Chapter 15 #2
“Whatever that means,” he scoffed. “Are you planning to take a seat?”
“No, it was a long flight; it’s good to stretch my legs. I had to adjust to flying commercially,” she said, though they both knew she could have called him for a private flight. Her choice not to stung, a quiet reminder of the distance she was keeping.
“Anyways,” she continued, her gaze fixed on the view from his office window, avoiding his eyes. “I figured your patience would only hold for so long. Since I made you wait, I wanted to woman up and come talk to you.”
“How thoughtful,” he drawled, the dry humour in his voice barely masking the undercurrent of frustration and something else—something he wasn’t ready to name.
“Don’t get used to it. This is a special circumstance.” Sorinah scrunched her nose, her expression a mix of irritation and amusement.
“Hm, huh,” he replied, nonchalant but intrigued.
“I know you’ve got shit to do—that’s the point.” Sorinah smiled, then shrugged, her features softening before turning serious. “I thought long and hard about whether we should keep up our arrangement now that the cat’s out of the bag.”
Her gaze drifted towards the window, then back to him, as if weighing her words.
“I needed to wrap my head around our special ‘thing’ changing. To answer your question from last time, it was exciting sneaking around—but that wasn’t the only appeal.
Surprisingly, I enjoy hanging out with you.
It’s not just because your sex game is on point. It has to do with you, period.”
If it were anyone else, he might have kept his smart-assed comment to himself, but this was Sorinah, and with her, he never censored himself. “You flew all this way just to fall over yourself with all that flattery?”
“Don’t make me rethink my decision. God, your mouth is annoying.”
“Now you’ve just admitted you think differently,” he countered, a smirk tugging at his lips.
She squinted at him and pointed a finger in mock warning. “Don’t make me regret putting my business on blast with the three people I love the most.”
The three people, would include Mars and her sisters.
She’d spoken to Mars—a huge step—and now the stakes felt higher. Her son meant everything to her.
“How did that go?” he questioned.
“Well, if I’d been thinking clearly, I would’ve realised that Nakinah finding out didn’t blow up our spot. She isn’t like that. My big sister knows how to mind her own business. Other than checking in and letting me know she was there if I needed her, she had no intention of interfering.”
“Interesting,” he said, “but some information seems to be missing. You said the three people you love most, but you only mentioned Nakinah.”
She raised an eyebrow, a hint of amusement in her voice. “Look at you using your active listening skills.” She glanced at her watch. “I know you have a meeting soon, so to the point: I spoke with Dinah and Mars about our friendship. Things change, and it was time I accepted that.”
He felt a knot form in his stomach. “What does that mean for us?”
“I want to maintain our arrangement because it works for us, but without the secrets.” Her tone softened, a mix of vulnerability and resolve.
Relief washed over him, though he could sense the unspoken weight behind her words.
“I still want to limit Mars’ interactions with our situation. No PDA. No sleepovers at my place.”
He nodded slowly, his mind racing to reconcile their positions. He respected Sorinah’s role as a mother too deeply to even consider public displays of affection in front of her son.
“You said no sleepovers. Does that mean you’re open to me visiting your home?”
She sighed, the sound heavy with exasperation. “I’m open to the idea,” she said finally, “if you don’t annoy me.”
A faint smile tugged at his lips. The tension broke for a moment, replaced by the quiet humour of their shared understanding. There was still so much to unpack, but for now, they were on the same page, even if that page was slightly bent at the edges.
“That’s very reasonable of you. Are you seriously still calling what we have a ‘situation’ instead of a ‘relationship’?” he asked, amusement in his tone.
“I think we did great without putting a label on things. I don’t want our vibe to get all serious and conventional. Does that work for you?” she replied, her voice light but with a hint of challenge.
In theory, he could get behind what she was saying, but he needed her to be clear on some thing.
“You’re right.” His agreement came out more grudgingly than he intended.
“Did that hurt?” she teased, her amber eyes sparkling.
He glared at her. “I don’t care what label we put on what we have, as long as you understand we are exclusive.” His voice lowered, carrying a note of seriousness that matched the intensity in his stare.
Sorinah nodded.
“No, I want to hear that we have an agreement,” he pressed, needing verbal confirmation.
“Agreed,” she said with a small smile, as if indulging him while keeping the mood playful.
Her one-word agreement freed him from his position in the chair.
“Thank you for coming all this way to clear up where we stand. I know this was hard for you, Kitten,” Aldrich informed her warmly, placing his hands on her shoulders.
Sorinah rolled her eyes. “Jesus, can you not be so… sensitive,” she said dismissively.
He massaged her shoulder. “Consider it a perk of the new phase of our situation,” he replied with a hint of humour.
“Please don’t make me reconsider,” she said, her tone wavering slightly.
“Wouldn’t dream of it. I have meetings all afternoon,” he reassured her, his voice steady but laced with a subtle undercurrent of reluctance.
“I probably should get out of your hair now to head off to my hotel and shower, and you can pick me up when you’re finished,” she suggested, her practicality cutting through the tension.
Sorinah had never visited his place in Rotterdam. The thought of having her there gave him an odd sense of comfort.
“No, I’ll have my driver take you to my place. Make yourself at home. I’ll message you the information to let yourself in,” he said, his tone firm yet warm.
“I guess I can do that,” she replied, her voice tinged with resignation.
Aldrich knew better than to kiss her inviting mouth goodbye; it would derail his entire afternoon. The temptation of her full lips was hard to ignore, but he found a compromise. He pressed his lips to her neck, then peppered kisses on the spot. “I will see you later,” he murmured.
It was tempting to follow her back to his house, but he needed the routine to ground him. The last thing Aldrich needed was to make a declaration that would send Sorinah running for the hills.