Past, Present and Passion

Passion Paused

Kelsey fell onto the couch, still breathing heavily. She had to call Meredith but she also needed to get control of herself first. Meredith was her boss but also was one of her best friends. She had been with her through every step of this pregnancy so far. She had to be there for this, even if it was just on the phone.

“Kelsey? Hello? Oh my god girl are you ok?”

Kelsey was shocked that she was asking her if she was ok considering the situation. “Of course, why are you asking me that? Are you ok is the better question!”

Meredith huffed. “I’ve called you over and over and texted. You scared me! And why are you out of breath?”

Kelsey did her best to catch her breath before answering. “I’m sorry Mer, I was, um I was bringing home groceries, my arms were full and I couldn’t get to my phone. It was in my purse. I’m sorry. I’m fine. Please just tell me what’s going on with you.”

“Well I’m in the hospital. I’ve been having contractions but they are trying to stop them. They have to! James isn’t even here! He’s out of town on work! I’m here alone. But they think that maybe I’m just dehydrated. I don’t know. I’m hooked up to all kinds of wires.” Her voice cracked a bit. Meredith was normally a formidable and very strong woman. Kelsey was not used to her showing a lot of emotion. “BUT baby girl’s heart rate is fine and they aren’t concerned about her right now. They said if they couldn’t stop my contractions they might give me some steroids to help her lungs. But they are going to hold her in there as long as possible.” She stopped to take a breath.

“Meredith, I’m so sorry. Is James on his way home? Do you want me to ask Jenn to come so you aren’t alone?” She knew not to ask about Meredith’s assistant, Linda. They didn’t have a great relationship.

“No no, I’ll be fine. James is on a plane home from Chicago now. He should be here in an hour or so. I just needed to talk to you. You have a way of calming me down. The nurse gave me some meds to help with that also.” She gave a little laugh. “They said I was too worked up.” Kelsey could hear her eyes rolling through the phone.

“Well, I can talk as long as you want. Do you want to hear about my first day? I can tell you all about the amazing stuff I found.”

“Oooh yes please! The few pics you sent me looked so good!”

For the next 45 minutes, Kelsey told her all about the art and antiques she had logged. Meredith hung on every word, asking questions and sighing with envy that she was in a hospital bed and not there. Thankfully, she didn’t question Kelsey on her story as to why she missed her calls.

“James!! Oh James is here. Kelsey I will let you go. He made it quicker than I thought!”

“I’m so glad, but please update me tonight! I need to know if you are having this baby or going home. And please take it easy.” Kelsey was worried about her friend.

“I will. I’ll text you as soon as I know something. Love you Kels. Thank you for calming me down.”

“Love you Mer. Anytime.” Meredith hung up and Kelsey slouched into the couch. She groaned and looked around the room. Her eyes fell on the countertop that Charles had so easily put her on. Her hand slipped up to her lips and her eyes closed. She could still feel his lips, the desire that had been so intense. She shivered and stood up. She needed to text him to apologize again. Where did he leave his number?

“Oh my god, I don’t even have the number of a man I almost had s*x with,” she moaned aloud. She had never had an experience like this. She was a relationship person.

She found his number on a piece of paper in the kitchen. She quickly typed it in her phone and then tried to figure out what to say.

She typed and deleted at least a dozen times before she decided on what to say.

“Hey Charles. It’s Kelsey. I’m so sorry that our time was cut short. My boss and one of my closest friends is 7 months pregnant. She’s in the hospital with contractions. They think they can stop them but her husband was out of town and she just needed to talk. I just got off the phone with her. Anyway, I hope to see you again soon.”

She knew it was probably too long for a text but whatever. She was a thorough person. She hit send and went back to her message screen to see if Meredith had sent an update yet. That’s when she noticed her text to Jared, never sent. “s**t” she said below her breath.

She deleted everything she had typed before and started over. “Hey, sorry for the delay. I’ve been crazy busy with the new job. I know we said we would keep in touch but I think I need a little break. The job is a lot and I just need to focus. I’ll do my best to check in.”

It seemed cold, but Kelsey knew she needed to figure things out. And she didn’t want him to think they were still together. She was making out with another man for goodness sake! She wasn’t a cheater. She needed it to be a clean break so she could explore whatever was happening with Charles.

“Ding” her phone vibrated. Who was it going to be?

It was Charles. She felt her stomach flip. She clicked open the message.

“Hey, though I’m disappointed that our time was interrupted, it was probably for the best. We might be moving a little fast.” Kelsey groaned loudly. But he was right if she was honest with herself. “I hope your friend is ok. I’m glad you texted. Maybe we can get to know each other a little more before we see each other again?”

Kelsey smiled. Might be a good idea. She didn’t even know what this guy did for a living! She literally knew nothing about him.

“Ok, I like that idea, tell me about yourself. You know what I do, what do you do when you aren’t hanging at the pub or helping random women with their groceries?”

“Lol have to say you are the first woman I’ve done that for. But when I’m not at the pub, I’m at my family’s business. Mainly finance and real estate type stuff. Actually, my home here isn’t my main house. I spend summers here but I’m mostly in London.”

Kelsey was intrigued. “I love London. Maybe I can come visit sometime.”

“Counting on it.”

The next few hours were spent texting back and forth. A lot of flirting, even more learning about each other. Kelsey literally laughed out loud many times. She waited until she got a text back from Meredith, letting her know all was well and she was being sent home before she told Charles that she should get to bed.

“I should go, early work tomorrow.” Kelsey fought with herself in her mind on what to say. She wanted to end on a sexy note. How forward should she be? She was just gonna go for it. “Though I have to say I’m imagining what might have happened if I hadn’t got that call. Would you be going to bed with me right now?”

Charles started typing, then deleted then started again. His response took a bit longer than before. Finally he sent, “I don’t think I would have been able to leave. Totally honest, you have some sort of power over me that I can’t explain. Scares me a bit.”

Kelsey slipped down under her blankets in her bed and grinned with delight. Her bravery had paid off. Before she could respond, he was typing again.

“I should go toO. I have an early work call. Can we talk to tomorrow?”

“Yes for sure. Tomorrow. Good night”. She added a heart emoji but then deleted it. Send. Kelsey let out a happy sigh and closed her eyes. With any luck, she might get to finish their time together in her dreams.