4.
*******
Monday, a workday and there was no time to laze in bed. I left Veronica to go about her toilet and dress and do all that other feminine stuff like putting on her makeup while I went into the kitchen to put together a breakfast and brew coffee.
I was pouring the coffee when she walked into the kitchen. She was beautiful, I smiled and I complimented her by saying, "Good morning .... Wow, I envy the men in your office, they will get to gaze at your loveliness all day today."
She laughed as she walked over and kissed my cheek. "Flattery will get you everywhere. That little comment is just one of the reasons that waking up in your flat is good for my well-being."
Veronica sat down on the opposite side of the kitchen island and inspected the breakfast I had laid out in front of her. She took a sip of her orange juice, gave a nod of approval and said, "Dougie, that was a fun night last night, I liked relaxing with you."
I nodded. "I liked it too."
She looked at me. "It's a shame, I'm going to miss you tonight."
I sighed. "Yes."
She picked up the coffee I had poured and as she sipped the cup she looked at me knowingly.
I stared at her, I knew what I wanted to say but I was nervous, afraid. This was difficult, years of failure and rejection with beautiful women like Veronica had left me timid and apprehensive.
Veronica continued to stare back at me as she sipped the coffee. It was obvious that she was waiting for me to take the next step.
The thought of just taking her to work and to say goodbye when she got out of my car was unbearable. I didn't want her to just walk out of my life when I dropped her off in front of her office. I knew what I wanted; I wanted Veronica to stay here in my apartment with me and I didn't want it to just be for tonight. I wanted her to stay in my apartment with me forever.
I took a deep breath and said, "Veronica you don't have to go home tonight; stay here with me, please stay here with me."
Veronica put her cup down on the counter, studied my face and after a moment said, "Dougie are you asking me to live with you?"
I nodded, "Yes I am. Veronica please stay here in my apartment, please live with me."
Veronica laughed and came around the island and threw her arms around me to give me a hug. She cried, "Right answer, Yes Dougie, yes please. I want to stay with you tonight; I want to stay with you tomorrow night; I want to stay with you till the end of time."
I turned in my seat and we kissed for what seemed forever. When she finally released me she said, "We need to figure out how we're going to make this work."
I looked at her, puzzled by her switch to a matter-of-fact way of speaking.
Veronica laughed to see my expression,. "Don't be worried, Dougie if I'm going to live with you I have to have my things."
She paused to think and then continued. "Hmm, so many things to sort out. I need to give thirty days notice to my landlord which should give me enough time to get everything done. Then I shall need to get some of my things out of my apartment right away. Tell you what, why don't you pick me up after work and take me there so I can get some of my things to bring over here?"
The speed with which she had agreed to make the move had left me flustered and embarrassed. I shook my head and stammered, "No I'm sorry, I can't. Monday's and Wednesday's I teach an evening class on eighteenth century English Literature. It starts at 6:00 and doesn't finish until at least 8:30."
I'm not sure why I gave her so much detail, it's just something I tend to do whenever I'm embarrassed, I babble. I babbled on, "It meets late in the day; it's very popular with adult students."
Veronica grinned at my babbling, "Dougie, that sounds interesting, I would love to take that class."
I looked to see if she was making fun of me but, no, she seemed quite sincere so I calmed down and said, "I think that can be easily arranged. Would you like to come tonight, shall I enrol you?"
Veronica shook her head. "A nice idea but, no, I think I'd better spend my evening sorting out a few things to bring over to your apartment. I'll manage on my own and see you later."
I composed myself and attempted to regain control of the situation and said, "Yes, of course; you're absolutely right, good idea," before walking to my little office to find a spare key to my flat and an entry card for the gates to the complex. I handed them to Veronica. "These are yours. The card will open the gates and you can park out the front of this building, I'm allotted two parking places ... and this is your key to our apartment."