished, we both went downstairs.
“I can’t thank you enough for this,” he said, handing me a check. I opened it, and was surprised to see it was for ten thousand dollars. I hadn’t even given him a price yet, and I was only a third of the way done.
“This is too much,” I protested.
“It’s really not,” he said. “You’re really helping me here.”
His genuine gratitude relaxed me.
“I’ve got a few more minutes,” I said. “Want me to show you everything I’ve done so far?”
“Sure,” he said, following me around the rooms, but I could tell he was looking at me more than the spaces.
We were in his room when he did something that surprised me more than that check. He stepped in close to me, touched the freckle on my nose, and said, “I love that freckle.”
I tried to be casual about it. I laughed. “I used to hate it.”
He paused, his finger lingering a moment longer on my skin before he pulled back. I felt the weight of his gaze, and I looked down, trying to focus on the next décor item I wanted to explain to him, but when I started to leave the room, Will stepped in front of me, blocking my path.
His breath was warmer now, closer. I could feel the pull, the electricity in the air that seemed to thrum between us, tightening with every second. He was standing too close, unspoken wordsswirling in the space between us. I swallowed, trying to steady my thoughts.
“You’re always so careful with everything… like you’re afraid to let go.” His voice was low.
I felt my pulse quicken. I felt a mix of panic and anticipation and I knew I should pull away, step back, but instead, we were drawn closer together, as if there was some magnetic force, impossible to resist.
He didn’t move, waiting for me to make a choice. My hands were trembling, but I reached up without thinking, touching his face. He didn’t flinch, didn’t pull away. Instead, he leaned into my touch. Slowly, I lifted myself onto my toes, bringing my lips to his.
It was soft at first. A simple meeting of lips that turned deeper, hungrier. His hand came to my back, pulling me closer, and for a moment, everything else disappeared, the house, the kids, Jason. It was just him and me.
But then, reality rushed back, and I pulled away, breathless, shocked by what I’d just let happen.
“Pick-up time,” I stammered. “We have to get to school. I rushed down the stairs, and out the door so fast that I left the check behind.
On the drive to school, he called me.
I answered with no hello. “Will, I can’t do this. I need to be there for my family.”
There was a long pause before he responded. “Okay…If that’s what you want, I’ll leave you alone, but I can’t promise I’ll stop thinking about you.”
“Me either,” I said quietly, then hung up.
At school pickup, we pretended nothing happened, although I had to look away when I saw him across the crowd. I couldn’t let myself be sucked into the pull of those baby blues anymore.
Bebe and Ivy came out together, running towards me.
“Can we have a playdate?” They asked in unison.
Will was already walking towards us, and he heard the pleas from the girls.
“Maybe not today, Ivy,” he began but I interrupted.
