Page 66 of My Forbidden Boss
I thought for a moment, then smiled and nodded. I snagged my purse and stood, staggering slightly.
“Deal.”
24. Hollis
I opened the front door wide and stepped back, allowing Tisha to walk in first. She held the bottle of pinot by the neck, gliding forward with her silky dress swirling in waves around her.
We entered the common area between the bedroom doors. We stood apart, suddenly feeling as though our date was starting all over again.
I broke the silence, eager to end any awkwardness before it began. “I’ll, uh… I’ll find us a corkscrew and some glasses. Why don’t you take a seat and make yourself comfortable?”
She nodded absently, shyly eyeing the room around us. Tisha crossed to the couch but kept standing; meanwhile, I approached the small kitchen and opened up the first of many cabinets.
I called to her across the room. “Well, it looks like our options are either a pair of mugs or, if you insist on keeping things classy, you can also opt to have your wine in a milk glass.”
She called back, replying with an unusual lack of witty comeback. “Mugs are fine, thanks.”
I nodded but was beginning to panic. “Alright. Unfortunately, though, I’m not finding a corkscrew anywhere.”
I mentally kicked myself, demanding to know why I hadn’t thought ahead. I spoke, feeling uncertain and unsure of how to proceed.
“Um. So. That really sucks. I’m sorry, I should have brought one from the restaurant. I could have snagged some glasses, too.”
I looked into the seating area, seeing Tisha still standing. After a moment’s thought, she shrugged passively and placed the bottle down on the coffee table.
“Oh… That’s okay, um… Well, we can always save it for another night. It’s probably for the best. It isn’t like we haven’t had plenty to drink already, so…”
“So…”
We were stuck, standing there alone without any clear guidance as to what came next. I said the only thing that seemed alright.
“So, I guess I’ll see you in the morning?”
Tisha slowly nodded. “Um, yeah… I’ll, uh… I’ll be here.”
She motioned to her bedroom, trying to keep the levity we’d been nurturing all night.
I nodded, too. “Okay, well… Thank you for a wonderful day and evening. I hope you had as much fun as I did.”
“No, Thank you for, um… for taking care of all this and for having a great taste in which restaurants to buy, I guess.”
We smiled, then waited, both of us running empty of words.
“Well, uh…”
“Um… yeah, so…”
My heart was collapsing, imploding upon itself behind my sternum. I wasn’t ready to let her go but felt all ways forward were blocked. I forcefully swallowed the inevitability and accepted that the night was over.
“Well, I guess that this is goodnight.”
She wrung her hands. “Yeah, um… goodnight, Hollis. Sleep well.”
We tentatively smiled, then took turns taking stunted, stuttering steps toward our doors. Reaching mine, I looked back and watched hers open. I felt my insides deflating and turned back, walking into my empty bedroom.
Again, I looked back, turning with my hand on my door. Tisha twirled slowly, and we both paused, locking eyes. With another fleeting moment of hesitation between us, we both quietly closed our doors.
The tension within me clenched as I felt myself isolated, caged in a room more elegant than any jailer kept his cells.