Page 26 of Clean Sweep
He looked at me, a wry smile on his lips. "Then she married him."
"Damn," I muttered, pulling my legs up to my chin and resting my head on them. "That is sucky."
"We broke up, obviously. But it fucked me up, you know? She said she hadn't seen a future with me, but she hadn't known how to break up with me either."
"I'm sorry," I reached out a hand, giving him a squeeze.
He lifted one shoulder. "You know, seeing her tonight, it was actually kind of cathartic, if you can believe it."
"Mm?"
Erik looked at the ocean for a long moment then turned to me. "Makes me realize we were never meant to be. I always thought I'd feel something if I ran into her. Like anger or regret maybe? Tonight, I was shocked, sure. But now I’ve seen her, and I've processed, honestly, I feel nothing but relief. It was shitty what she did, sure. But maybe it was right."
"Right?" I asked softly, not following.
"Mm, we weren't meant to be. But you and I?" He raised my hand pressing a kiss to my knuckles. "Tell me there's something here. Tell me I'm not the only one feeling this."
I stared into his dark eyes, seeing the hunger and hope, knowing mine reflected the same.
I opened my mouth to deny it but the words eluded me. "There's something," I admitted. "It's a hell of a big something."
"But?"
I swallowed, laying myself bare. "But I want this career I've started. I want to travel and help people. I want to be Laura Sweep, the Queen of Clean. I want to make a difference."
"And you think you can't if we take this further?"
"I don't know. You have kids. How would you feel about me travelling so much?"
"Babe," Erik leaned in, his face serious. "I'd never ask you to give up your career or who you are. You can't love someone for who you want them to be. You love someone for who they are. You're Laura, Queen of Clean. You're genuine and open, and if you have to travel to do that, then fine. We'll make it work. That's what people do."
That's what people do.
Was it really this simple? Was it really as easy as saying yes to him?
We haven't even slept together yet.
My body and heart said it would be amazing, but my brain was crying out for some rational thought. There was no logic in how we were feeling, no explanation for how rapidly this relationship was progressing.
Do it. Take a leap of faith.
"Okay," I whispered, then repeated it louder and with more conviction. "Okay. Let's do this. Let's work out what this is between us, let's explore it and build it and… and…" I paused, overwhelmed. "Let's be us."
Erik surged to his feet, hauling me up with him. "Come on," he ordered, pulling me along. I laughed, the wind clutching at my hair as we sprinted through the sand.
"Where are we going?" I asked, laughing at his determined expression.
"The workshop, it's closer than home and there's a bed."
We hurried over the sand, stopping to kiss and touch, laughing as we tumbled and fumbled our way along the beach towards the marina.
Erik pulled a key from his pocket opening the door at the back of a large warehouse. I pressed against him, biting playfully at his shoulder as he pushed it open. He laughed, pulling me inside and kicking the door shut. His body pressed to mine, warm, hard and smelling of salt, sand and man.
I tasted laughter and need on his lips, opening to let him taste me in return.
We stripped in the doorway and on the stairs leading up to the apartment. A trail of clothing marked our path.
Perhaps I should have felt self-conscious or anxious, especially as I'd just seen Erik's ex and she was beautiful.
