Chapter 6
Gavin
I’m notready to say goodbye. I even jokingly suggested that we join the mile-high club on the way back home. We held hands the entire ride home. We watched a few movies on Netflix and stayed sitting until everyone was off the plane.
We walked up the walkway and toward baggage claim in silence.
I offered to share an Uber with her, but she declined.
When our separate rides arrived at the same time. With our luggage in the trunks, we turn to one another and offer a smile.
I open my arms out to her and she rushes me. I kiss the side of her head and hold her tight.
“I won’t forget this week,” I tell her.
“Me either. Thank you for such a good time.”
Asking her for her number is on the tip of my tongue. I want to slyly ask for her last name, so I can find her on social media. But I don’t do either. I know where she stands. She wanted to only have the week, which I respect and understand - as much as I want nothing more to disrespect her wishes and plead for more. I haven’t gotten enough of her. A week is too short and there’s so much more to know about one another.
Fuck. Mixed emotions are tearing up my insides.
She leans up, her arms knotted around my neck, and she gently kisses me.
“I hope your new job is amazing. I know you will do good. Maybe we’ll run into each other again. You never know.”
I lean down and take her lips again, our heads moving in opposite directions as our tongues move together. For a moment, there’s silence, while we relish in our last touch together.
“Goodbye. And I hope I will see you again. You never know.” I grin.
Our hands are the last to break contact as we move slowly to our rides. I look at the car behind me after getting into mine.
Her car leaves quickly, and I watch it pass us while exiting the airport pickup ramp.
Well, back to the real world.
And now, I’ve gotta decompress a little before starting this new job.
But first, I need some sushi. I pull my phone out of my backpack and pull up my messages.
Me: Yo! I’m back. Care to do sushi?
I waitfor my best friend, Jack, to reply as I see the dancing dots showing that he’s typing.
Jack: About damn time. I’ve missed my little snookie. I can meet you at the Seaside on the Embarcadero in thirty
Me: You know how I like it. C U Soon
I givethe driver the new address, push my head back against the backrest, and close my eyes until he lets me out. I pull my luggage out of the trunk and wave him off. After grabbing a table, I push my luggage to a spot out of the way and order both myself and Jack a beer.
It doesn’t take too long before my buddy strolls in. He lifts his sunglasses and makes a beeline straight to the booth. I stand and we give one another a welcoming side hug.
“Dude. What’s happening?” Jack asks.
“Fresh off the beach. Just got back home.”
“Nice. How was it?”
“More than I could have imagined.” I place my hand over the back of the booth and grin.
“You have a stupid look on your face.”
“I met someone.”
“Oh, a little island fling! Tell me more!”
“Older, but not by too much, woman. And she’s from here.”
“No shit? When will you see her next?”
“We won’t. Or we shouldn’t. You never know.” I lift a shoulder.
“Whoa. So, an actual fling? Was it a fuck fest? Did you ever leave your room?”
“An actual fling, completely. She set her expectations. We had a good time. We did some things together and some things apart. But most nights, we were together.”
“What sort of expectations were set? Did you guys do some kinky shit?”
“If we did. I wouldn’t tell. We didn’t get too personal, and we wouldn’t see one another when we got back.”
“So, what if you are in the same place at the same time?” Jack asks.
“Who the fuck knows? Honestly, San Diego is so fucking huge. It would be like finding a needle in a haystack.”
“True. But honestly, if you guys ran into each other, what would you do? Push her against the wall and fuck her brains out?” he jokes.
“She’d probably just ignore me.”
“So, she treated you like a piece of meat and said peace out?”
“In one way or another. But hey, we both had fun. We knew the score leading into it all, and now it’s time for me to buckle down and get back to business.”
Our server comes to the table and takes our order.
“New job, right? When do you start?”
“I’ve got two more days of peaceful bliss, and then I become a robot again for a year.”
“You know that there’s more to life than just work, right?”
I amready for my day to start. I woke up earlier than I intended, but I arrived at the office building a good thirty minutes before I was supposed to.
I wore my best suit. I wanted to impress, but I also wanted to make sure that I didn’t look like an uptight asshole.
Security had to walk me up to the floor since I didn’t have my credentials yet. I was led to human resources and told to wait until they got in. This was my first stop, anyway.
I sat in the chair across from the closed door for what felt like hours. A tall, slender redhead walked toward the door. She stopped in front with her key, then looked at me.
“Shit. I mean, shoot. You’re the new guy, right? Garrett? Gavin?”
I stand and offer her my hand.
“Gavin Jacobs. Nice to meet you. I’m the new Marketing Manager.”
“That’s right. Gavin, hello, nice to meet you. I am Marjorie Matthews, your director of Human Resources. I apologize for being so late. I thought you were starting on Monday. Just give me a few moments. I’ll make sure everything is ready for your file and we’ll start.”
I wait another fifteen minutes before she pulls me into her office and we go over the basics of paperwork. An hour later, she’s bringing me to my new boss’s office. We sit down and discuss expectations for a quick moment before he shows me to my new office. It’s not huge, but it’s not modest either. I don’t have time to settle in as he informs me we have a meeting with my team.
“By the way, expect a few more meetings today as well. After we meet with your team, we’ll have a director meeting and you will meet your peers.” Michelle Darby, my boss, tells me.
My staff is an eclectic group of folks, which is expected in this field. I tell my new staff that next week I plan to set up individual meetings with everyone, and then I’m whisked away to my next meeting.
Michelle and I are the last ones to arrive in a nearly full room. The conference table is large and fits about thirty chairs. There are only three empty spots, one of which is next to the head of the table, where Michelle takes his seat, his hand motions to the empty seat and I round the table and pull my seat out.
As I lower myself into the seat, my eyes connect with the wide-eyed, very attractive woman across from me.
Emily.