Keeping it Professional

A visitor

I woke up groggy after fitful night of sleeplessness. I had been doing fairly well adjusting back to a typical sleep cycle after waking up hourly to care for my mother. Not last night! Tim and Lucy are both seated at the kitchen table, eyeing me with smirks as I walk in. Tim pours me a cup before picking up his own cup of coffee raising a pinky. "Ahmm... please do tell" he probed in his best British accent. We all chuckled. I gave them the run down, in full detail. They knew about Sam. "What on earth was HE doing there?! And how dare he try to act like everything's fine" exclaimed Lucy. She certainly was validating. 

I avoided Sam's text messages all day but they persisted throughout the week. He let me know that he and Rachel had broken up, that he missed me. Apparently that was to motivate a response. I continued to get back in the swing at work and find my new normal living with Lucy and Tim again. I had lived with them until they got engaged, at which point I found a new roommate. They were incredibly close and great friends. I was so thankful for them. They knew me well, and I them. 

One morning, we all had coffee together.  Lucy had one of her looks on, like she was up to no good. She loved being a pot stirrer, and I absolutely loved it if I could be the bystander. She sipped her coffee, eyes darting around the room. That was always her tell. "You know, maybe you and Sam should just talk this all out" she blurted out, before darting her eyes away again and taking a sip. The sip was her weird barrier of some sort of protection when she knew she was saying something controversial. I rolled my eyes, "I see you are talking to him again?". She too had become good friends with Sam during our college years. And, it was absolutely one of his tactics to reengage her as a method to get to me. I didn't fault her, Lucy was just being Lucy and she wouldn't ignore anyone. I knew her alliance was with me, and she generally just wished for the air to be cleared. She still looked off, Tim and I could both tell. We both knew that when she sipped her coffee like that with both hands, taking small sips she had more to say. We both eyed her. Tim then raised his pinky preparing his best British accent. I smirked anxiously in anticipation. "He may be back in the area soon" she blurted out again, looking around before sipping again. "Are you kidding me, what for?!" with a tone that was meant for Sam. This was likely what she was creating the barrier for that tone she knew would fly out of me. She exhaled, I could tell this was as nerve wracking for her as it was me. "Um... he might have a job interview" she anxiously replied. Tim's pinky dropped. He smirked and looked at Lucy, "listen, woman- don't meddle here". I knew she wasn't meddling, and he knew too, but we all knew how well she walked the line. I hustled off, muttering that I needed to get my school work done. I've been working on my master's degree and let's just say the last 6 months haven't lent themselves to academic success. 

I laid in bed trying to get through my assigned reading, but my mind continuously wandered. Would he persist in trying to see me? I hated that I felt like a magnet drawn to him, no matter how angry I was, I just wanted to be next to him. I thought back to when we first met. It was so simple and carefree. Our eyes locked at a cafe in college. We watched each other from afar for a whole year. He waited until the evening of our last day there to try to talk to me. We exchanged phone numbers and talked all day, every day through the summer. We told each other our entire life stories with complete honestly. To this day I am sure there are things that only I know. He convinced me to meet him in New York City (where he lived) before school started back up. I brought a couple friends and he did as well. My friends and I rented a hotel room, and undenounced to me, he rented the one next to us. We had such fun that weekend. Sam and his friends took us to every spot on our touristy wish list for NYC. We even snuck into bars, we drank and had fun and even drank more at the hotel room. We were all having fun and feeling great. We all were laughing when Sam's eyes connected with mine in that magnetic way. As everyone else continued to laugh and engage in conversation, I saw Sam navigate his way over to me in the back of the room. My heart fluttered under his intense stare. He quietly pushed me up against the door of the two adjoining rooms, leaning into me gently kissing me. He stopped before I lost my breath, only to look back and make sure no one else was noticing. He returned his gaze to mine and I was paralyzed. He cupped my face with both of his hands, kissing me more passionately before moving his lips over to my ear. Gently blowing warm air into my ear, he whispers, "shhh...." almost to quite me, he moves back to my lips to kiss me stifling my quiet gasp. He looks into my eyes, and returns to my ear again, "is okay if we get some privacy?". I look up at him, doing everything I can to breathe out a yes. I couldn't see or hear anyone else at this point. He kisses me again passionately as his hands travel down my back and down my upper thigh. Before I can't help but moan, his hand travels back up my thigh, in between my legs and back around my waist. He uses this hand to open the door we are leaning against. I almost fall backwards but Sam grabs me tighter and closer to him. "Come here" he quietly demands as he turns me around after we step through the door way- he knows I can't stand and has me leaned up against the wall of his hotel room. "Is this okay?" He asks sweetly. It's as if he's made my heart explode and it's vibrating through my body. I look up again at him and muster a "yes" the best I can. He grabs my face with one hand, crashing his lips into me, pushing his other hand down my back and in between my skin and jeans. His touch sets my skin on fire, I can't help but push up against his hand as it travels down may pants, caressing my upper thigh before making its way back up and in between my legs. I couldn't believe how wet he had already made me. Although I could not feel them, his touch made my leg move up and curl around his body. With this he lifted me up and carried me to the bed. As he put me down, his legs caressed my legs up and down. He kissed my ankle, "leaves these one" referencing my heels. Before I knew it, he had me down to my lingerie and he was bulging out of his boxers. He spread my legs, kissing the sides of my thighs as he began to slip my panties down. I jumped when I heard my phone go off. How long had I been day dreaming about this? I checked my phone and it was from Sam. I growled. Homework is not working, its time for a run. 

I went to work the next day and was surprised when Cynthia rang me at my desk phone, "Good afternoon, Nova, there is a Sam here to see you". My heart jumped out of my chest. What on earth was he doing here, bothering me at my place of employment? I was infuriated and then remembered that Lucy hinted to a possible interview he had. I prepared myself and marched down the hall to confront him, demanding that he leave me alone. As I turned the corner I walked right into him. UGH, i growled again. What was with this man and walking into me? He grabbed my arm in an affectionate way and I couldn't help but notice how good he looked in a suite. Quite the contract from our college days. "Nova, it's so nice to see you. I had an interview down the street so I figured I would say a quick hello". "It needs to be quick," I replied grouchily, "I have work to do". Sam pleaded me with me to meet up with him after work. "Come on, Nova, just one drink at Paddy's, for old time sake! I promise to leave you alone after that". I rolled my eyes. By this point, he had started rubbing his hand up and down my arm. I hadn't been to Paddy's in a long time. One drink seemed worth it for him to leave me alone, so I obliged. 

I went to the bathroom after our exchange pulling myself together. I needed to get through work and then be on my A game for our meeting later. How would I do this?