Page 12 of Linc
“This isn’t funny, Linc.”She practically stomps her heel.“I don’t do this, you’ve…”
“I’ve what?”
I want to hear if I affect her the same as she does me.
“You, you manage to throw all the rules out the window.”
BINGO!
Wrapping the thin sheet around my waist so that I’m not tempted to drive her into the wall for the entire spa to hear, I walk over to the end of the table where she’s retreated to.
“You do the same for me, Everly.I’ve never been like this before and it’s new territory for me too.”
“I find that hard to believe.Look at you, women probably bow down at a chance with you.”
She’s got me there but I don’t want to talk about other women.I want to focus on us and our future.
“You are all that matters to me.When I saw you yesterday, it did something to me.Something that I’ve never experienced before.It was like you called to me and I had to know who you were.”
She looks as though she doesn’t believe me and I don’t blame her.I’ve just laid my cards on the table, hoping I haven’t pushed too hard.Or scared the shit out of her.
“You have the power to crush me,” she states, and I’m taken aback by the words.“I’ve never done this.Having people stick around for long periods of time is not something I’ve had a lot of experience with.”
“Never done what?A relationship?”
She nods.
“Any of it.I’ve had a few short-term dates but as far as that, that’s it.People don’t tend to stay except for Saylor.”
Mother of pearl, she’s just been waiting for me to come and rescue her.
“I’d never crush or hurt you in any way,” I say and cup her face with my hand tilting her face up to mine.“I’ll make sure we take this nice and slow if you want.You can trust me and I’ll prove it to you.”
A buzzer goes off on the counter pulling us both out of our little bubble.Has it already been four hours?
Everly pulls away to turn it off.She starts putting the bottle of lotion up in the cabinet and the towels in the hamper.
“Other than a few hiccups what’d you think of getting a massage?”she asks as she starts to tidy the area.
“As long as it’s your hands touching me, I think I might have my doctor recommend getting one twice a day.”
“That good, huh?”she has her back to me but I can hear the amusement in her voice.
“Best I’ve ever had,” I brag.
“I’ll consider it a compliment even though I’m your first,” she giggles.
“And last,” I declare.“Let’s go and have some lunch.I’d love to get to know you more.”
She turns with a weary look, but the second she sees the sincerity in my face, her demeanor changes as I see the walls she’s been building slowly begin to crumble.She might have a hard shell on the outside that is going to take some time to crack open and let me in, but I’ve got all the time in the world to chisel my way in.Not to mention I’m a master at negotiations.
“Okay.”
Everly
Yesterday was a whirlwind of events.After Linc and I went to lunch, we caught a movie and then walked around the beach for a bit.He truly seems like the perfect person, but no one can be that perfect.Saylor always says the first several months are like a honeymoon stage but then you really get to know each other after the first fight or a long separation.She’s been in and out of relationships since we were teenagers.Her being older, I always watched her, hoping to one day have the confidence she showed.
Linc received a call last night as we were walking around from his business partner, Olivia, and had to head into the office.He was very pissed she couldn’t handle whatever it was that was going on but after several minutes he ended the call looking flustered.He apologized but needed to head into the office to manage an employee that was handling a critical case.He followed me home in his car to make sure I made it there safely, then left in a rush with the promise to call me today.
