He reaches up and strokes my face. “Yeah.” He leans over and presses his lips to mine gently. I savor it for a while then pull away a little, because I can tell there’s something more he needs to say.
“Cathy,” he begins hesitantly. “I’m still going to have to go back to New York for a couple of days soon. The lawyers are prepping things just in case, especially now the show’s looking good, and the producers sure as hell don’t want anything negative coming out in the press. But if… If I can speak to Paul, I think I could try and iron things out. And I need to see my family too, explain things. I was kind of up and out without saying goodbye.”
I swallow, still worried about whether he might see Becky while he’s back there too, and the pull she might still have on him, but I nod my head. “Of course. I understand.”
“I’m sorry things have gotten so dramatic,” he says quietly.
“Like you said, occupational hazard, right?” I say with a small smile. “And anyway, the fact that you’re so passionate is one of the things I lo—” I come to a halt, part of me, a tiny part deep down, still scared to tell him what I’ve already shown him. “I mean… I think going home might help you get some closure.”
He rolls onto his back. “I think you’re right.” He turns his head back and faces me. “But just to get all of this figured out. I’ll be back as soon as humanly possible. You’re the most important thing in my life right now, Cathy.”
It’s hard to absorb, but I try to. “Thank you,” I whisper.
*
We walk hand in hand to the train station, and I stop to redo the shoelace on my sneaker. Greg waited for the train that would come just after my shift ended, so we could say… God, I can’t even think it. It’s three days since he found out about Paul’s plans to sue, and Greg’s finally found a gap in his schedule to go back to New York and try and set things right. I still want him to get closure and hopefully talk Paul out of it all, but now that Greg’s actually leaving, I feel a panic rising in my chest.
He backs away from me a couple of steps and pretends to squint. “Hmmm, hold on—this looks kind of familiar,” he says as I finish tying my lace and straighten up. I chuckle half-heartedly. Looking at him now, with his duffle slung over one shoulder standing outside the station, he looks awfully familiar too. I go back over to him and slip my arm around his waist.
“Back where we started,” I murmur, trying not to sound mopey. Greg squeezes my shoulder and looks down at me.
“But not where we finish,” he says, his voice deep and delicious. I nod, and we walk up the steps into the station and through to the platform. The train is frustratingly punctual, and I turn, wrap my arms around him and bury my face in his chest as I hear it pull into the station. I know he’ll only be gone a couple of days, but I can’t help worrying about what I’m sending him back to. Still, as he reaches down and holds my face in his hands to kiss me deeply as the train arrives, I feel like my faith in him might just win out.
“Hurry back,” I say in a tiny voice, and he smiles, although the little furrow is back between his brows.
“Man. I’m really going to miss you. I know it’s not for long, but—”
I kiss him again, because we don’t have much time.
“All aboard,” the guard calls.
Greg opens his mouth, but I cover it with my fingertips. “Don’t say it. Don’t say goodbye. It’s like a superstition for me now.”
He chuckles, kisses my fingers, and then pulls them away, giving my hand a squeeze. “Me too. I’ll never say it to you again, Cathy.” He winks, turns, and steps onto the train. “See you soon.” The door shuts, and he moves inside to find his seat.
I sigh hard as I see him head to a window, staring out at me, and I’m already feeling emptier as the train idles for a moment longer at the platform. He turns away to look for something in his bag, and then I hear my cell phone ringing. I smile as I see Greg’s name flash up, and our eyes meet again through the train window.
“Hey.”
“Hey.”
“Forgot to tell you something,” Greg says, and I press the phone to my ear. “I love you.”
I sniff hard, tears suddenly spilling. “I love you too.”
His eyes not leaving mine, he kisses his fingertips and presses them to the window. Just as he does, the train screeches loudly as it pulls away.
I wipe my cheeks, and smile. I don’t know what awaits either of us in the weeks and months to come, but I know that Greg loves me, and that I love him. I know that life can be bittersweet.
But I know that we’ll face it, together.
Coming soon…
Read the next part of Cathy and Greg’s story in LOVESTRUCK
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– Sunday James
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Sunday James
Author Biography
Sunday James is the pen name of author Sareeta Domingo, when writing the New Adult contemporary romance series that begins with BITTERSWEET. She lives in London and works as an editor at creative book packager Hothouse Fiction, squeezing writing into her mornings, evenings and weekends – but promises she has a life…
She loves all things American – literature, history, popular culture – so much so that she even lived and studied in California, but somehow missed out on being swept off her feet by a devastatingly handsome but mysterious actor while she was there. Luckily, writing BITTERSWEET has allowed her to live that dream.
Facebook: Click here
Twitter: @SundayJAuthor
Website/Blog: www.sundayjames.com
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