Page 66 of Trusting You
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I decided to take Cece to our favorite Thai place for dinner. Most nights we got takeout and hung out at the brewery, catching up on work, or at my apartment. But this felt different. If I wanted a real future with this girl, I needed to start treating this like a real relationship. It was hardly a fancy place, but they did have a live pianist playing, which was nice.
The restaurant looked out at the harbor, and the lights from the incoming boats reflected beautifully on the water. I was feeling introspective, so I didn’t really want to talk. But I wanted to be with her. She sat and listened to the music and sipped her water. She seemed anxious, but given the insanity of the past few days, that was hardly surprising.
But as we sat in awkward silence I couldn’t shake the feeling that something was bothering her. She seemed to be a thousand miles away. She fidgeted nervously with the cloth napkin as we waited to place our order. I placed my hand over hers, giving her a gentle squeeze and smiling. “I’m glad you’re here.”
She smiled weakly. “Me too.”
I wanted to talk to her, have her confide in me. I wanted to hear all about whatever was going on and to do my best to make it better. I wanted her to trust me and depend on me. But I also understood that sometimes people needed to be left alone. I hated when people intruded while I was working something out. So I gave her another gentle squeeze and let her go back to wherever she was in her head.
* * *
After some yummy Thai food and green tea ice cream—her favorite—we headed back to my place. She still seemed out of sorts while we caught up on brewery stuff. The only time she cracked a smile was when she told me funny stories about her niece and nephew. She clearly loved being an aunt. She was so honored that Jack invited her to his soccer game next weekend. It was adorable.
We ended up watching an episode ofSuccessionand then falling into bed. She had some stuff here—a toothbrush, pajamas, that kind of thing. I didn’t mind. If anything, I wanted her to feel totally comfortable here. Watching her go through her nighttime routine, I was struck by a warm feeling of contentment. It was so domestic, and so nice. We chatted while we brushed our teeth and plugged in our phones. I didn’t ever see myself as the domestic type, but having her here just made sense.
I kept trying to open my mouth and have a conversation with her. Tell her how I felt, talk about the future, but I just couldn’t. I opened my mouth and nothing would come out. It didn’t help that something was clearly wrong. She seemed distracted and anxious. She responded to my questions with one-word answers. Maybe she was getting ready to dump me.
It was only November, but it felt like I was counting down the minutes until she left. Had she mentally left me already? We had our fun and now she was checking out? I decided to take a shower, since I wasn’t falling asleep anytime soon.
By the time I got out of the shower, Cecelia had dozed off. I stared at her peaceful face, her thick lashes, those beautiful lips, and the wild mess of hair cascading all over her pillow and mine. I wanted her like this forever. But I was too chickenshit to ask for it.
By the time I fell asleep, I was so distracted that I didn’t even realize this was the first time we had slept in the same bed without having sex. I also didn’t notice until after she left the next day, she had packed every single possession she’d left here into her backpack.
It was as if she wasn’t planning on coming back.
36
Cecelia
I was bookingevents faster than I could type. People wanted to use the brewery for graduations, retirement parties, and even a 1stbirthday party. I was busy drafting proposals and emailing caterers. The new year was shaping up to be a busy one at Binnacle.
I was so busy event planning, I was way behind on scheduling my social media posts. As expected, the custom hashtags were blowing up. I had hundreds of photos to upload, edit, and post. It was going to be a long night.
It was hard to believe it had only been three months. I had accomplished so much and had so many more plans for this place. Liam had shared that the finances had improved, so things were really looking good. Week to week, numbers had gone up. We had a lot of weekend traffic and our specialty weeknight activities were also generating some sales. Trivia had been a big hit, but the biggest surprise was Senior Night. Every other Wednesday we hosted Senior Night where the senior citizens of Havenport could join us for discount drafts and themed appetizers. Tonight we were hosting a very popular bingo caller and were expecting big numbers. I had worked with a local bakery to offer bingo ball cake pops and cupcakes, and we had hundreds of bingo markers and colorful balloons. It was embarrassing to admit how excited I was. The old folks were a loyal and reliable customer base. They showed up, had a good time, and didn’t get too rowdy. I loved planning events for them. Our Rat Pack themed night last month was a huge success. Burt showed up in a fedora and danced with all the ladies to the rotating soundtrack of Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin songs.
I was uploading photos from Gourd Fest onto the brewery’s website when Liam stomped in and slammed the door. He was wearing my favorite jeans, the ones that make his ass look bitable, and a backwards brewery hat. Goddamn, he was fine.
“You’re taking Monday off to go to an interview?” It wasn’t a question as much as a growl.
“I emailed you the details. I don’t think it’s that big a deal.” I busied myself packing some folders into my tote, making sure to take home the notes of our latest brainstorming meeting.
“What the fuck, Cece?” I jerked my head up and almost dropped my bag on the floor. What was his problem? He was standing with his fists clenched, and his jaw was set. I had never seen him like this.
"I have everything ready for the staff meeting presentation on Monday about plans for the spring festivals. All you have to do is press play on the laptop.”
He tossed his hat on his desk and proceeded to run his hands through his thick hair while pacing. If I wasn’t the target of his anger, I would have been really turned on right now.
“I don’t understand why you are interviewing.”
“Because I want to.” That wasn’t the entire truth. Marissa, who I had worked with for years, had recently started as head of hematology at a huge biotech company in Boston. She was building a team and wanted to see if I was interested. I wasn’t particularly excited about the opportunity, but I felt obligated to go out of professional courtesy. “My old boss called me and I like her a lot. It sounds interesting, so I thought I would go. See what’s out there.”
Liam looked up at me, his blue eyes burning. “But it’s in Boston.” He said “Boston” like it was a four-letter word. How dare he have an opinion on where I could go and what jobs I could pursue?
I was starting to get really pissed. “Yes. It is less than an hour away. The same city where your brother works. It’s not Antarctica, for Chrissake.”
“I just can’t believe you are going back to that.”
