while Dani watches.” Corey stopped what he was doing and looked back towards me. My elbows rested on my knees with my palms pressed to either side of my temple. His lips turned into a smirk before returning to the job.
“I’ll give you that one.”
“And it’s not just a friendship thing. Dani just knows how to read certain people when she can chalk it up to a ‘business’ transaction in her mind.”
Her words hung in the air, making me think of all the possibilities during my time here. The argument about the wine—I won, the red shirts—I won, the cigarettes—I let him win, and here he was now, painting my house. All those things were true and could be categorized in the way Gabby described. None of those situations or decisions involved my heart. It was the very sacred ones involving my heart, that made my head spin. It took everything in me to tell Corey the sordid details of my past even now it wasn’t easy knowing I had. Very slowly, I felt him slipping away and I wasn’t ready to let go. So, I gave all I could in those moments of light playfulness.
Corey sighed with resignation, something gave me the feeling he too was thinking the same as I was.
“Yeah, I’ll give you that. Dani is incredible when it comes to dealing with people. That doesn’t mean she’s going to leave the Inn—it is her family asking her to stay—not a company.”
“I’m not going to argue about this anymore, because I need to run. I wanted to let you know that the possibility that Erik will call you with an offer, and much more money than you were making. Don’t be surprised when the call comes and try to have a decision made. We need you back, Dee.”
“I’ll keep it in mind.” I conceded.
“Great! Okay, well I love you and I miss you every day! Nice talking to you, Corey.”
“You too, Gabby,” He grumbled back. “Bye Gabs, love you too.” I hung up the speakerphone and went back to watching Corey. He didn’t stop what he was doing and didn’t look back my way.
The conversation hurt him more than he deserved and I wished he hadn’t been here to hear it. How was it that as soon as I thought I had a handle on my life, something flew in from left field and changed the whole game? The overpowering need to take Corey’s mind off the conversation propelled me forward. I climbed to my feet and wrapped my arms cautiously around his middle. His body stiffened for a moment before relaxing against my touch. I wanted to give Corey reassurance that I wasn’t going anywhere—but that would be a lie.
He rested his free hand over top of mine and we stayed that way for a while. Hoping more than anything that I could take away the pain, fear, anger—whatever he was experiencing and protect him from it. No one should hurt over me—especially not Corey.
* * * *
We spent the rest of the afternoon finishing my room. The playful attitude from earlier was long gone. Every time my eyes locked with Corey’s, I saw something in them that made my heart skip a beat. The way he looked at me was as if he already knew I was gone. Every chance I got I let my arms wrap around him, longing to provide comfort in the only way I knew possible. When the room was finished I packed an overnight bag for Corey’s.
After eating dinner we popped in a movie, that neither of us watched. We laid together on the couch, his arms held me protectively to his side. After the film we made our way to the bedroom where the cuddling continued but this time there was no sex. There was a piece of me that almost thought of pushing for it, using that as a way to stop the sinking feeling in both of us. But I couldn’t. The timing wasn’t right, and I knew Corey needed more than my body to make this better.
He needed my heart.
* * * *
A few days passed since Gabby’s phone call and I found there was a subtle difference in the way Corey and I interacted. His touches were softer, our gazes lingered longer and he took any available opportunity to put his arms around me. Without a thought of the consequences, I let him. I wasn’t sure if it was because I knew how much he