Page 53 of Lovestruck at Sundown
“I have something for you,” I said, finishing off my bagel and tucking my hand inside the back pocket of my jeans. I pulled out a purple envelope with a glittery unicorn sticker and handed it to him.
“What’s this?” His tone sounded more like a warning, like he imagined what the contents of that envelope could be, but he wasn’t sure.
“You might want to wait to open it until you …”
He lifted the flap and snorted, pulling out $800 cash.
“Or you could dothat.” I rolled my eyes at him.
“This is cute.” William lifted the envelope next to his face and gave it a wave. He returned the money inside it and offered it back to me.
“No.” I refused to take it and stepped out of the elevator. He followed me as I crossed the lobby with haste. Aaron was already standing outside and had the SUV parked by the curb. “I am late for class. I don’t have time to argue about money right now. This is going to be a monthly occurrence, so you better get used to it. And I want to be able to say goodbye to you properly without this getting in the way.”
William leaned in and kissed the corner of my lips.
“You can’t fix everything with a kiss!” I complained. Well, he usually could, but not this time. “Just take the money.Please.”
“You had cream cheese on your lip,” he said, licking his lips.
I’d been asking William to send me his bank information so I could transfer the money into his account. But he ignored me every time, and I wouldn’t let him leave without paying my first rent, which was already due. I only had two days left as per our napkin agreement.
I knew it would be impossible to retrieve his information once he left for Vancouver. My second choice was coercing Alice into giving me his bank account number, but I was sure she would double-check with William and start making excuses to avoid cooperating. That’s what dating a Taurus looked like. But as an Aries, stubborn was a word I also easily identified with.
“Listen …” William said before we stepped out of the building to say our final goodbye, breathing slowly through his nose. “Our napkin agreement was fun and all, but I simply cannot accept your money, knowing you need it more than I do. Iactually don’t need it at all. So, please spare me the trouble of having to convince you this is the decent and most logical thing to do and take it.”
“We shook on it,” I reminded him, plucking the envelope from his grasp. “You will accept my money.” I Jedi hand-waved him and curved a hand around his waist, quickly inserting the envelope inside the back pocket of his jeans.
“Not the Jedi hand-wave,” he quipped, feigning indifference.
I ignored him.
“I’m late for school. Now kiss me one last time before I leave.”
“So. Fucking. Bossy.” He yanked me closer to him. “Why do I even bother with you?” He leaned in to kiss me and slid a hand up my back. The gesture was gentle yet possessive. His fingers flexed around my neck, sending a delicious shiver down my spine.
Feeling lost in that kiss, I managed to break it off. “I’m going to miss you so much.” This was the moment when acknowledging his departure lodged inside my guts. It’s as if I’d been in denial up until this moment.
“I might be able to fly back for a few days here and there,” he said. He’d already said this to me a few times, but it was easier for me to think I wouldn’t see him for six weeks straight than to hope for him to visit when even he didn’t know if his schedule would allow it.
But it was even more than just finding the time to do so. William had mentioned this was the first time he’d be taking up a role in such a dark, psychological project. Getting into character and staying in it was crucial for him to feel confident in delivering a compelling performance. And I didn’t want him to break that spell for me.
We both were more than capable of surviving six weeks apart.
Cupping his face between my hands, I whispered, “Don’t spend it all in one place.” I pressed a soft peck on his slightly swollen lips and tapped his butt where the envelope with my rent money was.
“You’ll pay for this.” His nostrils flared with playful annoyance.
“I already did.” I winked at him and took a few steps backward, gradually increasing the distance until our hands slipped apart. “Oh, shit! I forgot to ask you something.” But I waved him off. “Never mind. I’ll text you.”
He brushed his lower lip and watched me leave with his arms crossed at his chest and a side smile that almost made me skip my first class altogether.
Senad held the door open for me, and I brushed my lower lip too before turning around and hurrying inside the SUV.
“Good morning, Miss Murphy,” Aaron said, driving off with haste. There was no need to tell him we were running late. He knew my schedule by heart.
Aaron had been acting more like himself. The fact that I had the chance to talk to him the day after he met Naomi and discussed their interactions put us both at ease. He apologized, saying he didn’t know what overcame him. When I asked about his father, he admitted that his health was deteriorating, but it wasn’t an excuse for him to act the way he did.
When I asked Aaron if he had any suspicions about Naomi’s character, he quickly shook his head with a wrinkled brow. I knew Caleb and Aaron always had an impeccable radar for detecting untrustworthy people. He’d looked into her, and she was a decent human being. That story about her doing jail time in Budapest checked out, but she was out in less than 24 hours, so it was nothing major. Just a misunderstanding that ended up in a drunken brawl.
