by MP John
“Please don’t look at it that way.”
“There‘s no other way to look at it. I’m not an after thought, Will. We were in a relationship for a year for god’s sake! I thought that counted for something, but clearly I was wrong on that one. That’s why I’m going to decline your offer.”
“Will you please, reconsider?”
“No.”
“So, this is goodbye then.”
“Yes, it is. Goodbye, Will.”
And feeling suddenly empowered, Avery climbed out of bed to walk him to the door. This time she made certain her robe was pulled tightly around her waist, because she didn’t want it falling open again. Will reached in to kiss her and she stood stoically as he pecked her quickly on the cheek.
“I really wish you would think about it,” he said to her coolly.
“I have, and my answer is still, no.”
“Okay, I have no choice but to respect your decision,” he told her in a resigned tone.
She could see that he was disappointed, but at this point, she didn’t care a damn. He had brought this entire thing on himself, and on her as well. She also wished that none of it was happening. But it was.
Will walked out the door without turning to look at her again. She closed the door and lock it behind him. She was trying to be brave, god knew she was, but it was hard. It had taken everything in her to turn him down. Another thirty seconds—another move, or even a touch from him, and she probably would have said yes, threw in the towel and forgave him, but she was glad that she didn’t. It was too late for them. The damage had already been done. As far as she was concerned, their relationship was finished. It was irreparable. There was no going back now to what they once had.
Three
Avery stood with her back up against the door and let out a deep sigh. Then she stared vaguely across the narrow hallway, her right hand going up idly to rub the small of her neck. The break up had happened so unexpectedly that it had left her feeling completely bewildered. She needed a couple hours at least, to grasp the full extent of it, and probably weeks and months to get over it.
She put her head back against the door and shut her eyes, remembering the very first time she had Will over. She had invited him for dinner a week after they had started dating. And he had showed up an hour early, with a bottle of expensive wine and flowers for her. She had poured him a glass of red wine from the bottle she had chilling in the fridge, and excused herself to go check on the food in the kitchen.
Will had poked his head into the kitchen seconds after, offering to help her. He had his sleeves rolled up and ready. He told her he was getting bored sitting in the living room by himself. She had found his excuse amusing. And she had laughed. She had pulled a chair from the table for him, refilled his glass with wine, and they had talked while she added the final ingredients to the spicy chicken stew, and prepared the vegetables. At one point, he had left the chair, and came closer to the sink to stand next to her as she cut the stems from the broccoli and carrots.
After, she was surprised that he had actually enjoyed the stew. She knew the food was different from what he was accustomed to, but he had dug in with no questions asked. And he had complimented her on her cooking, and asked about the recipe. Avery suspected he was only trying to be polite, but she had indulged him, anyway, giving him a step by step run down of the ingredients and preparations, and he had sounded genuinely interested.
He had even suggested that she make it again next time they got together for dinner, whether at his place or hers. She had told him that she would be happy to, still not knowing if he was joking or meant it. They had spent the rest of the evening talking, and sipping the chardonnay that was left over from dinner. And Will had ended up spending the night and many nights after that. Now, she felt like the past thirteen months had just vanished before her eyes. Tears welled up in her eyes again and she blinked them away angrily, and made her way back to the bedroom.
She climbed back into bed and pulled the covers up to her shoulders. She was going to spend the rest of the day there. Nothing or no one was going to pull her from that bed, not even a herd of wild horses. She turned on her left side to get into a more comfortable position, and saw a framed photograph of them together on the large dresser.
It was the first function they had attended together as a couple—at a charity gala the firm put on each year to raise money for music programs in inner city schools. She remembered Will had spent the entire evening at her side. He had refused to leave her alone for five minutes. His friends had teased him, telling him he was completely smitten with her. And Will had responded by wrapping his arms protectively around her shoulders, and kissing her.
She had liked all the attention he had been giving her—introducing her to his friends and colleagues, getting her glasses of champagne and refreshing her drink, even when she hadn’t taken a sip from it. And he had made certain he was the only one to dance with her the entire evening. She had fallen even more in love with him, then. And at the end of the night, they had gone back to his place and they had practically spent the rest of the night and early morning making love.
She slipped out of bed, went over to the photo and turned it down, along with the other two of them. She didn’t think she could stand seeing them that happy, especially when she knew they would never be like that again. She cradled the pillow close to her chest and reminisced about the first time she had met Will, a then thirty year old charismatic, up and coming lawyer at a prestigious law firm in the city.
He had been at Ellington Collegiate, the small private college where she taught English Literature and American History, doing a semester there, teaching a course on corporate law twice a week as part of a community outreach program his firm had with Ellington. She found out later that two of the partners at Ingram and Associates, the law firm where he worked, were on the board of directors at Ellington. And she remembered the morning she had bumped into him in the hallway while rushing to a class she was already late for, spilling her cappuccino on his expensive Armani suit and white shirt.
“Oh, my goodness! I can’t believe I just did that,” she had said to him, mortified at her clumsiness. “I’m so, very sorry. I don’t know what came over me.”
She had apologized profusely to him, putting her hand over her red-berry lips in shock, as she took in the mess she had made on his clothes.
“Don’t beat yourself about it. It’s better my suit than your lovely white blouse,” he had said to her, holding on firmly to her arm to steady her. “You don’t want to show up to class with coffee stains on your nice blouse, do you? I’m certain your students wouldn’t let you hear the last of it, trust me on that one,” he had said to her, with a knowing smile. “I have seen them in action. They can be fierce!”
And, Avery had looked into Will’s smiling green eyes, taking in the friendly smirk on his thin lips, and knew right away that she had fallen for him. She couldn’t resist the fleeting attraction that had passed between them, either, or the way her body had reacted at the sight and touch of him.
“I haven’t ruined your suit, have I?”
Avery had glanced at the stains on his suit and white shirt and handed him the napkins she had been holding her coffee cup with.
“Thank you, but that’s not necessary.”
He had still taken the napkins, though, using them to wipe the coffee off her hands, instead of his clothes. And Avery’s heart had been fluttering so fast when he had touched her hand that she thought she would either pass out right then and there in his arms, or faint at his feet.
Luckily, she had done neither. But she had been completely lost for words as she stared into his eyes. She had mumbled something to him that had made absolutely no sense to her. And she couldn’t deny that she had been acting like a complete fool, well more like a love sick teenager.
She had expected Will to be angry at her, yell even, tell her to watch where she was rushing to next time, but he had continued to smile at her, before bend
ing to help her pick up the stack of research papers that had fallen from her hands and were scattered on the floor at their feet.
“Here, let me help you get those.” He had scooped the papers up and handed them to her.
“Thank you,” Avery had said to him, with a broad smile, taking the papers. “I feel awful about your suit.”
“Don’t worry about it. It’s an old one, anyway. I’ve been thinking about getting rid of it for some time now. You just gave me that extra push.”
But the tailored Italian suit had looked anything but—it was brand new.
“Besides, I always keep an extra one in the car for unforeseeable emergencies.”
(Clearly meaning her awkward run-in with him.) “I have to show up to court dress to impress, if I want to have my way with the judge and jury.”
He had smiled at her again, instantly putting her at ease. And Avery, still embarrassed, had smiled back at him, shyly.
“On second thought, I will accept your apology, but only on one condition.”
And Avery, still smiling at him, had asked. “And what might that be.”
“That you have dinner with me. It’s either that or my dry cleaning bill. And it will be costly.”
“Dinner sounds like the better alternative,” Avery had told him with another wide grin, completely mesmerized by his easy charm, handsomeness, and unpretentious sophistication.
“A very smart lady, you are. So, it’s a date then.”
“It is a date.”
They had exchanged telephone numbers soon after. Well, Will had asked for her number, and he had handed her his business card with his home and cell phone numbers scribbled on the back. Then they had headed off in opposite directions—Avery to teach her Victorian class that she was already ten minutes late for, and Will out to his car to get the extra suit.
She had tucked the card in a corner of her leather handbag. She doubted she would call him, and he probably wouldn’t call her either. Men like Will didn’t fall for naïve college teachers. They went for hot models, Hollywood babes, or lawyer chicks, women who were on the same professional and social level as they were. And she wasn’t going to throw her race into the mix, because she was a firm believer that love was color blind—you didn’t choose the person you fell in love with—it just happened. And being of mixed parentage had never held her back from dating a guy she liked in the past, and she most certainly wasn’t going to let it be a determining factor now.
She knew she wasn’t plain looking, either—she was far from it. With her shoulder length thick, black curls, light brown, flawless complexion, full lips, small pointed nose and thin shapely frame, she was never short of men approaching her for a date.. But none of those men were like Will. They were all average Joes who not only looked the part, but acted it as well. And she had made it a rule to never date married men, including some of the men she worked with.
Later, she had convinced herself that dinner with Will was just that, dinner. Besides, she hadn’t seen a ring on his finger. And she wouldn’t have accepted his invitation if she was seeing someone herself. She was completely single and free as a lark. She could mingle with any man she chose. And she had chosen Will. Besides she couldn’t tell the last time she had fun or went on a date she actually enjoyed. Her last relationship, if she could actually call it that, had been two years before.
She had dated on and off since then, but none of the guys she had met seemed quite right for her. They either wanted to jump into bed, minutes after meeting her, had a girlfriend they had failed to tell her about, or were looking for an open relationship and a quick hook-up. So, yes, she was looking forward to a change in pace. A huge part of her was even hoping that her date with Will would lead to something more. Besides, what harm could come from sitting in a nice restaurant at a table with him, enjoying a sumptuous meal and an expensive bottle of wine? One evening with him wouldn’t change anything about what she could now safely consider her dismal love life. She hadn’t done anything exciting in months.
She could also come up with more than a few good reasons why having dinner with Will wasn’t such a bad idea to begin with, either. He had a job. She definitely wouldn’t be footing the bill or splitting the cost for dinner this time. And Will didn’t seem like some of the jerks she’d had the misfortune of going out with recently.
Four
To think of it, Avery had been hearing quite a lot about William Chandler III. The women in her department, both single and married had been talking about him non-stop since he arrived at Ellington less than a month before. He seemed to be the constant topic of conversation in the teachers’ lounge and hallways. He had undoubtedly attracted their attention, more so than he knew.
She had also heard the outrageous adjectives they had been using to describe his specific body parts, some she didn’t care to repeat. So, yes, she knew all too well who he was when she had her run in with him. And if she didn’t know better, she could have sworn that the women had been stalking him. They seemed to know when he arrived in the morning or afternoon, which classroom he was assigned to, when he took his breaks, and when he drove off in his red Ferrari. It was insane the lengths they went through to get close to him. She had seen a few of them rushing up to him between classes to talk to him. She had heard of celebrity crushes, but this seemed a bit over the top to her.
At the end of the day, Avery knew she still would have accepted Will’s invitation, because he was one of those guys who were completely unforgettable and irresistible. No wonder the women at Ellington were losing their minds over him. He was handsome, about six-five and athletic—he was probably an avid squash, golf or basketball player, or he worked out regularly. His full head of curly jet black hair was cut short, well above his ears, and damped. He had probably stepped from the shower and rushed right over to Ellington without bothering to blow dry it, she had thought, looking at him coyly.
And Will’s face was one that stuck to your memory for an exceedingly long time—his straight angular nose, chiseled jaw, and generous mouth made him full on attractive and sexy. And with his classic James Dean brooding good looks, quiet sophistication and downright charm, Avery sworn he could have passed for a celebrity. She wouldn’t be surprise if he hadn’t dabbled in modeling or acting before deciding to go into full time law.
And for the first time in a very long time, she had felt this insurmountable feeling of longing for him. And she didn’t care if he was a big shot Caucasian lawyer. All that mattered was what she had been feeling for him. She didn’t want to call it love at first sight, but the raw attraction had been there, surging wildly through her aroused body like a lightening bolt, as she had stood next to him. By her admittance, she had never felt this much passion or compelling yearning before, but she was definitely feeling it for Will.
And the tender way he had held onto her arm to steady her—and the way he had gazed into her eyes had sent shock waves through her excited body. And for that fleeting second, Avery knew something wonderful had passed between them. She had seen it in Will’s eyes too. She had seen the way he had looked at her, the flirty way his roaming eyes had passed over her body, his eyes resting on her firm breasts that were outlined against the white silk blouse she had been wearing, before moving up to the red berry lipstick on her full lips. And for a crazy second, she thought that Will knew what she had been thinking about him, and she had quickly avoided eye contact with him.
And that morning, standing in the hallway talking to him, Avery had been fully aware of the jealous stares coming her way from some of the other female teachers. She knew anyone of them would have literally jumped at the opportunity to be in her place. In fact, she was certain they would have been delighted to just skip dinner all together and jump into Will’s bed without being asked. She had actually heard a couple of them making reference to Will’s supposedly prowess in bed.
She knew the women had steady boyfriends, and two of them were married, but that didn’t stop their crazy obsession with a man t
hey knew absolutely nothing about. She thought they were behaving more like the hormone driven teenagers they taught, than mature adults, especially when she had heard them describing their wild fantasies with a man who had shown absolutely no interest in them and who would probably never give them the time of day.
After, Avery had been both tight lipped and coy when they had cornered her at lunch, shamelessly prying her for details about Will. They wanted to know what he had said to her—had he asked her out—did she know if he was single or seeing someone—was he as handsome up close as he was from afar, and in the photos they had seen of him? Did she smell his cologne? Did she know what brand he was wearing? They would like to know so that they could buy the exact one for their boyfriends and husbands. She had dismissed their hysterics with a friendly grin and headed off to a one o’clock meeting with a parent.
Five
Will had called her the next day at work. And Avery had been surprised that he had gotten in touch with her that soon. She was on her lunch break and had rushed outside to take the call when she realized it was him.
The women who had been sitting at the table with her, had stopped talking the minute her phone had rang, and their eyes and obviously their ears had feasted on her, waiting to hear what she was saying. She doubted they knew it was Will on the other end, and she didn’t want to give them the chance to find out.
“Hello,” she had said into the phone, very calmly, as soon as she was out of earshot.
She had seen Will’s name and number on call display. He was calling from his private line at his office; the number he had circled for her to call him. She knew it sounded pathetic, but she had memorized it, and the other two on the paper, just in case she had a moment and decided to get rid of his card. She also didn’t want him to know that she was aware it was him.
