23

Lauren Hart
“Where’s my damn Laptop!”
I groaned the tenth time. I had been searching for it in my room but I couldn’t find it. It was as though it went invisible. I was restless and frustrated, not because I couldn’t find my laptop but because I desperately wanted to distract myself by doing work.
It was ten in the morning yet I hadn’t stepped out of my room, not even for breakfast. I asked Renee to bring the breakfast to my room because my stupid self didn’t want me to open the door for anyone, fearing I would come face to face with him.
Yes, I had been avoiding him completely. I hadn’t seen him after whatever happened a night before in his study. I couldn’t face him without turning tomato red so I decided to avoid him. It was so not me yet I was doing it. I never hide from anyone. I face every situation strongly but that kiss from him had changed me overnight. It was exceptionally odd.
Strangely, he didn’t come to ask for me nor did he knocked on my door a single time. Could it be he was avoiding me as well? Was he regretting kissing me? No! Why would he regret it? He took the advantage of me; he accepted with his own mouth that he wanted to kiss me and had done it before once.
I let out a frustrated sigh and rubbed my face with my palms. I won’t let him near me again. I won’t let him kiss me again. Not entirely because he could be playing with me, but because I didn’t trust myself.
Believe it or not, I wanted to kiss him again. I wanted to feel the warmth again. But I couldn’t as I knew I would end up falling for him and would be left broken-hearted. I had been dumped a lot of times before, not anymore. I was waiting for the right and final one for me.
And Sean was a mere crush who had awakened desires inside me. He was not going to be my permanent.
But my inner self had some other feelings, and it spoke up loud and clear, giving me goosebumps of reality. “Somewhere deep down inside you want him to be your permanent.”
Why my inner self always jumble me up?
I wanted to let it all out, I wanted to talk about it with someone, but unfortunately, I couldn’t do it as well. Sighing, I again began to look for my laptop and then I remembered it was in his study.
Crap!
What do I do now? I panicked. Ryan had gone outside to play in the garden otherwise I would have asked him to bring me my laptop. I groaned out loud. I had to step out of my room. Shit!
Quietly opening the door of my room I peeked my head out to make sure the path was clear. When I found it clear, I came out of my room. I bent a little then slowly and quietly I tiptoed towards his study, praying not to find him there.
I stood before the door contemplating to knock on it or not. What if he’s inside waiting for me?
“So what if you find him there? You are not scared of him, Lauren. Show him who you are.” I said to myself and let out a confident breath. “I can do it.”
I knocked two times and for the first time I waited for his permission to enter but when I didn’t hear his voice in next five seconds I gripped the doorknob and twisted it, but before entering I inserted my head inside and roamed my eyes left to right, looking for his presence but I couldn’t see him.
Weird, he wasn’t inside. Where he could be? Why should I care?
It was good for me that wasn’t there. I needed my laptop and that’s what I was going to do. I looked for my laptop but strangely it wasn’t there as well. Defeated, I made my way outside. I wanted to work not just for the sake of distraction, it was my responsibility too.
I dared to descend the stairs and there I found my laptop in the living room, on the center table. But it was not the only thing I found. I found him as well. He was sprawled on the couch with his arm covering his eyes. I wondered if he was sleeping.
Cautiously, I tiptoed towards him, and holding my breath I picked up the laptop and grinned. Victory. He didn’t sense my presence. He indeed was asleep. I gazed at him and passed a tight-lipped smile.
“Sleep well.” I mouthed and again tip-toed back but I shrieked when a hand grabbed my wrist and tugged me back, making me land on him, my laptop separating our chest from touching but it couldn’t stop our faces from coming closer.
“Done hiding?” He quirked his eyebrow. I looked at him in horror and pulled myself up, and clutched my laptop against my chest.
“I wanted my laptop.” I stuttered. I couldn’t even look at him.
He stood up proudly and stuffed his hands in his sweatpants pockets. “Oh, yeah, your laptop. I knew you’d come out of your den to look for it that’s why I kept it with me.”
I looked at him in shock. I wanted to come up with a retort but I chose to stay quiet. I narrowed my eyes at him but without replying I spun around to go back to my room but-
“What, no comeback? That’s new. Or you are avoiding me as you are scared that something might happen again if your blabber irrelevant things. Because you can’t keep your mouth shut.”
I gritted my teeth at his mockery. I spun to face him and glared at him. “I am not avoiding you. I am just distancing myself from you.”
“That’s called avoiding, Lauren.” He mocked again and chuckled teasingly. “If I’m not wrong you are indeed scared that you’ll lose yourself in the kiss or maybe you’ll take things further.”
I gasped at his blunt words. When did we change our roles? What happened overnight that the always quiet Sean was now speaking too much?
“I am not scared of anything. And about the kiss, don’t even think about it as I won’t allow you to come near me.” I stated confidently.
“Let’s see for how long you’ll push me away.” He took long strides towards me but I strode back.
“Stop right there,” I said sternly while raising my one hand. “If you don’t want me to leave the house and let Ryan question you about me, you’ll maintain a good four hands distance from me.”
“You wouldn’t dare.”
“Try me.” I matched his glare.
“Okay fine.” I surrendered. “I won’t come near you. A question though…Do spiders scare you?”
I scrunched my face at his bizarre question. “No. I told you I am not scared of anything.”
“Well, then there’s a spider on your right shoulder.”
My body froze and my eyes turned wide. Spider, spider, SPIDER.
“Aaahhhh,” I screamed and the laptop slipped out of my hands which Sean caught quickly. “Omigod, omigod, push it away.” I bounced in horror and caught Sean’s arm, shaking him. “Just push it away, aahhh.”
He laughed and brushed his hand on my shoulder. “It’s gone.” I looked at him suspiciously. “You are not lying, right?” My voice was shaking.
“I swear I’m not lying. There. You can see it walking away from you.” He chuckled as he pointed to the floor. I craned my neck down to look for the spider when Sean cleared his throat-to mock me.
“And she says she isn’t scared of anything.”
I spun my neck to glare at him. “And I am not. You are bound to react when these disgusting creatures jump on your skin out of nowhere.”
He chuckled. “I’d have to agree with you on that. By the way, don’t accuse me of touching you because I’m not doing so; you are.” He darted his eyes at my hands that were gripping his arm tightly.
Shocked by what I had done, I quickly let go of him but before I could create some distance between us he clasped my wrist and pulled me back towards him.
“Now, now, Lauren. Tell me why were you avoiding me.” He asked, studying my face. “Is it because I kissed you?”
Well, duh! How could he be so dumb? He’s not the perfect Sean Peterson at all. He too has flaws.
“You have to ask me that? You shouldn’t have done that.” I whispered.
“Well, I have already done it and I don’t regret it if that’s what you are thinking.” He whispered.
“You are my boss, Sean. My boss. Is it hard for you to understand that nothing can’t work between us?”
“There’s no policy that states a boss and an employee can not be involved with each other.”
“What exactly has happened to you? You are not the same Sean Peterson I have known for years. Who are you and what did you do to my grumpy boss? You are an imposter in Sean’s skin. My boss doesn’t know how to flirt.” I dared to say.
He flashed a smile. A genuine one. And I got lost in his smile. “This is the real me, Lauren. Yes, I speak less and there’s a reason for it, but it doesn’t mean I don’t have any other side. Only a few and by few I mean my two best friends know about my flirty nature. You are an exceptional case, Lauren. This long-hidden side of me is coming out for you. To be precise, it’s your influence, Lauren.”
“Why me?” I couldn’t help but ask. My heart was picking up speed every passing second.
“Attraction.” He said in a heartbeat.
And just like that, I felt myself burning up. Blush automatically crawled on my face. Tingles, shivers, and goosebumps; all came rushing to me at once. I may have felt a tug on my heart, but the reality was before my eyes. Attraction. That’s what I was for him.
Attraction… which will fade away in no time.
I wouldn’t ever be more to him. Hence, the reason I couldn’t let him come near me. I couldn’t afford more heartbreak.
“You are really an imposter.” I laughed it off as I pulled myself out of his hold. He too laughed.
“If your avoiding game is over then we should probably work. There’s a lot to do.” He said, passing me my laptop.
“Yeah, we should. And Sean, don’t think I’m going to give you the advantage of kissing me…again.” I gave him a tight-lipped smile.
Or I’ll find myself kissing you back. I can’t resist you.
He quirked an eyebrow. “You mean to say you won’t speak all day?”
“Not unnecessarily.” I gave him a curt, confident nod.
He chuckled. “We’ll see, Lauren. We’ll see.”
True to my words, I didn’t speak unnecessarily all day. And to make sure he doesn’t tempt me to speak I remained in my room. I only stepped out when it was extremely necessary; like for lunch and to deliver work-related messages to him.
It was already evening and I was in my room, finalizing some documents on my laptop when Ryan tapped on my arm.
“Lauren, play cardboard puzzles with me.”
“Buddy, I’m busy right now,” I muttered without lifting my eyes from the laptop screen. Then I heard him sniff.
“You love her more, don’t you.”
What was he talking about?
I darted my gaze at him only to find his lower lip trembling. I quickly put my laptop away and pulled him on my lap.
“What are you talking about, buddy?” I asked, cupping his face.
“Amara. You love her more. You were happy to see her and now you are not playing with me.” A tear rolled down his eye. “Even uncle Sean doesn’t want to play with me. He’s in his study room since morning.”
“Oh, Ryan.” I embraced him in my arms, comforting him.
Sean and I were engaged in our clash that we forgot about Ryan. How could we do that?
“It’s not what you think, buddy. I love you a lot. I’m sorry for not playing with you, I was busy doing my work. Now, I’ll play with you, okay?” I rubbed his back.
“Is uncle Sean busy too?” He asked, sobbing. “I want to play with both of you.”
I pulled him away and wiped his tears. “Even if he’s busy, he’ll join us to play.” I smiled at him.
“Really?” His eyes and face lit up. “Won’t he get angry for distributing him?”
“Why would he? Wait, did you ask him to play with you?” I wanted to confirm if Sean said something wrong to him.
He shook his head. “I didn’t. I thought he’s busy.”
I placed him on the bed and stood up. “Your uncle Sean is going to play with you. That’s my promise, buddy. You sit here and I’ll be right back with your uncle.”
Sean Peterson
I was reading a document when my trouble barged into my study- like always.
“Sean, whatever you are doing you have to stop it now and come with me as you have to join me to play with Ryan.” She started rambling again.
She didn’t notice that I was already on my feet and was approaching her with a teasing smile.
“I think you don’t know that your nephew isn’t familiar to you yet. He’s feeling lonely. He didn’t come to you because he thought you might get angry at him for disturbing you. Can you believe that? He hesitates to talk with you.”
By now I was standing a hand distance away from her but her rambling hadn’t stopped yet.
“He thinks you don’t love him enough. He thinks the same for me. He’s jealous of Amara. He cried in front of me saying I was avoiding him because I don’t love him enough. Now, you have to come with me as I promised him that I’ll bring you with me so that you can play with him and-”
I closed the gap between us and sealed her lips with mine. Almost instantly she gripped my t-shirt and responded to my kiss. And that’s what urged me to deepen the kiss.
And she said she wouldn’t allow me to kiss her and here she was responding to my kiss.
I smile in the kiss and pulled her closer to me. My hands reached her hair and hers circled my neck. My body reacted to the closeness on its own. I pulled her closer I could, erasing every bit of distance from between us. Our tongues danced with each other until we couldn’t breathe anymore. If it weren’t for the sake of breathing I wouldn’t have let go of her lips. I pressed my forehead against hers and chuckled looking at her flushed face.
Slowly, she opened her eyes and turned them wide. Guess she figured what she did. She abruptly pushed me away and I laughed.
“I knew you can’t keep yourself from babbling. Now, what were you saying?”
“Uh, Ryan needs you.” She said while looking everywhere but me.
“See? Was it hard to directly come to the point? You know what? You shouldn’t stop babbling as it’s good for me and you.” I grinned. “Because your intense response clearly implies that you like kissing me as much as I do.”
She flushed more and without giving me a glance she rushed out of the study and I found myself following her to her room. She’s really something else.
“Ryan, what am I hearing? You are hesitating to talk to me?” I asked as I sat beside him on the bed. He looked up into my eyes but didn’t say anything.
“Hadn’t I told you to open up to me? Why did you think that I’d get mad at you?” I asked, rubbing his back.
“Uncle Levi gets angry when I ask him to play with me while he is working. So I thought…”
“So you thought I too will get mad which is why you didn’t come to me.” I completed his sentence. I sighed and cupped his face with one hand, and caressed his face with my thumb.
“Ryan, don’t forget that I am not Levi. I am your uncle Sean and I love you to infinity. And you don’t have to hesitate to ask for anything from me.” I said softly.
“Thank you, uncle Sean.” He stood on his knees and hugged me. “You are the best.”
I chuckled. He needs to be reminded from time to time.
“Aww, I’m hurt, buddy. Am I not best?” Lauren faked hurt. Ryan left me and rushed to her.
“You are even better. I love you more.” He giggled and hugged her legs.
“Now I am hurt, champ.” I placed my hand over my heart.
“Uh…” He got confused as he looked between us, probably trying to figure out what to say.
I chuckled. “I’m kidding, champ. Come on, let’s play.”
Three of us sat on the floor around jumbled cardboard pieces of ‘Mickey Mouse and friends’. There were so many small pieces that it took us half-hour to assemble half of the puzzle.
I had one black cardboard piece in my hand which I was trying to figure where to put. It was a piece of an ear, I was sure of that but I couldn’t figure out where exactly to put it. I was about to put the piece on the puzzle in a random place when Ryan spoke up.
“No, uncle Sean. It’s not the correct place.”
“I’m sure, it is. Champ. The dog has black ears.” I muttered.
Out of nowhere, the piece was snatched from my hand. “That’s Pluto. And this is a part of Minnie’s ear.” Lauren corrected and placed the piece at a particular place. “See, it fits.” And passed me a tight-lipped smile.
“Wow, Lauren, you are so good at it.” Ryan praised and she patted her shoulders which made me roll my eyes.
Suddenly, my phone went off. It was grandma; I excused myself out of her room. The second I picked up the call, she started without stopping.
“Hey, Sean. I’m sorry I couldn’t call you before as I was busy. By the way, how’s everything there? Is Ryan doing fine? How’s Lauren doing? Are you and Lauren getting along? You both are not doing any funny business in front of Ryan, are you?”
“God, grandma, stop.” I groaned. “We aren’t doing anything.”
“I doubt it.” Came her blunt reply.
My jaw dropped in surprise then shaking my head I smiled. What’d happen if I tell her that I kissed her? She’d start jumping in excitement because I knew it from the start of what she had been doing when she was here. She was trying to link Lauren and me together.
My grandma is so cunning.
“Think whatever you want, grandma.” I politely replied. “Lauren and Ryan are doing fine. You didn’t ask but let me tell you, your grandson is also doing fine.” I mocked.
“I know you are. I left your responsibility to Lauren.” I heard proudness in her voice.
Only if she knew!
“Now the thing I called you for.” She started.
“Sean, it’s time for Ryan to come back home. Your week is over and he has a school to attend.”
What? A week already passed? Time certainly flies real quick.
“I hope by now you must have figured out the solution to his problem. The boarding school thing.”
Shit! I forgot about that.
“Yeah, I’m on it,” I said as I rubbed my forehead, cursing myself for forgetting the most important thing.
“Good. And I hope you don’t mind dropping him back tomorrow?”
“No. I don’t.”
I hung the call and fisted my hands in exasperation. How could I forget the main reason for which I brought Ryan to my house? And now the time was over. He had to go back.
It meant that…
She too will have to go back to her home.
And I wasn’t ready for that.