I greeted a few colleagues passing by as I stood nervously in the parking lot, waiting for Mr. Sturm to arrive. I patted a few specks of dust that are gathered on my dress again for the umpteenth time. My nerves were getting the best of me. And apart from the raw excitement of seeing Mr. Sturm, I could pinpoint the other reason was due to lack of sleep. Four hours of shut-eye was simply not enough for me, nor could it be for anyone else. This morning, as I made coffee, I logged on to Facebook; hopeful to see my Sky Walker online. After waiting a good thirty minutes without seeing the green active dot on his profile, I gave up.
Perhaps he was still pissed at me, thinking I’d ditched him.
Life was so unfair.
I was so lost in my thoughts that I didn’t see when Mr. Sturm pulled over in front of me. He got down, murmuring a greeting as he moved over to the other side to open the door for me. “Good morning, Elaine.”
I flushed, startled to see him. “Good morning, Sir,” I unconsciously tucked a loose strand of hair behind my left ear, moving over to climb onto the low luxury seat. My heart pounded in my chest as he shut the door and walked around to the driver’s seat, looking immaculate in a stunning navy blue suit that complimented his dark-rimmed glasses. Never been a fan of nerdy looks, but that was one sexy nerdy look he got there.
“What were you thinking about?” he asked after he’d jammed the door and clicked his seatbelt. I averted my gaze when his cryptic blue eyes turned to me, waiting for a response. Should I call him out on being Sky Walker? Or it wasn’t the right time yet?
Ugh.
“Ah, nothing much,” I said at last as he revved up the engine. “Just one of my endless daydreams.”
“Hmm.”
I was relieved that he didn’t push for more. I winced when he turned up the music volume to an insane degree. We pulled into traffic and I tried not to laugh at how comical he looked, bobbing his head to the music while mouthing the lyrics of Pon De Replay by Rihanna.
My eyes went up to his beautiful mass of blonde hair, admiring the way it fell over his hairline, almost covering his cerulean blue eyes. I could tell that it’d been a while since he cut it, due to the overgrown mass at the sides, but the way he pulled it back into a bun made it hardly noticeable. The smell of his rosy aftershave was hypnotizing.
Oh, Jesus. How much more gorgeous and terrific could he possibly get?
And there I was, loving everything about him after I’d promised myself to stay away.
Although I was beside him, obviously ogling like a star-stroked schoolgirl who’d just seen her superstar crush, he still kept his eyes glued to the road in front.
Jeez. His concentration level is also top-notch.
“Thanks for letting me ride with you,” I blurted out without thinking.
“You’re welcome,” he murmured and my heart soared when I noticed the left corner of his lips move up in a faint smile. I didn’t want to pester or distract him further from driving, so I turned my attention to the bustling streets we were waddling through early morning commuters struggling to get on the city bus or standing idly as they waited for a cab to go by.
My mind was elsewhere. I wanted to know if he was Sky Walker.
“How was your night?” I finally asked him. He barely spared me a glance, maneuvering around a group of slow cars.
“It was fine.”
I waited for him to say more and when he didn’t, I sighed and looked out the window again.
I guess he’s not Sky.
“What about you?” he asked a few seconds later, out of the blue, “did you have a fun night as well?”
I shrugged, wringing my hands on my laps. “I guess you could say that. I stayed on Facebook till two thirty before my Internet dropped out. But it was restored this morning.”
His eyes meet mine as he hummed in silent disbelief.
I wondered if he’d gone out last night after we spoke, probably to a bar for drinks and a nice girl. For all I knew, he had the means and the reputation of meeting up with women in motels. Perhaps, he’d called the girl over instead for a nice time? Ugh.
His phone trilled off on the dashboard and he jumped, almost colliding slightly with an orange sedan beside him. “Goddamnit!”
“Careful,” I said, leaning over to pick up the phone and slide a thumb over the screen. My brows furrowed at the caller. Manny.
Manny Salazar.
“Won’t you pick up?” he asked me curiously, an impatient edge in his tone. I shook my head, holding the phone to his left ear. “Hey, man. What’s up?”
“Good morning, Max. Where are you right now?”
“On my way to the conference with Elaine,” he turned to glance at me and I shut my eyes, anxious.
“Elaine? You mean…she’s in the car right now with you?”
“Yeah, man. I figured that she’d help take down important notes. Is anything the matter?”
“No, no. nothing. Uh, ah…it’s just that the meeting has been rescheduled to start by ten PM.”
Max palmed a fist on the steering wheel. “Shit. That’s fucked up, man. We’re already so close.”
“Listen, listen. I apologize for the inconvenience. I should’ve called sooner.”
He exhaled, “It’s alright,” then went around the roundabout, back down the road we’d been coming from. “I’ll talk to you later.”
He gestured for me to hang up, running a hand through his hair and down the nape of his neck. “I’m sorry, Elaine. I owe you a treat.”
I reached out to hold his hand, squeezing gently. “It’s not your fault.” I colored slightly when he glanced down at both our hands interlocked before bringing mine up to meet his lips.
“Thank you.”
“N-No problem,” I babbled, turning my attention back to the road. I felt scorching hot all over. “Where are we going?”
“We’ve still got over an hour and thirty minutes more before the conference. I’d say we have hot chocolate before then, don’t you think?”
I couldn’t agree more. Although my skin still felt so hot from his kiss so I’d prefer iced tea to cool off.