Thursday Afternoon

by Beth Rinyu

“Everything okay?” Simon asked, breaking me from my thoughts.

  “Oh, yeah. Just daydreaming.” I smiled, trying to disguise the tears that were surging in my eyes.

  His eyes cast doubt toward me, and I looked away, turning my attention to Jack. “Someone looks sleepy,” I remarked, trying to deflect the attention away from me.

  “Daddy, I want to watch Scooby-Doo!” Jack blurted.

  “What?” Simon was puzzled.

  “Oh, that’s my fault,” I began to explain. “Jack told me he’s never watched Scooby-Doo. That’s a rite of passage for every child.”

  Simon let out a light-hearted chuckle, revealing those gorgeous dimples. “Says who? I’m thirty-two and have never watched it.”

  My eyes widened and so did his smile.

  “What can I say? Scooby-Doo wasn’t big in England, I guess.”

  “Wow, how have you ever survived all these years?” I joked.

  It was all so bizarre to me. It was like we were on a first date, and we were just two normal people getting to know each other, but I knew all too well that certainly wasn’t the case. I needed to keep reminding myself of that when those faint spells of happiness overcame me from being around him and Jack that night. It was not a date. He was not a potential boyfriend, and any type of relationship that we might have together was strictly business, and it could end at any time, no questions asked.

  Even though I didn’t want the night to end, I knew I had to come back to reality. “Wow, it’s getting late,” I remarked as I glanced at my watch.

  “Yeah, you’ve got to get home and get ready for bed.” Simon playfully messed up Jack’s hair.

  “But it’s my birthday!” Jack fussed.

  I stood up and put my coat on, and Simon followed suit.

  “I don’t want to leave,” Jack pouted, throwing his head back.

  “Jack.” Simon was stern, causing Jack to reluctantly slip out of the booth in a huff. Simon helped him get his coat on, zipping it up to his chin. “Put your hat on,” Simon requested. Jack did as he said and we headed outside.

  “Oh my goodness. It feels like the temperature dropped by twenty degrees.” I shuddered and pulled my gloves on. “I had a lot of fun tonight, Jack.” I couldn’t help but smile every time I looked at him.

  He responded with an endearing grin.

  “Jack, what do you say to, Bree?” Simon asked.

  “Thank you,” he sheepishly answered.

  “You are most welcome, and enjoy the rest of your birthday.”

  “Okay,” he sang, hopping up and down on one foot.

  “Thank you so much, Bree.” Simon’s gratitude was apparent.

  “Don’t mention it. It really was a lot of fun.” I smiled, and our eyes locked a little longer than they should have.

  He flagged down a cab for me and opened the door, waiting for me to get in.

  “See ya, Jack,” I shouted.

  “Bye, bye!” Jack exclaimed.

  “I’ll see you tomorrow?” I asked Simon as I stepped off the curb to enter the cab.

  He smiled and nodded, and if I had to guess, he was looking forward to it just as much as I was. This was wrong. So wrong.

  Once I was a couple blocks away, I was finally able to catch up with the million thoughts racing through my mind. Being with Jack and Simon that night had made me revisit a past I would always regret, and at the same time envision a future I secretly yearned for.

  Chapter 13

  “I’m honored that you’re gracing me with your presence,” I teased Jess as we met over breakfast.

  “I know, I suck. I’ve just been so busy, trying to get this all started, and that bitch Margo isn’t making it any easier by trying to sabotage me before I even get it off the ground.”

  “Well, you knew she wasn’t going to take it sitting down.”

  “Yeah, but I never imagined she’d be this ruthless.” She sighed heavily and took a sip of her coffee. “I just don’t get why she’s so angry at me for leaving. She of all people should understand the need for wanting to get ahead.”

  I shrugged my shoulders, ripping off a piece of my toast.

  “Yeah, I know, she’s your friend, but so am I,” Jess protested my neutral stance on the situation.

  “Yes, I know that, Jess. But part of me thinks you’re making the wrong choice.”

  “Why? Because I’m tired of being Margo’s puppet while she sits back and reaps the benefits? Maybe you should be doing the same thing, Bree.”

  I looked down at the table, not wanting to get into it with her.

  “Seriously, Bree, let’s go in as partners. The two of us together would wipe Margo off the map.”

  “I—” I paused when the waitress came over to top off our coffee cups. I smiled at her and waited for her to walk away. “I’m not even sure if I want to continue doing this line of work anymore.”

  Her eyes widened. “Really, Bree, and what is it you’d like to do? A doctor, perhaps?” She laughed.

  I wasn’t finding much humor in her cynicism. “No, I didn’t say that, but it’s not too late to go to school. Maybe I want to make a normal living—one that my family won’t shun me over, and one that will allow me to have a normal life.”

  She creased her eyebrows in confusion. “What’s gotten into you? Now all of a sudden you want to make amends with your family after the way they’ve treated you? And what are you going to do, get married and move to the suburbs, with a white picket fence and two perfect children?”

  It was easy for Jess to never have that dream. She had come from a totally broken family. She never knew her dad, and her mother was a drug addict. I, on the other hand, missed my family; even though my father was somewhat distant to me growing up, I still wanted him in my life. “Just forget it, Jess.” I looked down at my plate and moved my eggs around.

  “Maybe I should be asking who’s gotten into you instead of what? Does this have anything to do with your new client—the one you stole from me?” she teased, but her words were still laced with some resentment.

  I raised my head, maybe a little too quickly to be convincing. “What? No!”

  “Okay, but just remember what you told me a long time ago: No emotions. Strictly business. You may be feeling some kind of way for him, but rest assured, these guys aren’t feeling any kind of way for us. They see us as one thing and one thing only. After we’re done being arm candy at their black-tie events and fulfilling their sexual desires, they go home to their families and don’t give us a second thought.”

  “I know that, Jess.” She was one thousand percent right in her assessment with every other client—but not Simon. He had already let me into his world, and maybe I was wrong for deciding to step inside, but everything about it just seemed so right.

  “Okay.” Her eyes softened. “I just don’t want to see you get hurt.”

  “And I’m not going to.”

  She still seemed skeptical.

  “I’m not.” I shook my head and forced a smile, trying my best to convince her, even though I was still a little unconvinced myself.

  ***

  My head rested on Simon’s shoulder, both of us breathless from the last hour spent of our Thursday afternoon together.

  “How old are you?” he blurted out of nowhere, his voice low and hoarse.

  “Don’t worry, I’m of legal age.” I giggled.

  He moved his shoulder, forcing me to look at him. “I’m being serious.”

  “What’s it matter?”

  “Exactly—it doesn’t. So just tell me.”

  “Oh so now you’re using reverse psychology on me?”

  “What?” he chuckled.

  “Take a guess.”

  “And what do I get if I get it right?”

  My hair cascaded over his chest and I gazed down at him. “What do you want?”

  His fading smile was replaced by pure desire.

  Without saying a word, he flipped me over and hovered over me, trailing his lips down my neck and working
his way back up to my ear. “You,” he whispered.

  My insides began to awaken for the second time that day with just the mere thought of having sex with him once again. Maybe I was wrong and all those romance books Hannah read were right. Maybe a woman could have an orgasm by looking at a guy, because I was pretty close to it just being so close to him, feeling his lips on my body and anticipating what was to come. The more I tried to deny it, the greater it became. I knew it was a losing battle and I had no choice but to surrender. As his hand cupped my breast, a slight gasp of pleasure escaped me, causing him to gaze up at me. My body shuddered with desire, and I was unable to look away. His overly expressive eyes were like a natural aphrodisiac, more powerful than his hands, mouth, or any other part of his body at the moment. I was lost in them, consumed with want but riddled with doubt over the way I was feeling.

  “I think we’re entering some very dangerous territory.” I finally found my voice.

  “Maybe I like danger.” His stare intensified.

  I pulled in my bottom lip, never having wanted any man before like I had wanted Simon right then. Putting the brief battle that was playing out in my head to rest and admitting defeat, I pulled him closer and met his lips with mine. His tongue slipped into my mouth as our bodies prepared to come together once again. If this was the danger zone and Simon was the enemy, I wasn’t fighting it. He had already captured my body one hundred percent, and each time I was with him, he was taking a little piece of my heart.

  Chapter 14

  So far my Saturday had proved to be non-productive. Already 11 a.m. and I was still flopped down on the couch, watching television with my third cup of coffee. The bright sunshine streaming through my window should have been the motivation I needed to get myself moving, but it wasn’t enough to break me out of my funk. According to the weatherman who had been on my television earlier, it was going to be a spring-like day—a rarity for the end of January in New York City. I closed my eyes, fighting the tears. Today would’ve been his twenty-ninth birthday. The boy who had been my best friend my entire life. The one and only boy I had ever fallen in love with, and if fate hadn’t been so cruel—the boy who I had hoped would someday be my husband. I took a deep breath, remembering everything about him. His cute boyish smile. The way his face would light up whenever I walked in the room. He understood me better than anyone, and he loved me unconditionally. I had gone over that night a million times in my head, wondering if we had just left a minute sooner or a minute later, would he still be here right now? Would we be sitting on this couch together snuggled under a blanket, watching a horror movie marathon? Would we have started that family that he always talked about having with me? Would I still have my dancing career, and would he have achieved his dream of being a successful doctor? These were all questions that would never be answered because of one split second of my life.

  I finally decided I had enough of wallowing in my self-pity, so I jumped in the shower, dressed, and headed out the door. I didn’t have a destination in mind until I stepped outside of my apartment, immediately sporting a mile-wide smile when an older lady with a tiny mixed-breed dog crossed my path, knowing right away who could break me from my foul mood.

  ***

  “Kennel one and two need to be hosed down.” Shelia wasted no time barking out her demands the minute I walked through the door to the shelter.

  “Oh, I can only stay a minute.”

  “Whatever,” she huffed, picking up her tablet once again and turning up the volume to whatever video she was watching.

  I stood there speechless. I would have done it in a heartbeat if anyone else had asked, but out of everyone at the shelter, Shelia was one of the few who actually got paid, yet she was the laziest. “Why can’t you do it?” I snapped, finally having had enough of her lazy, entitled behavior.

  She looked up at me and narrowed her eyes. Clearly, no one had ever questioned her authority before. “Because I’m busy.”

  “Busy watching YouTube videos?” I wasn’t backing down. I saw the way everyone else bowed down to her in that place, and I hated it.

  She placed her tablet on the desk and shook her head in disgust. “Excuse me?”

  “I think you heard me. There’s no reason why you need to constantly bark out orders to everyone else when your ass doesn’t move from the seat to do anything, and you’re an actual employee here. Think about what would happen to these poor animals if you didn’t have people come in to volunteer—the same people that are bossed around and demeaned by you on a daily basis. Would they starve because you were too busy shoving chips and candy down your throat? Or would they sit in cages littered with feces because whatever is on your tablet is more important?”

  Her eyes widened and her jaw dropped. She was just about to lay into me when Dr. Springer, the shelter vet, called my name. “Bree, what brings you here on a Saturday?” He winked, and I knew right away that he had heard the lecture I had just given to Sheila.

  “Oh, I just needed a little cheering up.” I sighed.

  “Well, you’ve come to the right place. I could really use your help assisting me while I check a few of our newest residents.”

  “My pleasure.” I smiled, certain that I was only adding to Sheila’s fury, but I didn’t care.

  “Thank you for finally speaking up to her,” Dr. Springer commended me once the doors to the kennels closed behind us. “She couldn’t care less about these dogs. All she wants is a paycheck.”

  “That’s what makes me so angry.”

  “Enough about her. Let’s get to work.”

  After meeting the new “residents” and helping out Dr. Springer, my mind was totally cleared. It was so rewarding to know that I was helping those poor babies to hopefully find a forever home. But perhaps the most satisfying part of my last few hours was watching Sheila clean out the same kennels that she requested I do. I’d been so busy that I didn’t even have time to stop off and visit Macy. I put some extra treats in my pocket and made my way to her kennel, gasping when I didn’t see her there. “Did—did Macy move to another spot?” I asked Dr. Springer. The panic in my voice was evident.

  “Oh no, didn’t you hear? Macy was adopted yesterday.”

  “She was?” I didn’t know if I wanted to laugh or cry in that bittersweet moment.

  He nodded and smiled.

  “Did she go to a good home?”

  “I’m not exactly sure who adopted her, but I’m sure whoever it was, it was a very loving family. The shelter is very careful about screening potential adopters.”

  “Oh,” I whispered.

  “I thought you’d be happy.”

  “Oh, I am. I just wish I could have said goodbye to her.”

  “Sometimes goodbyes just make it harder.” Hannah had only introduced me to Dr. Springer a week before, but he had the type of warm and welcoming personality that immediately made you comfortable. I had admired him from the moment I met him. He was caring, gentle, and so good at what he did. Beyond retirement, he continued to care for these animals out of pure love for them. His years of wisdom were a rarity, and he always made sense with his practical views on life. But this was one I had to disagree on with him. I was never given the chance to say goodbye to anyone of importance in my life, and it didn’t make it any easier; if anything, it made it harder. Now Macy had fallen prey to that same fate.

  “I hope she’s happy,” I sighed, looking into the empty pen that was once Macy’s home.

  “I’m sure she will be.” He did his best to offer some reassurance.

  Chapter 15

  My spirits had lifted ever so slightly by the time I finished helping out at the shelter. Still a little down over not being able to give Macy a proper goodbye, I tried my best to remain positive, thinking about her new life, hoping it was everything she deserved and then some.

  The late afternoon sunshine was warm and welcoming as I stepped outside. For once the weatherman was right. It was an unusually spring-like day, and with only a few more hou
rs of daylight left, I planned on enjoying it. The problem was, I didn’t know what to do. It wasn’t like I had any friends I could call to hang out with. Hannah was a definite no-no. I had been avoiding her because I knew there was going to be a barrage of questions about Simon. I was dreading our book meeting the following day because of it. This was the life I had chosen: no family, no friends, and no boyfriend. My phone vibrated inside my purse, and I was unable to control the ridiculous grin that was stretched across my face at the sight of his name.

  Simon: Beautiful day at Brooklyn Bridge Park.

  I threw my head back and snickered over his indirect message.

  Me: Good to know. I don’t think I could have survived without that news update.

  I hit send and flagged down a cab, hopping in and giving the driver the address to the park. I sat in the back seat, staring at my phone, waiting for him to reply. The minutes seemed like hours, and I began to second guess myself for my sarcastic reply, hoping he hadn’t taken me seriously. Relief washed over me when my phone vibrated in my hand.

  Simon: You’re welcome. Thought you’d appreciate it. Just thought I’d let you know in case you wanted to take advantage of this gorgeous weather.

  Me: I do appreciate it very much. What part of the park do you recommend as the best area to take advantage of the weather?

  I couldn’t wipe the smile from my face.

  Simon: Pebble Beach at the moment.

  I looked out the window to see how far from the park we were and mentally calculated the time it would take to get there.

  Me: Do you think that will still be the best spot fifteen minutes from now?

  Simon: Most definitely.

  Gah! This was so crazy! I was flirting with a client. A man who paid to have sex with me. A man who I had sex with on more than one occasion, and there I was texting back and forth with him like a sixteen-year-old hoping to be asked to the prom by the hottest guy in school.

  I was quickly snapped back to reality when my phone vibrated once again and Margo’s name flashed across the screen. I found it ironic that the woman I once idolized had become someone I did my best to avoid. For a hot second I thought about letting it go to voicemail, but knew I was only prolonging the inevitable.