Thirty-Day Lover

@lovelyl: Thank you for the comment. And the tension sorta continues. Hahah.

Thirty Day Lover - Chapter Four

You know that feeling you get when there is someone moving about in close proximity to you? Although you're still asleep, half of your brain seems to be dedicated to tracking this person's movements. Yeah, that's exactly what Christina feels right now. Curled up on the sofa, although she is aware that the back of the sofa faced her, it seemed like she suddenly grew eyes on the back of her body and could notice the other party moving about in her little apartment.

Katy?

Her brain managed to spit out a single name, but it was rejected by yet another portion of her brain at the same time. She heard the clinking of pans, the opening and closing of her fridge, and eventually, she smelt the unmistakeable scent of pancakes.

Pancakes.

That realization hit her harder than anything else and her stomach reacted first. Then her limbs, then her brain and finally her eyes awakened to the scent of pancakes. One thing registered after another and Christina remembered why she would be smelling pancakes in the first place. Without turning around to check and confirm, she knew it was Ron who was in the kitchen. And now, let us revisit the blueprint of her apartment. Living room, dining area, kitchen, it was a triad. You can say it in that order or you can say dining area, kitchen, and living room as well.

With a groan, Christina curled into herself further, trying to find room underneath her duvet.

“Morning, you awake?” She thought she heard amused laughter in between Ron’s words.

Oh God!
“What are you doing?” It was half a whine and half an accusation. Her arm peeked out from underneath her duvet and felt around for her glasses, two seconds later and she withdrew that arm immediately. It was cold! “Why are you up so early?”

“You know, when you get to my age, you wake up earlier and earlier every day.”

Christina groaned again, and forced herself to sit up. Her long hair already curly was tossed out only to be sticking out in all sorts of directions, north, east, northeast. Wrapping the duvet around her, she shielded her entirety, leaving only her eyes for her to navigate her surrounding. Although everything was a blur to her, fortunately she’s lived here long enough to know every tile like the back of her hand, moving was no problem. She stalked into the kitchen and peered at the food already done.

“I’m surprised you didn’t wake up to the bacons but to the pancakes instead.”

Christina muttered something incoherent and looked up at him, her eyes squinted to focus. “Why are you up before me? I should be the one doing this.” Instead of the guest! And not to mention this is just embarrassing! She had wanted to get up earlier so at least she could make sure to look presentable enough before waking him up.

Stupid biological clock that works against her!

“Nonsense, you’ve already taken me in, I can’t have you cook breakfast as well.” He declared, turning around to look down at her. Instinctually, Christina moved a step backwards, all too self conscious of how she appeared right now. This earned a round of laughter from him and she tried to squint and glare at him at the same time. “Why are you squinting?”

“Because I’m half blind!” She answered with a huff. “I’m not wearing those glasses for decoration’s sake, my eyesight is really bad. Seriously.”

“Well, Miss Half Blind, you might want to at least brush your teeth because breakfast is finito.” Ron announced while turning off the stove, the last pancake already lifted out of the pan and onto the plate. Christina wanted to salivate on the spot; she hasn’t eaten pancakes in so long! The last time was when Katy slept over, and it was in the middle of the night as a snack too!

“I’ll be right back!” With renewed energy, she turned and half fled out of the kitchen towards the bathroom, somewhere along the way, she had dropped her duvet. Ron looked after her, completely amused before stepping over to pick up the fallen duvet and placed it on the sofa instead. In that moment of close proximity, he inhaled whatever body wash she must use, yet again. For the entire night, he was surrounded by reminders of her. From the half ajar closet to the make-up that was scattered and finally to the mixture of womanly scent –perfume, shampoo, conditioner, you name it-.

It was dangerous to experience more, he knows it.

So he returned to the kitchen and carried over the plates for him and for her. Perhaps he should have excused himself first, having been so bold as to rummage through her fridge and cook up a storm. When she had whined and complained like a little kid, he was reminded of their gaping age difference. That’s right, girls her age would prefer to sleep in a little longer than to have breakfast, right? And the sadder point would be to use his own daughters as points of comparison.

“Alright, now, where is the food?”

He looked up from his thoughts as she returned from the bathroom, hair pulled back and face clearly rejuvenated, her eyes –still without the glasses- seemed to shine when she sat in front of the table. Ron could not help but notice that her eyes were green underneath the silver rimmed glasses that she wore.

“Thank you so much for breakfast!”

Christina exclaimed, oblivious to his silence when her mind and stomach were already splurging on the food in front of her.

“It’s nothing, the least I can do.”

“Oh this is much better than just letting you sleep here for a night.” She commented casually, perhaps her brain wasn’t really wrapping around her words quite articulately yet. “Maybe you should stay over more often.” An idle comment, in between her bites, had him startled but was only a passing remark for her. “You’re a good cook!”

“Well, when you’re my age, you gotta at least know how to do something.” When his wife was away a lot, when he was away a lot, these things were forced to be learnt rather than learnt to be enjoyed. “What do you usually have for breakfast?”

“Mmm? Oh, this and that, I’m not fussy.” Christina answered with shrug of her shoulders, not really wanting to go on further about this topic. She really wasn’t a fussy eater, but at the same time, she knew why as well. It wasn’t just about the laziness and wanting to sleep in a little bit more, it was about punishing herself and making sure that her resolve would not give in. Right now, she took care of her figure; but when she was in high school, she knew she was the laughing stock of so many people. Though she never went to be diagnosed, she knew she had some sort of a mild eating disorder.

So how can she not be infatuated with food when her stomach was constantly craving for it? Although she does not do extremities nowadays, there are still days when she will consciously restrict intake. She does not want to go back to those days where she couldn’t even fit into a decent shirt that she liked because of her size.

“When shall I drive you back to the rink?”

“Oh there’s no need, I’ll call a taxi company. It’s a work day, I’m sure they’ll be more active than last night.”

“I hope nothing is majorly wrong with your car.”

“You’d think a BMW would keep to the quality that it was advertised with.”

You’d think!

Ron left after breakfast and the apartment was returned to silence once again. Christina fell back onto her bed and starred up at the ceiling with a mixture of feelings running through her. She reminded herself that it was just helping someone in need, if it had been anyone else who worked with her in that situation last night, she would have done the same.

Perhaps not to this extent though.

Rolling onto her side, she starred at the clock that ticked on without a care for the rest of the world. She had work today, but not until the early afternoon. The team wasn’t scheduled to go in until then because of the late game last night. And tomorrow would be the last home game this team will enjoy until a month later.

I should be packing.
As much as she hated admit, Hank was right when he said that she was probably going to go with suitcases. So to prevent herself from forgetting anything, she should start right away!

Yes, that will definitely keep her busy and keep her mind off of unnecessary things for a while.

[Afternoon, Friday]

Her hands were curled around a cup of large green tea, more for the sake of obtaining some warmth than to hold the damned thing in place. The team and management were debriefing for the last time before playing the final home game tonight, and the first bits were for everyone’s general interest.

“Tonight will be the last home game in a month, yes, it’s a long time and Christmas will be spent on the road as well, but after this, the schedule clears up for our favour.” The general manager, Author Neight, started, he stood in the middle of the ice with the players immediately around him and the staff members further behind. Christina knew she should have brought her jacket when she heard the meeting was going to be here. “Please complete your routine check-ups before we leave and make sure that anything uncomfortable be looked at immediately. The medical staff will be travelling with us, but it certainly will not be as comfortable as being home and taking care of things.”

That cannot be more true. Although all the rinks had their own facilities, it meant that they would have to drag everything here and there, left and right, pack it up at the end of the night when they’ve only opened it up in the morning. If anything, it just creates more confusion and headaches.

“We leave next Tuesday, the first of December. We will be taking a plane to our first stop and then from there, we will travel by bus. We’ve got a long road trip ahead of us, let’s all do our best not to kill each other.”

This earned a round of light laughter from everyone.

“As for the game plan…”

Here is where the less immediate staff members will make their exit, including Christina. She started to turn, her gaze sweeping the players before catching Ron’s. For that brief second, she offered a smile that he returned and her gaze was drawn away. The further she was from the ice, the warmer she felt, until the comfort of her office didn’t allow her any need of the tea that she had clung onto.

She left her office door open while tidying up the examination room. Like Author had already addressed, she will be busy enough dealing with the players before they finally leave for this road trip. When the mandatory practice session was over, there began the almost hesitant trail of players poking their heads into her room. Christina was no mind reader, but she knew that it was awkward. Their previous physiotherapist was probably a male, and probably someone at a ripe age as well. All that aside, once someone is in the examination room, then it’s all business. It becomes the world of “please remove your clothes” and “please let me know if anything feels uncomfortable”. And her white lab coat surely added to the setting of the room even more, along with her latex gloves that she insists upon wearing. Perhaps when they’re more comfortable with her, and when she doesn’t have to go through twenty something guys in as soon as possible, the entire ordeal could be on a much more casual note.

Towards the end of the work day, she was just leaning over to make sure that everything has been updated on the computer; a knock came at her door. “Come in please.” Words spoken as she pressed save and her head lifted to meet someone more than just familiar. For a split second, she almost wondered why he was here, and then she remembered her job. “I hope you took a shower before you came here.” It was almost the rule to open with a teasing line when she has to deal with Hank.

“What? Haven’t gotten used to the smell yet?” And he returned it with a grin of his own.

“I’m not sure if I ever want to get used to the smell.” She rounded her desk and pointed to the open door connecting her office and the examination office. “Whenever you’re ready, please go in and remove any excess articles of clothing.” She’s always been fascinated with what reactions that sentence could bring about. It was to convey the message that they could take off their clothes ‘till they were at a comfortable place. Of course, it meant some in their briefs while others in shorts and a tank top.

Thankfully, no one has stripped completely nude in her office yet.

“Yes, ma’am.” He offered a mock salute before heading inside. Christina rolled her eyes and returned to her computer, she pulled up his files and marked down the date. Routine check-up denoted basic stretches and markings to make sure that nothing is out of the ordinary. Especially with light muscles sores, some don’t even realize them until she’s gotten them into a certain position.

Not that it was supposed to sound wrong.

“Hey, you busy?”

Not even two minutes and she looked up in complete surprise this time. What is this? The end of the work day was a popular time for them to come in for check-ups? But no, this wasn’t a player in his sweater and sweat pants; it was Ron in his usual buttoned up suit. It’s a good thing that he doesn’t wear the vest inside, and then it really would seem almost too out of place.

“I’ve got someone in the room.” She explained, suddenly she didn’t know where she should stand in her office.

“Ah I see.” His eyes glanced at the closed door before turning back to her with a smile. “Well, I was just wondering if you’re free later tonight to grab a drink.”

Oh right, he was supposed to make it up to her.

“You know, ever since I came into this organization, it seems you’ve been making it up to me left and right.” Ron laughed and shrugged his shoulders, he apparently couldn’t think of anything to refute that either. “But sure, I’m free. How later is later?”

“We have a meeting, so I guess we can meet somewhere?”

From inside the room, she heard feet shuffling and apparently, she wasn’t the only one. Ron looked over before taking a step back out of her office. “I’ll call you, how about that? I promise it won’t be too late.”

“I’ll keep you to it then.”

He then gestured towards her examination room before turning to leave. Separated by a door, she stood for a couple of seconds longer. She really shouldn’t, but she couldn’t help but, feel that the situation was as if she was trapped between a lover and a husband. Either way, she was in the wrong. Shaking that thought from her head, she knocked on the door and entered, eventually closing and locking it behind her.

“Did you just lock the door?” Sitting on the examination table, he looked at her with playful eyes.

She looked at him before reaching for a pair of latex gloves, his files were left open on the nearest counter. This time, it seemed like she was the only one who was nervous when approaching him. Excess clothing apparently meant everything off but his socks and boxers. Well, that saves the awkward moment of having to ask him to strip ‘till this point later.

“Why? Got a problem with it?” Keep talking, she told herself. “Sorry, my hands are a bit cold.” That thin layer of glove certainly will not be insulating enough as she takes hold of his hand and starts at the tips of that limb.

“It’s okay, I’m warm enough.” To which, she rolled her eyes. Even if she was standing off to his side, she could still feel his gaze. On her, on his hand, on whatever she’s doing. “I’m just worried, what if you do molest me behind that closed and locked door?”

She swore she could feel a vein pop on her forehead, and she spared him a glance over the top rim of her glasses. “You know Hank, you should be careful of what you say to me here. If I get too worked up, I may just accidentally break something.”

He laughed at that and she had to fight that grin forming on her lips as well. “Was that a threat?”

“Do you want to find out?”

Tit for tat, she threw that remark back at him just as easily, satisfied to see him give her his best attempt at puppy eyes. To which she promptly ignored and stepped back. “Please lie down on your back.” He followed her words obediently and shifted to lie down, the thin paper lining the cushioned examination table ruffled with every inch of movement. “Tell me if you feel anything out of place.” Christina rounded the table to his legs; her hand gripped his shin and lifted the leg up, as much as it could possibly go. She gauged the limit of the human body and watched for his reaction. So far so good. Lowering it, she bent it at the knee and pushed it upwards, feeing no tension in the muscles underneath her hands. And stepping closer, she rotated the leg to press outwards, to which he made a small noise. “Sorry, was it painful?”

“No, just… awkward.”

She snickered but said nothing, if anything; she was the one feeling more awkward than him at this moment!

“Your legs feel fine, looser than before you pulled a muscle from the last check-up.” Like she said, she had dutifully read his files. Letting go of his legs, she placed them back onto the examination table and worked her way upwards to his arms.

“Yeah? That’s good.” And from the sound of his voice, he’s just as glad to be resting his legs as her letting him rest his legs. She rotated his arm from one angle to another before finally bending lower and pressing onto it near this chest. For those few seconds, the tip of her necklace touched his bare skin and she could feel him breathing.

It was wise not to look anywhere but straight in front of her.

“Why don’t you ever wear contacts?” Hank had another idea though, his free hand reached up to touch the leg of her glasses and her eyes glanced up sharply. “I didn’t know your eyes were green.”

“Do you still want your arm?”

He sighed in exaggeration and lowered his arm, his head tilted to the side, and with the best imitation of a resigned victim, he produced his own monologue. “Oh woe is me! Not only am I subjected to these embarrassing positions, but I have to do so with the constant threatening from someone who is supposed to be treating me. Why is this world so cruel? What have I ever done to the society to cause such retribution in return?”

Christina looked at him in disbelief, half really wanting to snap off an arm to give him something else to dramatize about. Then she realized, if she snapped off his arm, then the team will probably snap her in half. It wouldn’t matter whom she was having an affair with, it just wouldn’t do.

Moving back from the table, she patted his leg to encourage him away from his dramatic portrayal. “Alright, enough; get up now. We’ll do a few simple stretches and then you’ll be done for the day.”

He grinned and sat up, her eyebrow twitched at the abdomen muscles at work. Grabbing the tape measure, she instructed him on the stretches that will be underway. This time, it wasn’t about the awkwardness, but more along the lines of revenge. Sure these hockey players may be buff and strong, but flexibility certainly isn’t one of their strong points.

So to see him struggle for his toes suddenly held more amusement for her.

Yeah, the best should always be saved for last.

“I think those stretches at the end killed me, you did that on purpose, didn’t you?”

“Just because you are not as flexible as you’d like to be doesn’t mean that no one else in the world is flexible.” However, it is a challenge for her to reach her toes as well. Although, perhaps not as bad as him.

“You’re just saying that.” He stood in front of her desk as she finished entering the data, one by one, making sure that she didn’t get anything wrong. “Hey, what are you doing tonight?”

Christina glanced up at him briefly before going back to face the screen. “I have to meet someone tonight.”

“Boyfriend?”

“No, girlfriend.”

“… oh.”

“I’m joking.”

“Oh!”

This time, Christina couldn’t help but laugh, her shoulders shook with each repetition. Looking up, she noted that Hank did not appear as amused as her.

“That was mean.”

“Sorry, I couldn’t help it.” She really couldn’t, it was so perfectly set up that every cell in her body was itching for that reply. “I really do have to meet someone later tonight though.” That part she wasn’t lying about. It’s just that she didn’t know how he would take it if she said it was the CEO whom she was meeting with after hours.

“That’s alright.” But his positive attitude was one that she couldn’t help but admire. “Perhaps another time then.”
“Of course, there is a long road trip coming up anyways.”

“Good idea! We can go sight seeing.”

Or just eat and go catch a movie. Either way, she watched him leave with a smile only to have it turn into a sigh afterwards. Wasn’t she clear enough the other night at dinner or was she sending out the wrong hints again? This wasn’t the first time that something akin to this took place. She could still remember; it was before the beginning of her fourth year university. A friend from high school suddenly contacted her to hang out.

Key words being hang out here.

So she went, and because they haven’t seen each other in a couple of years, everything was so new. At the end of that night, he had asked her out. It took her by complete surprise and she didn’t even know what to say. Of course, she turned him down, but for the next couple of months, it was incessant phone calls and messages hoping to get her out again. That ended when she finally decided to ignore him. Their friendship didn’t go anywhere either.

The point is, what does she have to say or do to signal that it’s just not going to happen, but she’d still like to be friends?

Later that night –more like around eight thirty to be precise-, true to his words, Ron did indeed text her the place to meet. She wasn’t unfamiliar with the place, having been there a couple of times herself. It’s always been a somewhat quiet bar to socialize in, with the bar stools and the little booths off to the side. Instead of her car, she had opted to take a taxi instead. Although she could hold her alcohol, she didn’t want to risk getting a possible and severe punishment if she should be so unlucky to be caught by a cop.

She paid the taxi driver before stepping out; the place was dimly lit from her view of the outside. However, as soon as she opened the front door, she came face to face with Ron standing in the little space provided between the double doors that led inside.

“Evening.”

“Evening.” Still a little surprised, she could only follow up by thanking him when he opened the door for her. Apparently, he had already made reservations when the man up front led them to their little booth. On their way, the local jazz band was just setting up for the evening. She had forgotten about the music theme nights in this place.

“And what can I get for you tonight?”

“I’ll have a Brandy Alexander to start, thanks.”

“Silverbullet Martini.”

When the attendant turned to leave, Christina shifted to unwrap the shawl around her, folding it up to set down on the booth next to her. She should feel more comfortable with him after he’s seen her at one of her most dishevelled states, yet that thought was doing nothing for the butterflies in her stomach.

“How was the meeting?” She finally broke that silence, looking over at him; she figured they could start on safe grounds.

“Nothing major, just to reiterate what has already been said. It’s important that we keep everyone healthy, make sure that we don’t leave anyone behind, win as many games as possible. You know the drill.” Well, she didn’t, but after that simple and common-sense run down, she might as well know the drill.

“It must be hard, not only are we on the road, we’re also spending the holiday season away from family. I feel bad for the kids.” That was totally a politically correct thing to say, because in truth, Christina could care less. There are those people who say they don’t like kids just because, she says she doesn’t like kids because she really doesn’t like kids. Of course, she wouldn’t wish harm on any child, but she could not even entertain the thought of having a child herself.

From beside them, their drinks were placed down. Christina was more than happy for the alcohol, once a few ounces were in her blood stream, these nerves that she felt should disappear prettily.

“No kidding. But it’s just one month and once they pull through, the rest of the season looks much better.”

“I don’t understand why the league would make up such a retarded schedule though.”

“Beats me.”

Christina watched him take a sip of his drink, almost studying every little muscle that would move in order for that drink to take place. Thankfully the bar was dim enough not to attract too much unwanted attention.

“Oh, how is your car?”

“Ah, I sent it in and there’s apparently something wrong with the engine.” Ron offered a helpless shrug, lifting his drink to his lips again. “Now I’m driving some other car the dealer has rented for me. It’s ridiculous, but I won’t be using it too much anyways.”

“Maybe you can even say it broke down at an opportune time?”

“Yeah, maybe.”

And they were left looking at each other for a brief moment, and Christina slowly tasted her words, wondering just why they weren’t all that politically correct to say. Opportune time for what? Because of this road trip or because she was there that night? She looked at him for an explanation, he gave none. Christina half wondered if he was as confused and bewildered as she was at this moment.

Without anything else she could think of, the rest of her drink was finished in a couple of gulps, just in time to catch the attention of the attendant. Gin and tonic, please. She had said and that was enough to send the staff member away.

“You’re quite well versed with cocktails.” Ron couldn’t help but comment, watching as she licked her lips dry of the Brandy she had just consumed, while he was still holding his half finished martini.

Christina offered him a light chuckle and played with the napkin on the table, underneath the lights, she seemed sheepish. An expression that he’s not seen before this episode, then that just got the ball rolling, the question of what other expressions she’s capable of entered his mind. “You know, university is not only good for the highly paid professionals who lecture, it’s also good for acquainting yourself with things that you really shouldn’t be too familiar with.”

So she’s had somewhat of a party life style when she was in university.
The speed at which her drinks were mixed made her wonder if tonight this bar was only open to the two of them.

“Oh really?” Ron followed up with a question that seemed most natural. “What else were you acquainted with then?”

“Wouldn’t you like to know?” For her, the bitter taste of alcohol was a relief. For him, the question and their situation just seemed to fuel a fire that shouldn’t have even started to begin with. For both of them, they’ve always been articulate people, whether it was in their areas of expertise or just for social events. Tonight, both kept on realizing the many slip
-ups that have rolled off their tongues.

Not politically correct, no where near politically correct.

When the bar was finally filling up with people, Ron and Christina decided that it was enough for one night. Work aside; it was getting a bit too loud for them. Ron had joked that it was his old ears that were killing him; Christina didn’t even have an excuse. Outside, they stood and waited for a taxi. He had insisted that he would see her home, one because a lady shouldn’t travel alone at night, and two, they’ve both had a few glasses to drink. Though neither was intoxicated to the extreme, she was feeling more than a little tipsy, he appeared to be calm and composed next to her.

That’s what she thought until a particularly windy gust came by. She had tugged her shawl around herself closer; he then moved and wrapped his arm around her. At that moment, they were pulled towards one another and she realized that she was at par with his shoulder. Next to him, she felt young, felt small, felt almost child like, and felt protected. Be it the way that he guided her to the taxi, or the way he held the door open for her, or the way he slid in after her, leg pressed against leg, his body heat invaded her personal space.

After she had given the taxi driver her address, neither of them spoke along the way. Her arms were crossed over her chest, keeping the shawl close around her, but she was no longer cold.

Slowly the taxi cruised to a stop and Ron leaned forward to speak with the driver. “Please stay, I’ll be right down.”

Was she disappointed? She didn’t know. Maybe she didn’t want herself to find out either.

The apartment building was quiet as they rode the elevator up; she had kept her gaze on the floor, the buttons, and the lights indicating floors, anywhere but the mirrored walls that would mean looking at him.

“Well, this is me.” She spoke softly at her door after having unlocked it; she turned to look up at him.

“Thank you for tonight.” He offered.

It’s the alcohol. She said to herself. Whatever happens, it’s the alcohol.

“Will we… only go out to have a drink because you’re making it up to me?” Does that mean she will have to make sure that he should be in her debt more and more?

He searched her face and at the same time searched his own brain for an answer. It could be a harmless question, it probably was a harmless question, he tried to reason with himself. Christina waited in that brief silence, but he gave no answer. Perhaps it was for the better. So she gave him a small smile and stepped forward –incidentally closer to him- so she could have room to twist open her door handle.
As if on cue, he moved, closer than ever before. He pressed right up against her and trapped her between the door and him. He had a couple glasses of martini, a glass of whiskey and finally a glass of Black Russian for tonight. She remembered and thought she could taste each one on his lips. As for her? She couldn’t even keep count of what she’s had for the evening. Her hand let go of the door handle and reached up to grab at the unbuttoned part of his dress shirt instead. Closer, she beckoned; and closer, he obeyed. His height forced her onto her toes, his arm wrapped around her waist and kept her there.

This was long overdue. She felt. And so very inappropriate. She reasoned.

When they finally parted for air, lips millimetres apart, she found no courage to look up at his eyes yet. Instead, she focused on his lips as she lowered herself back down and his arm slowly slid from its grip around her waist. She could feel the door handle jabbing against her back, but she didn’t care.

“Did that answer your question?” He murmured from barely across the same breathing field and she looked up at him sharply, stunned at how he was able to get straight to the point. Without a word, she could only nod a few times, shaken by what had just happened.

As much as she liked to fantasize, she never wanted to disturb a marriage. Yet when he looked down at her with that intense blue gaze, she suddenly didn’t really care anymore.

“I should go.”

“Okay.”

“Good night.”

“Yes. Good night.”

To be continued...

A.N. Last night, there came this tremendous energy and urge to write. Not only did I finish this one chapter, bits and pieces of future chapters were done as well. And then, I even had the time and inspiration to continue with two other fictions that I've been working on. I was so proud of myself! Until I realized that I have three tests this week. Then, I just wanted to cry.