Page 47 of Uproot

Ilay in my bed in my penthouse staring at my tablet and smiling. Edison’s happy face is smiling back at me as he tells me all about his Friday at school, and how amazing it has been hanging out with Selah and Dragana.

“And then Ms. Selah taught me how to make chocolate chip cookies!” he continues on as I watch him sitting on the couch through his tablet. “And we watched Moana again! I wish you could’ve seen it with us Uncle Beckett. I miss you.”

I smile hearing his sweet declaration. “I wish I could have been there too, little man. I miss you, but I’ll see you in the morning, ok. We have all weekend to hang out, don’t worry,” I promise.

He nods eagerly. “Ok!” he exclaims, then looks off the screen next to him. “Ms. Selah wants to say hi too.”

I sit up in my bed, running a hand through my hair and trying to wipe the tired expression off of my face. A moment later, Selah’s gorgeous face comes on the screen and I feel fireworks shoot off in my stomach as she smiles at me.

“Hi beautiful. How are you?” I ask, returning her smile.

“I’m doing good! Edison is about to go to bed. We had a lot of fun today,” she says, her eyes moving over my face.

“I’m so glad you had fun. Thank you again so much for being with him today and making sure he got to school,” I say.

“It was no problem, Beckett, really. Dragana and I went grocery shopping and she made an amazing dinner for us tonight. I think she called it Gi-ba-nica,” she says, sounding it out slowly.

I laugh, loving her pronunciation, “Ohh she must really like you. She only busts out that recipe for her seriously favorite people,” I explain, smirking at her.

Selah’s eyes alight with joy, “Really? Well it was incredible! Are you still feeling excited about your meeting today?”

I nod putting my arm behind my head. I texted her as soon as I left work today to tell her about the good news, and she called me squealing through the phone, sounding just as excited as I felt. Her enthusiasm made me swell with pride, and I loved how she understood what I huge accomplishment this was for me and my company.

“I still feel great about it, yes. I can’t wait to get started on the collaboration, and keep developing the new learning app we are releasing in September. I think that I’m going to have Edison help me test it out," I say.

“That’s actually a great idea. I know that he would be more than happy to be your new intern,” she laughs. She goes to say something else, but Edison interrupts her, his little face coming back on to the screen.

“I’ll be your new 'tern Uncle Beckett!” he chimes in.

“Ok, ok,” I laugh. “I know it’s bedtime there. Go get some sleep, little man."

“Night Uncle Beckett! See you tomorrow,” he says, handing the tablet back to Selah.

“Good night, angel. Make yourself comfortable, ok?” I say to her.

She nods, “Thank you Beckett. You sleep well too,” she says sweetly.

“Selah,” I say, stopping her before she hangs up. “I can’t wait to see you.”

She smiles, holding my gaze for a moment before responding, “I can’t wait either Beckett. Goodnight.”

The video disconnects, and I stare at my tablet for a moment longer already wanting to call her back.

It feels so strange that a few weeks ago I had no idea that Edison or Selah even existed, but now I can’t be away from them for even a day without feeling unsettled.

The fact that I wasn’t there to see Edison after school today, and sit down and share a snack with him, or hang out with him tonight and watch a movie, just doesn’t feel right. And now the fact that Selah is staying the night is weighing heavy on my mind.

The thought of her sleeping in my bed, snuggled under my sheets in her pajamas, that are most certainly pink, makes my cock ache. I toss my phone aside and stare blankly at the tv infront of me, not hearing a word of the stock report as the news anchor speaks on the screen.

Why the fuck am I even staying here tonight?

I toss aside my sheets, and decide to get up and start packing. There’s no point in me being here another minute when my head and my heart are far away from here.

???

An hour later, I’m dragging two suitcases out onto the sidewalk in front of my building, and stopping in front of a blacked-out SUV. The driver helps me load my things into the trunk and we take off to Teterboro Airport.

I was lucky enough that my pilot was still up and waiting on standby for me, even though I told him I wanted to fly out early in the morning. I’m sure the call at 9pm wasn’t exactly what he wanted, but I’m paying him extra for his flexibility.

---