Page 9 of Fiona
5
MICHAEL
I spent all morning thinking about what happened with Fiona, what I did wrong that had her running for the door. I must have pushed too hard, too fast. But from the moment I first saw her at the restaurant, I couldn’t stop thinking about kissing her, feeling her body pressed close against mine. I thought I’d been reading the signals right but clearly, I was wrong. I’m determined to make it up to her tonight.
Fiona tries to suggest that she will meet me for dinner, but I want to show her that I’m not just looking for a hook up. Even though we only met last night, I already feel a connection with her that I’ve never felt before. Plus, Denny loves her. That’s speaks volumes to me.
I knock on her apartment door, and I hear a soft moan on the other side of the door. I’m suddenly alert, wondering if she’s in there with some other guy. I knock again and the moan sounds again, only this time it doesn’t sound like a moan of pleasure, but a moan of pain.
“Fiona!” I call through the door and pound my fist.
“Go away!” she calls back.
“Fiona! It’s Michael. Come on, open up.”
There’s a shuffling sound, followed by the lock of the dead bolts clicking open. The door swings open and a disheveled, and weak looking like death warmed over.
She stares at me in confusion. For a moment, I’m not even sure she recognizes me until she says my name.
“Michael, what are you doing here?”
“We had plans for dinner.”
She tilts her head in confusion, barely able to keep her eyes open. “Oh right, I can’t go tonight.”
“What happened to you?”
“It was something I ate for lunch. I can’t—” she isn’t able to finish speaking. Her cheeks expand like she’s chipmunk who has jammed as bunch of nuts in her mouth.
Before I can ask her, what is happening she runs away from the door and down the hall. The unmistakable sound puking lets me know that she has food poisoning. I step inside and close the door behind me.
I wait for a minute or two for her finish. I hear the water in the sink turn on and run for a bit before shutting off again. She stumbles out of the bathroom but stops when she see me.
“What are you still doing here?”
“You’re sick, I’m not going to leave you.”
“I’m fine,” she mumbles, but her knees buckle underneath her and she nearly falls to the floor.
I move quickly and I’m able to catch her before she hits the ground. I pick her up into my arms, enjoying the way she settles against my chest like I’m able to bring her comfort.
“You should have taken me up on my offer to take you to lunch,” I tease her.
She grumbles something under breath but I’m pretty sure I hear the word “jackass” come out of her sweet lips.
I chuckle. “Where is your room?”
She doesn’t have the energy to speak and just points down the hall and I walk her to the back bedroom. Her bed is made, and I have to maneuver the covers back with her in my arms before I can lay her down. She settles almost instantly into in the plush mattress. I cover her up. Her eyes are closed and I assume that she’s already asleep when I turn to walk away, but her hand darts out for mine.
“Stay with me?” She asks softly.
I can’t tell if she’s really asking me or if she’s delirious and mistaking me for someone I’m not. I lean down and with the hand she isn’t holding, I brush away the hair on her forehead.
“Don’t go,” she repeats the words I said to her last nigh before she walked out.
“I’m not going anywhere,” I tell her.
Without letting go of her hand, I cross over her on the bed to lay down next to her on top of the covers. She leans back against me and the soft scent of cherry blossoms in her hair makes my dick twitch.
“I shouldn’t have left you,” she whispers before her breathing slows to steady rhythm next to me.
I’m not sure she would have ever admitted that to me if she wasn’t so out of it. I like this window of honesty into Fiona.
From the moment we met, it felt like she was trying to hide some dark truth from me, like whatever it is, I’d scared off if I ever found out. But I want to tell her nothing except her pushing me away will keep me from her. If only I could find a way to show her that I’m not going anywhere, I’m in it for the long haul with her.
A couple hours later, after I’ve cleaned up her bathroom and ran back to my place to pick up Denny, he and I are laying down on couch. Fiona’s tablet lights up with some sort of system’s update notification. I wouldn’t have thought anything of it, but that’s when I notice the sticky not attached to the tablet with the words—"Cherry Pop by Nadine Anton.”
I remember Fiona mentioning something about a Cherry yesterday. I pull out my phone and search for the book online and read the description. It’s about a young woman who is still a virgin and but decides to go a sexual quest to find herself.
I click the purchase button and start reading the ebook. Maybe this book will give me some insight into what is going on with Fiona.
