he didn’t kiss me tonight
I’m done talking to you
Aren’t you going to ask more?
Love ya
Did you read my txt above? He didn’t kiss me!!!!
You probably did something stupid and scared him away
BTW what did you find tonight?
We found a twin bracelet, a working cipher, and a bundle of old letters.
Do we know our next move?
Yes some waterfall where the pirate went down on his lady.
Whoa. Details, please?
That’s all I got
oops got to go. Chat tomorrow. YAY you going to get laid!
In the morning we need to go shopping for new clothes and boots. We are going on a hike.
Another YAY
ChapterSixteen
The next morning, William and I were on our way to the nearest town to find a clothing store. As we recapped yesterday’s events, we zoomed by a vast expanse of green hills and rows of vineyards. He had an amazing day—and night—with Brandon, and I told him about my evening with Andrew.
“I can’t wrap my head around why Brandon told you he was scouting for an archaeologist and his wife,” I said.
“Because I’m charming and can make people spill their secrets.” William snuck a glance at me and then returned his focus to the road. His right hand rested on the steering wheel and his left propped on a door. Brandon must have done a number on him. William was beyond relaxed and cheerier than at any time I have seen him after a successful date.
“What else did he say?”
William shrugged one shoulder. “We talked about this and that, then about my practice, then about his job at the Ashmolean Museum.” He grinned at me. “You’d really like him.”
“What does he do again?”
“He’s a curator. Anyway, I told Brandon I was on a spiritual vacation. Alone. Searching for new inspiration for my work, and when I asked him if he was on vacation too, he just blurted it out. Then, he quickly said ‘ha-ha just kidding.’ I feel like something was bothering him. You know how you can tell that people do their job, but they don’t enjoy their job?”
It was my turn to shrug. I loved my job; quitting it was a hard decision.
“Or maybe he knew who you were but was bad at lying so he was nervous,” I said.
“Nah, I think it was something else,” William said. “But those are boring things that we already talked about. Explain to me again why you don’t want to sleep with Dr. Mucho Grande?”
I chuckled at the new nickname, then sighed. “Because I like him.”
And that was a huge problem. This idea of an affair with Andrew teetered dangerously on the edge of a massive heartbreak. My heartbreak. And I wasn’t a masochist. I wasn’t about to subject myself to more misery. Last night I decided I was playing with fire, and it was best to wait out the next couple of days and not cross any lines with Andrew. And what also bugged me was that he didn’t kiss me or invite himself to my room. Was he playing a game of hard-to-get, or was he not interested and I’d totally misread the energy between us? My hand fidgeted with the bracelet, running it around my wrist, my fingers pressing on the stones.
“Even more confused now. It’s good to like someone you want to sleep with. It makes sex so much better.”
“I like to keep sex separate from emotions. I don’t have sex with anybody for whom I could develop feelings. It’s… like…” I struggled to explain my own stupidity. “Once you cross that line, it sort of seals the deal.”
