Thankfully she does. Her face visibly softens even more somehow, and her cheeks stain a light pink as she closes the slight distance between us. "Hey, you," she says.
The abandon that she expresses with her friends disappears and is replaced with something more hesitant. Shyer.
"Hey," I reply as she carefully presses into my side, wrapping an arm around me and squeezing my bicep gently before giving me a little rub, which surprises me because it feels so intimate.
"Are you doing okay?" she whispers up to me, making my lips tip up in a crooked grin as I slowly roam the features of her face and drink her in.
"I'm doing good, much better now. Thank you," I reply back just as quietly, daring to pull her just a bit harder into my chest.
The hug we're sharing is longer than the one she gave them, and the extra contact does a lot for me emotionally. Turning my face away from the curious looks of the men, I sigh, feeling the stress of the day melting away as I stand there breathing in her warm, vanilla scent. I lament my long-sleeved work shirt, craving to feel her skin against mine.
“Thank you,too. You didn’t have to come at all, especially since you didn’t have a good day.” She pulls away, looking up at me through her lashes. "I never would have expected you to."
Even though her touch is gone, something shifts inside of me, immediately causing me to feel better. The shitty day runs off me in swathes as I look into her eyes, and for a second Jerome and Christopher disappear. It's just me and her, connecting. I give her a smile, not able to help my eyes lowering to her berry-red, plump lips.
“It’s nothing; I’m glad to be here. Let’s get into your apartment so we can tackle this Indian food that I’m dying for,” I joke, falling into step beside her as Christopher and Jerome lead the way to the elevators.
They hadn’t seen the place yet, and I know Sarah wanted them to walk in first. She sneaks me a small smile, rolling her eyes as she listens to them argue about some football game they were watching yesterday.
“Do you know David emailed me?" she asks suddenly. "Did he say anything to you?”
The question makes my steps falter as we enter the elevator.
“No, he didn't. What did he want?” My fucking voice is back to being cold as I fight back a fresh, hot wave of jealousy at the mention of the man.Jesus, he wasted no time, did he?
Jerome hits the button for the floor, and I greedily fill my eyes with her. Her brows furrow, and I see she's genuinely curious as to my thoughts.
“I’m not sure yet; I didn’t get a chance to open it. Was just wondering if you happened to know anything…you know,since he came into the office the other day."
"No."
"Well, it's just he doesn’t normally email me first.Iusually reach out tohimabout clients,” she says, ripping her gaze away to lower her head so she can dig in her purse for her keys. "Uhm, the way you two were acting kind of made me think there was some tension between you, and I didn't want to jump into the middle of anything."
I cock my head. She's very astute. "Oh, no. He's just an employee." I give her a wink as she looks back up to me and bites her lip. "All's good on my end. You should check it. See what he wants."
The elevator beeps, interrupting our conversation. We drop it, and Sarah teases the men about their bickering. As we walk down the fancy, expansive hallway, our footsteps are muffled by the lush rugs laid over the hardwood.
The excitement is palpable as she turns and hands Christopher the keys.
“Do me the honor, Chris!” she half-squeals, that spark glinting in her eyes as she softly claps her hands together and smooths down her dark green dress.
"I'd love to, babe!" Christopher smiles a cheeky grin back at her in response and unlocks the door, swinging it open wide and hurriedly walking inside with Jerome. "Ooohhwee! Holy shit, this isniiceee!"
Putting my hand on her elbow, I go to walk us in too, but Sarah freezes, slapping out a hand against my chest as her brows furrow and a confused look morphs her features. At the feel of her hand against my heart, my own hand comes up to wrap loosely around her wrist, pressing hers deeper into my chest momentarily. I look over.
She's frowning, not paying me any attention.
Not seeing me knocked askew at just the touch of her hand against my chest.
Does she have any clue how this makes me feel? What she's doing to me? My eyes sting at the feel of her warm hand there, right over my heart that suddenly aches painfully. Inhaling, I fight to not close my eyes. I've missed the intimacy of small gestures like this. Someone feeling your heartbeat.
I tilt my head and clench my jaw, wondering if I’d ever actually had it, or if I was wasting my time longing for something I’d never experience, but would always be doomed to crave. I'm so starved for touch that I'm weakened by the extent of the loss I'd been bearing for so long.
"Hey,no!"Sarah's confused voice rings out, swiftly bringing me back into the present. "No, no." The pulse thrumming away under her skin is strong, and I break, rubbing my thumb along her wrist.
Slightly though, so it's not obvious what I'm doing.
“Guys,wait, come back. Something's wrong. I think they must have given me the wrong apartment,” she calls, tilting her head to double check the apartment number. As her frown deepens, my heart begins to race. The sensation making heat creep up my neck and robbing me of my breath. This is it; she's about to see that she's been given a gift.
