by Elias Taylor
They kissed for a long time, Tristen savoring the taste and feel of her.
Outside, the sun had set, and Kayla’s room was dim. Only the glow of the bedside lamp offered any light.
The air seemed to waver and soften around them, adding a hazy warmth to their tender touches.
When Tristen began to stroke her clitoris, he relished her wetness. And when Kayla touched his iron flesh with her hand, he bit back a moan of delight.
With his fingers, he took Kayla nearly to the edge. Then he pulled off her panties, while he fluttered kisses along her stomach and thighs.
Kayla gripped his head in her hands and pulled him on top of her until they were looking straight into each other’s eyes.
“I want to see you,” she said.
A blossom of warmth bloomed in Tristen’s chest and spread throughout his body.
He kept stroking Kayla with his fingers as he entered her. She sighed in contentment as he sunk into her soothing depths.
They moved together in a sensual rhythm, and Tristen never took his eyes off her face.
Kayla gripped Tristen’s shoulders and looked at him with something bordering ferocity.
“Tristen,” she murmured. “I’m falling for you.”
A smile spread across Kayla’s face just before her breathing began to hike. Tristen felt her clench around him as her orgasm began, and he descended into his ecstasy seconds after.
With blissful moans, they came at the same time. Kayla dug her fingers into his skin as she cried out in delight, and Tristen spent himself deep inside her. His entire world shrunk to just her. She was everything.
Afterward, they lay in each other’s arms, skin to skin. Kayla rested her cheek against his chest. Tristen gripped her with one arm. He never wanted to let go.
“Kayla,” Tristen whispered. “I’m falling for you too.”
She didn’t answer, but Tristen felt her cheek press into his chest as she smiled.
Chapter Seventeen: Unrest
Kayla ducked into the bathroom at her office. She peaked underneath the doors of the stalls to make sure she was alone and then kicked her heels off. They had been pinching her feet all day.
She felt awful. Just before heading to the bathroom, she had truly thought she might throw up at her desk. She had caught a whiff of someone’s tuna sandwich, and her entire stomach had gone into a rebellion.
Kayla placed her hands on the cool marble sink and looked into the mirror. A sheen of sweat coated her forehead.
She glanced down as her phone buzzed. It was a text from Tristen asking if they were still on to meet after work. It had been two weeks since they had declared monogamy and taken things to the next level during the dinner at her apartment, and they had spent just about every night together. Kayla knew it wasn’t exactly taking things slow, but she didn’t even care anymore.
She had already moved an emergency change of work clothes to his place, and he had put some of his things in a drawer at hers. It was a lot to spend so many nights together, but she couldn’t keep her hands off Tristen, nor could he seem to refrain from making love to her. And afterward, the idea of crawling out of a warm bed or watching him leave her alone was simply devastating.
She quickly called him back.
“Hey,” Kayla said.
“Are you alright?” Tristen asked.
His voice was strained and nervous. She never called him during work hours, so she figured he thought it was an emergency.
“I’m fine,” Kayla said. “I just don’t feel well, I think I have to cancel dinner.”
“What do you think it is?” Tristen asked.
“I’m just nauseous,” Kayla said. “I think I might be coming down with a stomach flu.”
As she spoke, her stomach heaved again, and Kayla took a steadying breath. She put Tristen on speaker and placed the phone down. She grabbed a paper towel and ran it under the faucet before placing the damp cloth against her face. It soothed her fevered skin but did little to help the ache in her stomach.
“You should get home and rest,” Tristen said. “I know you’ve got a big workload this week, but think how unprofessional it will be if you throw up during a meeting.”
“Oh God, don’t jinx me,” Kayla moaned.
Kayla touched her fingers to her aching head. It was still warm despite the cool cloth. She was so tired she felt like she might fall over. This was the flu for sure, and it had hit fast.
“I think I will go home though,” Kayla said. “Ugh, I’ve never left the office early.”
Tristen chuckled and the sound of his laughter through the phone made an automatic smile pop onto Kayla’s face, despite her illness.
“You’re like that kid who never missed a day of school,” Tristen said. “It’s crazy the amount of hours you work and how few personal days you take.”
“Hey, I’m proud of my perfect attendance,” Kayla said. “But I know everyone in the office will have my head if I stay and spread the flu around.”
“That’s true,” Tristen said.
Kayla paused. She still wanted to see Tristen, but she knew it was a lot to ask him to swing by and visit her. He would be risking infection.
“You can come by my apartment later if you want,” Kayla said. “You don’t have to though, I’ll probably just be in bed looking pathetic.”
“Of course I’ll come by,” Tristen said. “You won’t look pathetic, you’ll be adorable, especially if you put on those matching pajamas.”
Kayla giggled before a spasm of pain in her stomach cut off her laughter. Only Tristen could make her smile when she was this sick.
“Ok, I can’t wait to see you,” Kayla said.
“I’ll head over as soon as I’m done with work,” Tristen said. “And I’ll even bring you some soup.”
“Deal,” Kayla said.
“Ok, I gotta go,” Tristen said. “My boss just walked in.”
“Bye,” Kayla said.
Tristen hung up, and Kayla stared at the screen for a second. In recent days, every time they said goodbye, she had the absurd urge to tell him that she loved him.
It was too much too soon though. He would think she was crazy if she confessed love this early. She had already let down her walls despite her strict rules about avoiding distractions. She had even made it clear how much she was falling for him, but everyone knew only crazy obsessive girlfriends said they loved someone after a mere month of dating.
Then again, had it been just dating?
Kayla didn’t have a ton of dating experience, but she was pretty sure that when two people started dating, it started as one or two dinners a week. She and Tristen had skipped right over that early stage. They had slept with each other before the first date, for crying out loud.
The fact that Kayla didn’t have much of a social life to being with also meant that her weekends were wide open. And nothing was better than spending a lazy Sunday morning eating eggs and bacon and toast with Tristen and then going for a walk.
He fit into her life so well. They had even started working out together at her gym. Kayla used to roll her eyes at those women who did everything with their boyfriends, but now she was one of them. It wasn’t that she was no longer independent. She still did all the things she did when she was single. She just spent time with Tristen while she did them.
Even so, Kayla had swallowed her words every time the temptation to blurt out that she loved him seized her. Things were still so new. So far, she had only seen part of Tristen. He wasn’t this ideal. He had flaws. She had flaws as well.
Sooner or later, he was going to stop praising her for her dedication to work, and start griping about how she cared too much about her job, or how she always stayed late at the office. He was going to start spending time with his buddies and failing to call Kayla. They would fight and nitpick at each other.
She knew how the story went.
Kayla had to wait a few more months before telling him that she was falling in love. That was the only safe way
. Saying it now would be moving too fast. Feeling it now was too fast, but there was nothing Kayla could do about that.
All her reservations about the pace of her feelings leaped from her mind when her stomach heaved. Kayla turned and bolted into a stall, where she vomited up her entire breakfast. She knelt on the cold tile floor and gripped the side of the toilet.
It dawned on her that she would be mortified if someone walked in. Her shoes were still sitting beneath the sink, and she looked ridiculous gagging over a toilet with her bare feet curled under her sensible grey skirt.
“Ugh,” Kayla groaned.
At least she had made it to the toilet in time.
Kayla stood up and washed her face and mouth. Her stomach only felt marginally better. She was pretty sure she was going to throw up again later if she had anything left inside her. Her face was still hot and blotchy.
She shoved her feet back into her heels and winced as the leather bit into her skin again. Kayla felt like a mess as she exited the bathroom. She could not wait to get out of her work clothes and into her comfy bed.
She knocked on Clifford’s door and poked her head inside.
“Hey Kayla,” Clifford said.
“Hi, Clifford,” Kayla said. “I’m not feeling so good, I think I have the flu, is it alright if I head home?”
“Of course,” Clifford said.
“I can finish sending emails and putting together a few numbers from home,” Kayla said.
Clifford waved his hand.
“Don’t worry about that,” he said. “Just take some time to rest and recover.”
Kayla nodded and headed back to her desk. If she was being honest, she didn’t feel up to even sending emails, but she grabbed a few things from her desk anyway.
“Heading out?” Lisa asked from a few desks over.
“Yeah, I think I have the flu,” Kayla said.
“Oh no, sweetie, I’m sorry,” Lisa said. “You seemed fine this morning.”
“It hit me really fast,” Kayla said. “I don’t want to spread it around.”
Lisa’s eyes flashed from Kayla’s face down to her stomach, and then back again. Lisa gave Kayla a little nod as if to acknowledge some secret.
“Of course,” Lisa said.
As Kayla headed towards the door, Lisa gave her a little wink. Kayla frowned. Did Lisa think she was fabricating her sickness to get out of work? Surely her co-worker knew her better than that.
Or maybe she thought it wasn’t the flu. Kayla shook her head. She didn’t have time to worry about the assumptions of a silly co-worker. Although it would be an issue if Lisa started to spread rumors. As if Kayla was dumb enough to get pregnant at this stage in her career.
Kayla pulled her car out of the office garage and headed home. She was so close to her pajamas and bed, but her mind started to boil with unrest.
Against all her wishes, Kayla pulled into a CVS parking lot. She sat in her car and flipped through her day planner, counting the weeks. She counted once, then twice.
The last thing Kayla wanted to do was run an errand, but she knew she would never be able to rest easy if she didn’t take care of this. It was probably nothing. No, it was nothing.
She would just take care of this teeny tiny concern. Then she would go home and sleep for hours and hours.
Kayla heaved herself out of the car and headed for the CVS entrance.
Chapter Eighteen: News
After hanging up with Kayla, Tristen slid his cell phone back into his drawer. David gave him a wave before ducking into his office. The promotion was going to be announced any day. Tristen couldn’t be certain that he would get it, but he knew he had good chances. Ever since the dinner event, David had been going out of his way to inquire after Kayla.
Tristen opened up his emails and started responding to a few. In the back of his mind, he wondered about Kayla. She had been sick. She had sounded woozy over the phone, and the mere fact that she was leaving work early was cause enough for concern.
He nodded to himself. He would leave work and drive straight to the Glen’s Market to pick up some chicken noodle soup. He would grab some ginger ale as well.
It felt significant somehow. They were no longer just dating. She was sick, and he was going to take care of her. Something had shifted, but Tristen liked it. He wanted to be the one Kayla called when she needed help. He wanted to be looking out for her.
Kayla was like a drug, or a shot of strong espresso. Thinking about her gave him a boost of energy and joy. Seeing her soothed away all his worries.
The other night, he had driven over to her apartment. She had made a salad while he cooked some chicken. They had chatted over their days, and then shared the meal. It had been so simple and so easy. After dinner, they had sat in each other’s arms and watched an episode of a British mini-series they had both gotten into. Then they made love and fell asleep wrapped around each other.
Tristen’s last conscious thought before slumber took him was that he wouldn’t mind doing that same thing every single day for the rest of his life. He wouldn’t mind it at all. In fact, he now preferred a quiet evening with Kayla over any alternative.
He didn’t know how it had all happened so fast. His best guess was that it was a combination of the pre-existing friendliness and the excitement over their insane chemistry. It didn’t hurt that his boss had forced him to start thinking about getting serious with someone and finding a life partner. Tristen hadn’t been searching for a long term commitment at all, but he was starting to think it wouldn’t be so bad if the life partner was Kayla.
All that was far down the road. For now, he was just happy to be spending so much time with her.
His computer binged, and Tristen saw that David had sent him a message. It was a quick note asking Tristen to swing by his office. Tristen took a deep breath and stood up. This could be it. David was about to either give Tristen the promotion or let him down gently.
When Tristen arrived at David’s door, David looked up from his desk and gave Tristen a warm smile.
“Sit down, sit down,” David said.
Tristen settled into a chair across from his boss.
“I’ll cut straight to the chase,” David said. “I’m giving you the promotion.”
A wave of excitement washed over Tristen.
“Thank you, sir,” Tristen said. “I’m honored.”
“You deserve it,” David said. “Your work this past quarter has been exemplary, and I feel in the last month or so, I’ve really gotten to know you as a person even better.”
Tristen smiled. He was so getting Kayla a gift for this. David might not say outright that the promotion was due to her successful appearance at the event, but Tristen knew that she had been his winning card. An ace of hearts.
“I’m excited to get started,” Tristen said.
“Right,” David said. “The first step is a meeting with the VP and president, I’ll throw that on your calendar for later this week.”
“Sounds good,” Tristen said.
“You’ll meet them, and we’ll go over your transition schedule then,” David said.
Tristen stood up and shook David’s hand.
He remained composed as he exited the office, but as soon as he was out of David’s sight, he pumped his fist.
Tristen walked to a break room, typing up a quick message to Kayla.
Got the promotion, will tell you more later! Hope you feel better.
Then he called his mother’s cell. He hadn’t talked to them in ages, and he always liked to bring them good news. Bev Knox doted on Tristen since he was her only son, and his dad, Carl, was a bit old-school. He would be impressed by the promotion.
“Tristen, how are you?” his mom asked.
“I’m good,” Tristen said. “Better than good actually, I got the promotion.”
“Oh, sweetie, that’s amazing!” his mom exclaimed. “Carl! Carl, Tristen got the promotion.”
Tristen could hear his father’s grumble of approval in the
background. Tristen had thought he had outgrown needing to please his parents, but he had to admit, it felt good to brag to them.
“You have to come over for dinner,” his mom continued. “We haven’t seen you in ages, where have you been?”
“I’ve been spending a lot of time with Kayla Carpenter, remember?” Tristen said. “I’ve been busy with work, and then all my spare my time I’ve been with her.”
“She’s a sweet girl,” Bev said. “You should bring her to dinner sometime.”
Tristen’s mother had been calling everyone Tristen dated a “sweet girl” for over fifteen years. She always invited girls to her house for dinner, but Tristen never brought any home. Kayla was different though.
“I just might,” Tristen said.
His parents congratulated him again, and Tristen headed back to his desk. He felt like he was walking on air.
He didn’t want to make a big deal about the promotion, but he quickly whispered the news to Perry. His friend was just as enthused as Tristen had thought he would be.
Tristen returned to his work with renewed energy. Everything was working out just as it should be. For the first time in a long time, Tristen felt like he was on the right track.
An hour later, he had a big meeting in the conference room. He left his phone at his desk and brought a notepad to the meeting.
His focus had never been better. He listened throughout the meeting and participated with verve. This was the first day of the rest of his life.
The meeting took an hour, and at the end, Tristen hung back to chat with a co-worker from another department.
When he returned to his desk, he saw that he had three calls from Kayla. Tristen frowned. Kayla never called that many times in a row. Something must be wrong for her to call with such urgency.
He checked his messages, but she hadn’t texted or left a voicemail. Surely, if she was in some sort of desperate trouble, she would have called someone else.
