April Lover

Damn it, she was not supposed to fall for him. Not supposed to become so involved that she put her heart in the pot and gambled it away.

For once, she had no idea how to solve this. No plan whatsoever. It felt hopeless. She tried to hold back the tears, but they started to flow silently down her cheeks. What on earth was she going to do now?

A long time later, Kathryn managed to walk inside, grab her handbag and coat before retreating quietly. She didn't want to meet anyone just now. She had managed to dry her eyes, but it was probably very easy to see that she'd been crying.

She walked quickly out of the building. But just as she thought that she had escaped without meeting anyone, she bumped into Ben as she turned the last corner.

"Whoa, there. Careful, Kathryn."

"Sorry," she said, before she bent her head and started walking around him.

He reached for her arm.

"Hey, what's wrong? Have you been crying?"

She turned her head away from his sharp eyes.

"Have you been hurt, Kathryn?"

"Don't. Just don't."

"Who was it? Is it Ronald?"

"No, no. Nothing like that."

"Noah," Ben concluded.

"I don't want to talk about it," Kathryn said before pulling her arm away from his grip.

"He's being an ass, isn't he?"

She turned toward him, feeling a new set of tears start forming in her eyes and flowing down her cheeks.

"No, I'm an idiot. I went undercover to fool you guys, but the plan backfired. He hates me for it."

"No, he doesn't," Ben smiled.

"Trust me. He does."

She paused a little, not sure if she dared to say what was in her heart.

"Ben?"

"Yes?"

"In case I never meet him again, will you tell him that I love him? For all it's worth now," she said silently. "No, forget it. Don't tell him anything."

"Hey, why shouldn't you meet him again? You work with him."

"He'll get me transferred. No doubt. Or I'll quit. I don't know yet."

She sighed.

"Never mind. Bye, Ben. It was nice working with you," she said before she turned and hurried to her car.

Inside of her apartment Kathryn was bombarded with reminders of their time together. Everything he had touched reminded her of him.

Her bed still had his scent and she could easily envision him laying beside her, just as he had done that same morning. It was strange to think that just a few hours ago she had been so happy, and everything had seemed to be going right. And now she was even worse off than she had been before.

She turned away and laid down on her sofa instead. She would have to change the sheets tomorrow. Right now, she didn't have the strength to completely remove him from her life.

Even if their affair hadn't lasted long, she had gotten used to having him around, to laughing and talking to him. The sex was great, but it was his personality and humour she would miss the most.

Damn it. She was turning into a sulky person. She hated feeling sorry for herself. She wanted to feel strong and capable, but right now it wasn't so easy.

She turned and closed her eyes. Hoping that a few hours of sleep would change her perspective. Usually, a good night's sleep could make everything seem lighter. She had her doubts, but it was worth a try.

Ben finally located Noah. He was sitting in a corner by the bar, holding a glass of beer in his hands.

"Getting pissed?" Ben asked.

"That's the plan. Care to join in?"

"I'll have one, yes."

Ben ordered one for himself.

"I just had a strange encounter," Ben said.

"U.F.O.?"

Ben laughed.

"No, not that sort of encounter. A small brunette with a broken heart."

"So?"

"One of your conquests, I assume."

"Hell no," Noah said. "She can blame herself. It was her manipulation that started this whole damn thing."

"Does it really matter how it started? Maybe you should start thinking about how you want it to end?"

"I won't."

"Will not or dare not?"

Noah didn't answer. Only stared into his glass.

"She thinks you'll get her fired."

"Probably," Noah said as he took a large sip of his beer.

"If so, I want her on my team."

"What for?"

"She's clever and hard-working. Besides, if she's able to fool you and pull all those pranks on us, she's a definite asset on the programming team," Ben laughed.

"Don't remind me."

"How long are you going to sulk before you do something about her?"

"I'm not doing anything. I've had enough dealings with her to last me a lifetime."

"You're sulking."

"So what? Nothing wrong with that."

"Hah, you got off lightly. That itching powder was terrible. I had to shower twice to get rid of it all. Which reminds me...you should wash all your training gear. They threw the powder into our training bags."

Ben laughed heartily.

"What's so funny about that?"

"My girlfriend is still atoning for that little trick, and I enjoy every second of it. Patrick is also getting a lot of extra sympathy from his woman so he's not complaining either."

Noah just stared into his beer.

"So, maybe you should ask yourself whether you want to sulk or give her a chance to atone? You know you'll run after her anyway so why waste any time?"

"I can't," Noah admitted.

"Why not?"

"I just can't."

"Noah! Don't be a dumb ass. She feels the same way about you, so just go after her," Ben urged him.

Kathryn awoke by an insistent ringing on her doorbell. She felt more asleep than awake, when she scrambled off the sofa and walked to the door.

Who could it be at this hour? It was pitch dark, so it had to night-time. She looked at her watch. 2 am?

Someone had better have a really good excuse for waking her up, she thought as she looked through the peephole.

Noah and Ben were standing in front of her door. She opened her door.

"What are you two doing here?"

"I think you two have a lot of things to discuss," Ben smiled and showed Noah inside. "See you guys on Monday," he said before turning and walking away.

"What's the rush?"

"I'm off the enjoy the rest of the weekend and because of that itching powder I have my own driver," Ben laughed heartily.

Strange, Kathryn thought.

"What's he talking about?" she wondered.

"His girlfriend was the one that dumped the itching powder into our gym bags," Noah explained. "Ben is just enjoying her making amends."

"Ah," Kathryn nodded.

She noticed that Noah was a little unsteady and his breath told the truth. He looked more dead than alive, she thought.

"Are you drunk?"

"Not yet," he stated. "I would have been if that dumb ass hadn't ruined it."

"Come in," Kathryn said before closing the door behind them. "What can I get you? Coffee? Water?"

"A beer would be nice."

"No, you've had enough. How long since you've eaten?"

"Lunch, I think."

"No wonder you're drunk. Sit down," Kathryn guided him to the nearest leaning chair and pushed him down. "I have a pizza in the freezer. Give me ten minutes."

She walked to the kitchen, opened a coke and handed it to him.

"Thanks."

Ben was a genius, she thought. How he had persuaded Noah to come, she wasn't sure, but she loved having him around. If only she could persuade him to stay. Her heart hurt just by looking at him. She wanted him so much, but showing it to him would probably just scare him away.

Still, having him here in her apartment did at least give her one more chance, and she would take what she could right now. Even the smallest crumbs from his table would please her right now.

Just a few hours ago she had been so certain that she had ruined all her chances with him and lost him forever. Maybe there was someone looking out for her after all? Or maybe it was just pure and simple luck? No matter what it was she intended to grab every chance she would get.

She started the oven and retrieved the pizza. Perfect night-time snack if ever there was one. Putting the pizza inside the oven, she returned to Noah. He was slumped in her chair, looking so relaxed she wondered if he had fallen asleep.

"Are you sleeping?"

"Not yet," he opened his eyes slightly and sipped the coke.

She leaned closer, loosened his tie and unbuttoning the upper few buttons in his shirt. Bending down she removed his shoes and placed them in the hallway. She wanted to take care of him, making him as comfortable as possible. He deserved that after today's events.

Returning to him, she tried to remove his suit jacket, but he would have had to stand up for that.

"Eager to get me undressed?" he wondered.

"You'll be more at ease if you remove your jacket."

He managed to stand up and she pulled off his jacket and hung it over one of the kitchen chairs.

"The pizza will be ready soon."

He sat down in the chair again, while she located napkins and a large plate. At the same time the alarm chimed. She retrieved the pizza and sliced it into eight pieces.

"Dig in," she said as she placed the pizza on the table between them, handing him a napkin.

"Thanks," he said as he grabbed a piece and started eating.

"One would think that we should be fed up with pizza after all that overtime."

"I'll never get fed up with pizza," Noah said as he started on the next piece.

He seemed to have regained some colour in his face. Still, he looked dead tired. There was so much she wanted to say to him but judging by his ashen face it would have to wait. She felt dead tired as well. It was better to postpone the difficult topics until tomorrow.

Hopefully, she would manage to find the right words then. She had to tread carefully. She didn't want to risk losing him again.

She handed him another coke and they ate in silence.

After the meal, Noah looked as if he was falling asleep in the chair, and Kathryn wasn't feeling much better. Any discussion would have to wait until later, she thought.

"Come here," she urged him. "Before you fall asleep."

"I'm not much use to you right now," Noah murmured.

"Don't worry. I don't intend to ravish you anyway."

She dragged him into the bedroom and started to unbutton his shirt.

"Remove the pants as well," she urged him.

"Getting ideas?"

"Yes, you need to sleep, and so do I. So, get undressed or sleep in your clothes."

They managed to pull all his clothes off except his trunks. She pushed him onto the bed and directed him to the side that was usually vacant.

"If you vomit in my bed, you're buying me a new mattress," she warned him.

"Sure," he murmured, before he snuggled into her pillow.

She pulled the duvet over him and located a spare pillow and a blanket. She changed into her nightgown and laid down on the other side of the bed, pulling the blanket up to her chin.

She fell asleep almost instantly.

Next morning, Kathryn awoke, feeling a warm body beside her. During the night, she had snuggled closer to him and she lay on his arm, her arm across his chest.

She felt content, wondering how long the closeness would last before he pulled away from her. When he did it would hurt terribly, but she knew she had to be prepared.

"Finally awake?" he asked suddenly.

She jumped in surprise and met his eyes.

"How long have you been awake? "

"Not so long," he admitted. "You sleep like the dead. I didn't want to wake you."

"How's the head?"

"Not so bad. As long as I don't move anything."

"Good idea. I don't intend to move one iota either," Kathryn said as she snuggled closer to him.

"What? Aren't you going to serve me breakfast in bed?"

"Strange hangover. You're supposed to feel sick not hunger."

"Tell that to my stomach."

"What would you like for breakfast?"

"Depends on what you're offering?"

Me, on a platter, she wanted to say, but she didn't dare. It was easier to tiptoe around the topic for a while.

"I guess I have the usual stuff: cereals, milk, bread, ham, eggs. I can't remember. Why don't you get dressed and have a look?"

"Sounds tempting," he replied.

Kathryn closed her eyes and yawned.

"Hey, are you falling asleep again?" Noah turned to her.

"Trying to, yes," Kathryn admitted. "I've been working hard these past few weeks."

"Have you?" Noah wondered as he ran his hand slowly over her back.

"Yes, I've met a man that I adore, but he doesn't notice me at all. Only treats me like I'm part of the furniture."

"Stupid man."

"Then I get the perfect idea. I'll dress up and throw myself at him. He's got to notice me then."

"Sure did," Noah admitted.

"But unlike the fairy-tale, the story doesn't end well."

"How?"

"He thinks I'm fooling him. He thinks I only want a conquest."

"So, what do you want?"

"I want everything. His heart, body and soul. I want to get old beside him, be his friend and share experiences. I want the whole deal, not just his body for a few nights."

Noah was silent for a long time.

Kathryn felt that she had never needed more courage than she did right now. She had to go all-in, she realised. She looked at Noah, met his eyes, and confessed.

"I love you, Noah."

He pulled her toward him and kissed her on the lips.

"Good, because I love you too," he said and smiled.

"You do?" Kathryn was surprised.

"Of course. Why do you think I reacted so strongly when I learned about the conspiracy? You wrapped me around your little finger, and I couldn't resist."

"Didn't you understand how I felt about you?"

"No, I thought you were having fun seducing me, leading me around in a leash, a slave to my own needs while you were in full control."

"Nothing could be further from the truth. I was acting on instinct because I couldn't think when you were around. Sharon and Lily asked if I could distract you, not knowing that I already wanted to. But I didn't dare to try. Not until they gave me that extra push."

"You gave me one hell of a whack in the stomach. My world turned upside down when you changed overnight."

"Not as surprised as I was when you lifted me off that table. It felt as if I'd been hit by lightning. I'm sorry that you didn't win, Noah. It was my fault that you didn't get much sleep before the quiz. I was so worried for you and the side effects when I discovered that they had used my idea of ginseng in the coffee.

"How so?"

"I discovered that it has a different effect on men. It's a male aphrodisiac, while for women it only makes the brain work faster."

Noah laughed.

"That explains a lot."

"And your dosage was much too high since we worked overtime that day. My fault as well. I messed up with the postal codes because I fantasized about you instead of doing my job."

"I seem to remember that I was quite the stallion that night," Noah said with a smirk.

"Yes. Even though I tried to do most of the work so that you could get some rest."

"Don't worry. I don't care about the quiz. We'll get a new chance next year. I'm much more interested in what positions we haven't tried yet."

"You're incorrigible."

"It's your fault. You make me think about sex all the time."

"I don't think we can share office any longer. Neither of us will get any work done."

"Don't worry. When we make love on a regular basis, we'll be able to work well together."

"Are you moving in?" Kathryn wondered.

"My place is bigger, but yours is homelier. We need to test both places and discuss which to choose."

"I just want to be where you are."

"Me too. Besides, living with you is probably the only way to keep you from pranking me."

Kathryn laughed.

"You like my pranks. Just admit it."

"Some of them, yes. But right now, I need something to eat or I'll start chewing on you," Noah said as he unentangled himself and walked toward her kitchen.

"Is that a promise?" Kathryn wondered.

"You bet," he winked at her.

THE END

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