Over the Moon

The alarm on my phone goes off at eight o’clock. I don’t remember setting it but who would after a night of debauchery with your boss? Groan. That sounds way worse when I add the boss part. I roll over in bed and turn my alarm off. I close my eyes and stretch. Every muscle aches in the most delicious way. Wait a second. I open my eyes and find myself in bed alone and the apartment is eerily quiet.

“Wolf?” I get out of bed and make my way to the living room. He isn’t here. Maybe he went to get coffee before our flight. I go back to the bedroom and grab my phone and then head to the shower.

The hot water feels amazing on my achy body, but it feels lonely showering without Wolf. What am I saying? We barely showered last night. The tile was cold against my skin while his body was hot. I took his cock in my mouth and let him use me until he came again. Thinking about last night is making me wet and I am tempted to take care of myself before I get out. Maybe a quickie before the flight instead. I finish washing my hair and get out. As I am drying my body, I hear a text message come in.

Wolf: There is a big problem I have to handle, and I had to take an earlier flight back. The driver will pick you up at 10:30 as planned.

He went back to Styre Cove without me? WTF? What could be such a big issue that it couldn’t wait a few hours? Why didn’t he wake me up?

Goodbye? Last night his words dripped with sex and lust and genuine affection. This morning his words are cold and formal. Maybe I am just reading into it too much and really, this is the first time I have exchanged texts with him. The tone is hard to gauge so I decide not to text him back and just let it go. I finish getting ready to go just as I get a call from the driver saying he is downstairs.

The flight is uneventful until the plane lands. Shit! I was planning on driving back home with him. I never thought to call Dad or Nate to get me. I grab my bag, thankful that I just have my carry-on, and leave the plane in a rush. Turning my phone on, I check any messages. There are three from Lola, Harper, and Nate.

Lola: GRRL I miss you already! I hope you approve of me and Henry. He makes me happy! Oh and DAMN! Wolf is hot hot hot! No wonder you flicked your bean to the vision of that man for years!

My last message is from Harper inviting me out on Friday to celebrate my birthday which I gladly accepted. I text Wolf to let him know I landed safely, and that Nate is there to pick me up. There is no immediate response, but I try not to obsess about it.

He shrugs his shoulders like it’s no big deal. “I was in Portland anyways when Wolf messaged me yesterday.”

He responds quickly, “Just visiting friends. I stayed overnight so I could drive you home.” Friends in Portland? Most of his work buddies from years ago moved away.

We get back to Styre Cove and I have Nate drop me off at the house. I don’t have any meetings until tomorrow, so I take the day and recoup from the trip. Dad is busy in his workshop, so I head into the house and start on my laundry. With the first load in and a lasagna thawing on the counter, I head out to the veranda and curl up on the swing with my phone and open my text app. Still nothing from Wolf.

Me:Harper is planning a gathering at Waterside for my birthday this Friday. I hope you will be back in town by then. I would love a repeat of last night.

I don’t expect a response, but I am hopeful to see him again. I watch a ton of funny videos and a few hours later I managed to waste the rest of my day. Dad and I watch the baseball game as we eat. Once Dad heads off to bed, I call Lola to tell her all the dirty details of last night while I put away the laundry.

“It was but Lola, it was so good. My body was on high alert. Everything was just so sensitive, and the man plays my body like an instrument. I have no idea if it was because I have fantasized about him or how long it has been since I was with Derek, or that I was on my period. But damn, I had so many orgasms! You know I am a one-per-night woman.” I hear Lola laugh through my earbuds.

“That is the funny thing, I am trying not to be crazy about this, but that text message was weird, and I still haven’t heard back from him. What if I am reading more into this situation than I should? What if it was a one-time thing?”

“Aubrey! The man fucked you while you were bleeding! Does that sound like a one-night stand to you? I saw him at the bar. He barely took his eyes off you. That man was obsessed! He isn’t the type of guy to fuck and duck. Ease up on yourself and stop thinking so much!” I take a deep breath to relax my body.

I get to the office on Tuesday before most of the staff normally arrive, so I sort through my emails in peace. With no fires to put out and my first meeting being later in the day I decide to head out for an early run. As I am coming back in, I meet up with Jack by the elevators.

“All I can smell is coconut.” He pulls back and stops, his eyes focused on my shoulder. “Aubrey? Who did this?” Shit! He is talking about the bite mark. I never thought about covering it up!

“It’s nothing, Jack. All is good,” I say as I press the call button. He doesn’t say anything as he follows me onto the elevator. I catch him glancing at me a few times as we ascend and it’s starting to make me uncomfortable. We reach the fourth floor, and I am relieved that he says see you later and nothing more.

I know that Wolf is out of the office for a few days, but I need to shower. After what happened last time, I don’t want to shower downstairs. I try his office door and it’s unlocked. I would text him to make sure that using his bathroom was okay, but I doubt he would reply. I peek my head in expecting it to be empty, but his laptop is on his desk. Normally he doesn’t leave the office without it. Stop reading into everything! He is not Derek. He is not a liar. Trust him. I get a shower and make sure to leave my coconut lotion there.

The one o’clock meeting gets underway with only a few members of the team. Most of my coworkers are out on-site or in other meetings. Nate, Jack, Honey (of course), Harper, and Winnie are here today. “Not much to go over today but we have a busy couple of weeks coming up so we are not likely to get together like this for a bit,” Nate says.

Jack pipes up, “The most important thing to cover today is Aubrey’s birthday this Friday! You all in?” Everyone around the table says that they will be there.

“There will be a good size crew coming. I was even chatting with Violet, and she will be in town,” Nate says.

“Violet is going to be here?” Jack asks. Nate nods as he leans back in his chair, and they share a look. What is that about?

“Awe, guys. Thanks! This is the first birthday I have celebrated at home in years. I can’t wait until Friday!” I say breaking that weird tension.

After the meeting, I walk out with Jack and Honey. “Do you know what the big issue is that Wolf is working on?” He stops walking and looks up at me.

“What are you talking about?” Huh?

“I am not sure what you are talking about, Aubrey. Wolf took personal time this week. If there is a big issue it isn’t with Lawson's. I was talking to him this morning. He didn’t mention anything to me.”

“Just by text.” That asshole.

When I get back to my office, I check my text thread with Wolf. My messages are all marked as read. I reread the message where he told me that he had to leave early. The one I assumed was about work.

A notification pops up showing that he has seen the message and he is typing but a message never comes. Whatever. I can’t waste my time waiting.

The week carries on the same, between meetings and video calls with Sasha I am pretty busy. I run every day and shower in his office ensuite. On Wednesday I was a little sad that I hadn’t heard from him. The anticipation of something, anything between us was just foreplay. By the time we finally stopped fighting the attraction in Chicago I was already falling head over heels for him. Fuck. Do I love him? I can’t. I barely know him. I shake off the feeling of uneasiness and carry on.

By Thursday I’m pissed. Nate, Jack, Harper, and even Rusty have all mentioned that they have heard from Wolf in one form or another. That bastard is ghosting me. In the immortal words of Lola Langille, he fucked and ducked. He was right, I shouldn’t date anyone from the office, including him! I know I am going to keep spinning about this, so I decide to sever the connection. I won’t be made a fool again. I make a call to Jack and then send Wolf a text.

Me: After Autism Hub’s renovation is underway, I am leaving Lawson Building Company. Consider this my advanced notice.

I sit down at my desk to draft my resignation letter that I will forward to Harper. I have enjoyed my time with Lawson’s, and I have made some great friends here, but I will need to move on. I can’t work with Wolf. Less than five minutes later my phone rings and I pick it up without looking at the caller ID.

“I believe I was clear in my text. I will be leaving Lawson's Building Company within the next few weeks. I want to thank you for the opportunity to continue working with the Thrive project as it’s special to me. However, they are in good hands as I have asked Jack to take over for me.”

“Why not, Wolf? Do you care to explain what has been going on over the last few days? For weeks now you have come on to me, you have told me who I can and cannot date, you have made comments about us being together, and when we finally fuck you fucking run! You told me that you didn’t have sex, you made love. Is that what it was? Did we make love, Wolf?”

“What fucking bullshit! How dare you play me like that! Is this what you do? Do you fuck the new girl? Make her feel sexy, blow her mind with multiple orgasms, and then just drop her?”

“I opened my heart to you. I have dealt with some shitty shit, Wolf. I respect myself too much to be treated that way ever again. Goodbye, Mr. Lawson.” I hang up the phone.

I step away from my desk as my phone rings again. Nope! I sit on my loveseat and burst into tears. Wolf calls a few more times but I continue to ignore each one. I cry harder than I did after everything with Derek. Why does this hurt more?