Page 14 of Until He Confesses

I was spurred on to do my best but at the end of the day, I’d lost her. A part of me I had to admit now had hoped she wasn’t doing very well, given how much she had hurt me. A part of me had also hoped she regretted what we had come to and perhaps if we ran into each other again, there would still be something between us that could somehow be revived.

But now, it was obvious she didn’t need me to provide anything she wanted. She had her flights and her travels, and she was even more beautiful than ever.

She seemed happy and although I hated to admit it, it burned that she could be that way without me. Because I didn’t think I’d ever been as happy as I’d been with her.

She rose to her feet with what she had retrieved which seemed to be a packet of tissues and then she sensed my presence. She turned around and our gazes met.

She looked wonderful in this uniform, and I couldn’t help but admit that it wasn’t too difficult for my mind to spin fantasies with her in it. It wasn’t that I had a thing for air hostesses, it was just her. If she was a bartender or worked in an office, it would probably still be the same. The blood red uniform, its perfect fit to her body, and her sleeked back hair helped to give her a sophistication and allure that was impossible not to acknowledge.

Gorgeous was an understatement.

She sent me a polite smile, and without a word returned to what she was doing. I knew she wouldn’t find a reason to scurry away, so I leaned against the galley’s wall. With my arms folded across my chest I watched her until eventually she couldn’t take it anymore.

She turned around and I had a smile waiting for her.

“Long time no see,” I said, and she held my gaze as boldly as she had tried to from the very beginning. She was indeed reserved but when she wanted to, she could be as fierce as was needed.

“Long time no see,” she said in return.

I watched her.

“It’s nice to know that you didn’t completely forget everything about me.”

“It’s part of the job,” she said, and I smiled.

“Is it part of your job to recall the health conditions of past boyfriends?”

“It is my job to provide the very best of service to our clients.”

“Ah,” I said. “Good to know. It seems you found a way to make what you wanted come true.”

“Same as you,” she said, and I smiled again.

“I can’t exactly say that I saw any of this coming,” I said.

She turned and continued with her work on the counter.

“I did or at the very least, I’m not surprised. You've always been brilliant.”

The smile left my face.

And then I asked.

“If I was so brilliant then why did our relationship end the way it did? I’ve always been curious.”

Her shoulders stilled, but she kept working without saying a word.

Just as I expected she didn't bother with a response. Instead, and as she usually did, she gave a flimsy and aggravating excuse.

“It was for the best.”

She started to walk away from me, but I couldn't allow it and so against my better judgment, my hand shot out to catch her arm. She wasn’t alarmed but neither was she willing to give me her attention either. Instead, she remained still by my side as we both faced opposite directions. It seemed to me like the perfect depiction of what I knew now we’d always been instead of the fantasy I’d concocted in my head back then of us being on the same page.

Her gaze eventually lowered to the hand I had around her and then she said in a calm voice that sent chills and warmth through my body.

“You’re hurting me.”

She didn’t seem alarmed in any way and neither did she seem hurt. Instead, she just seemed indifferent, and it brought an ache to a part of me that hadn’t felt very much in so long.