"I'm sorry babe, but I have to go," my fiancée whispers into my ear. "Enjoy your party, and thank Michael for throwing it for us. I'll see you tonight?"
"Yes," I say softly. "What's the plan?"
"First, I'm taking you to your favorite restaurant, and then we're going back to my place for dessert." He winks at me.
"Sounds lovely," I say unconvincingly.
He seems not to notice and gives me a peck on the cheek before he presses the elevator button for down. I stare out of the high rise's floor-to-ceiling windows as the elevator door next to them closes.
As the workday winds down, the impromptu engagement party that Michael, the CEO of the company, planned for me is slowly dwindling in the number of party guests. I say a quick goodbye to the rest of my co-workers and head down the hallway. I hear my classic black heels click against the tan marble floor until I reach the door of the conference room. I love sitting in here when it's empty. The elongated black oak table stretches across the room, empty black leather chairs lined up around it like soldiers at attention. I sit in the middle, facing the closed oak wood door. I think about all the memories in this room - the meetings, the presentations, the countless nights Michael and I spent building our company from scratch. We always had an unspoken connection, ever since he accidentally bumped into me at soccer practice, physically and figuratively knocking the wind out of my chest with his concrete pecs. That was sophomore year of high school. Though we didn't talk much then, fate brought us together time and time again. Once during college, he happened to be in the same restaurant and ended up walking me home after my date stood me up.
He hired me after grad school and I helped him build his advertising company. As the years went by, we grew closer and closer together. I could tell he felt something towards me by the way he stole quick glances when he thought I wasn't looking, and the way the corners of his eyes crinkled slightly downwards when I looked back at him. Every time our hands accidentally brushed together, a single heartbeat-skipping electric jolt surged through me. He was a gentleman though - always calm and cool like the ocean at night - he never tried to make a move. When I started noticing the differences in his body language towards me, it was too late - I was with the man who would eventually become my fiancée. So he never pursued his feelings. And neither did I.
The sound of the latch softly clicking brings me back to the present.
Michael.
He is beautiful. His hair is cut high on the top, short on the sides, and slicked over to the left. Golden, caramel skin radiates under his navy-blue suit and makes want to taste how sweet it is. His toned muscles push the seams of his white buttoned dress shirt to their limit. I lower my gaze past his belt for a millisecond, but I feel his stare on me and blush. I meet his gaze.
"Thank you for the lovely party."
"Anything for my CFO," he mutters. He tries to sound joyous, but his black eyes tell me different. They look hungry today.
"He told me to say thank you," I say quietly, and return my gaze to the table, deep in thought. I stare at my princess-cut diamond ring, unused to the weight of it on my finger.
"Are you really going to marry him?"
His question catches me off-guard. Looking up at him, I can see a twinge of jealousy when he squares his jaw. Jealousy looks so good on him. Anything looks good on him. I wonder how I would look on him.
"Yes."
"Are you in love with him?"
I pause.
"He's a good guy," I say after a while.
I could swear a smirk flashes across his face.
"Does he give you everything you need?"
"Yes." Almost.
My now-fiancée was definitely not lacking in looks also, but he lacked charm. Sure, his cock eventually made me come every Tuesday and Thursday (when he got off work early) like clockwork. Sure, he had a good career and made good money. He was safe. But when it came to passion and spontaneity... well, he had none. He was boring. He was vanilla, and I wanted caramel.
Michael walks towards me slowly, looking down at the marble, with his hands in his pockets. My heart beats faster with each step, jitters spreading from my stomach through my thighs with each tap of his shoes.
"I don't believe you," he calmly growls.
"It's not for you to believe," I say, my voice rising higher than I wanted it to. And with my voice, I rise out of my seat too. I'm standing face to face with his tense jaw, half angry and half turned on. I've never seen him like this. Besides rare moments of geeking out about 'cool' business strategies, he's usually calm and witty, but often quiet. Today, he seems... bewildered, determined. His eyes display a different determination than when he is working. Not like he is trying to land a new client, but like he is trying to reclaim something that already belongs to him.
"I saw you out there with him today. You can't tell me that he's giving you everything you need. Not like I would." A mixture of feelings rushes through me: surprise, euphoria, and dread. I decide to deal with the latter first.
"Did you find that line in a young adult romance novel?" I cringe.
"I'm being fucking serious." His expression shows no change from its stony resemblance before I blurted out my rude remark.
"Is that why you took it upon yourself to ambush me with an engagement party today, Michael?" I spit out, before I get a chance to think. His lips move slightly, wanting to smirk, but he maintains his neutral look.
"It was a surprise, not an ambush."
"I don't give a fuck what you want to call it, why are you doing this?" I snap. I'm fuming by now, but he seems to look more amused by the minute.
"Doing what?" he innocently asks with a shy smile. That's cute.
"Throwing the engagement party, then disappearing through all of it. Coming in here, telling me you can give me everything I need, like you're Prince fucking Charming. Why are you saying all of this now?"
The amusement is gone from his face now. Good.
"I waited for you to break up with him for three years. I didn't want to overstep my boundaries, and I figured you'd get bored of him eventually. I mean, you never even talk about him, and you act like people are talking about taxes when they ask about him. Then I saw that ring on your finger this morning, and my knees almost fucking gave out. Why the fuck did you say yes to him? You can't even tell me that you're in love with him, but you said yes," he points out.
When I don't answer, he continues.
"I thought seeing you two together would give me closure, but it drove me even more mad. I've been trying to deny my feelings for you for so long, but I can't anymore." He steps even closer towards me, closing the remaining distance between us quickly.
"Cheesy or not, this is my chance to tell you that I want you, with every single cell of my being. I know you feel it too." He tucks a stray strand of my chestnut-colored curls behind my ear and cups my chin with a firm hand. I close my eyes, unable to stare in his hungry, darkened eyes.
"I'm no longer going to pretend that you don't shudder every time I touch you or that I don't think about how you would shudder if my tongue was on you, or if you were wrapped around my waist, or if I was inside you. If you can't handle that, then forget I ever said anything. You can go back to picturing my face when he fucks you."