soon.
“You did great,” I said to Preston as we
left the building and headed back towards the hotel.
“You think so?” he asked. In a rare
moment of vulnerability, Preston Woodfield didn’t
appear to be 100% full of himself .
“Absolutely,” I said. “I enjoyed watching
you in your element.”
Preston hailed a cab amongst the hustle
and bustle of downtown Seattle, and we headed back to the hotel. We had one
night to kick back and relax before our flight left the next morning.
“So what do you want to do tonight?” he
asked. “We can do anything you want.”
In a perfect world, the trip would’ve
been a sweet little romantic get away. Instead it was all business and no
pleasure, but I couldn’t complain. It was exactly the way I’d told him I wanted
things to be between us. He was simply respecting my wishes. Ironically, the
less he came onto me, the more I wanted him, and the feeling was only intensifying
with every day that passed as my last day with the firm inched nearer.
***
“You ready?” Preston said as he rapped on
my hotel door that evening. He’d made dinner reservations for us at a
restaurant at the top of the Space Needle.
I spritzed on one final spray of my
gardenia perfume, smoothed my hair, and flung my purse over my shoulder before
meeting him in the hallway. As weird as it was, I felt like we were going out
on a date, and a teeny, tiny part of me hoped he’d kiss me that night.
“Have you eaten here before?” I asked as
we rode the elevator down to the hotel lobby.
“Never,” he said. “But it seemed like
something everyone should do at least once in their lives. When in Rome,
right?”
Preston had been in a great mood ever
since our pitch earlier that day. Things were going well, and I was starting to
grow fond of the Preston that existed outside of the office. I almost hated for
our little trip to end.
We finished our sweet little dinner at
Sky City, mostly talking about work things and keeping the conversation light,
though the tension between us was so ripe there was no denying it.
“Observation deck?” Preston asked as we
left the restaurant. “Care for one more drink before we head back to the
hotel?”
We’d shared a bottle of red wine over
dinner, his idea, and I was already feeling a little uninhibited, but since he
was buying, I couldn’t say no. “Sure.”
We headed to the observation deck at the
top of the Space Needle and Preston grabbed us some cocktails from the bar.
Overlooking the entire city of Seattle, we were practically at the top of the
world.
As we stood, in silence, looking down
upon the city lights that were beginning to fill the nighttime sky, Preston was
so close to me I could feel his warm breath on my neck and the musky scent of
his cologne filled my lungs. I closed my eyes, missing deeply brief period of
time when we were irrationally and confusingly passionate about each other. It
was over before it had even begun, but those feelings never left. At least not for me.
“I wanted to ask you something tonight,” Preston
said after several long moments of silence.
“What’s that?” I asked as I spun around
to face him. For the first time ever, he looked slightly nervous.
“I want to ask you to stay,” he said.
“Once your internship is over. I want you on my team.”
“Oh,” I said, trying to disguise the
disappointment in my voice. I had secretly hoped he was going to confess that
his feelings for me had never changed. “I’ll…have to think about that.”
“I can take care of you,” he said.
“I don’t need anyone to take care of me,”
I scoffed. “But thanks.”
“I want to take care of you,” he said.
“If you won’t work for me, at least be with me.”
“Be with you?” I echoed.
“In just a few weeks, you’ll head back to
Georgia,” he said. “I’m not ready to let you
“You did great,” I said to Preston as we
left the building and headed back towards the hotel.
“You think so?” he asked. In a rare
moment of vulnerability, Preston Woodfield didn’t
appear to be 100% full of himself .
“Absolutely,” I said. “I enjoyed watching
you in your element.”
Preston hailed a cab amongst the hustle
and bustle of downtown Seattle, and we headed back to the hotel. We had one
night to kick back and relax before our flight left the next morning.
“So what do you want to do tonight?” he
asked. “We can do anything you want.”
In a perfect world, the trip would’ve
been a sweet little romantic get away. Instead it was all business and no
pleasure, but I couldn’t complain. It was exactly the way I’d told him I wanted
things to be between us. He was simply respecting my wishes. Ironically, the
less he came onto me, the more I wanted him, and the feeling was only intensifying
with every day that passed as my last day with the firm inched nearer.
***
“You ready?” Preston said as he rapped on
my hotel door that evening. He’d made dinner reservations for us at a
restaurant at the top of the Space Needle.
I spritzed on one final spray of my
gardenia perfume, smoothed my hair, and flung my purse over my shoulder before
meeting him in the hallway. As weird as it was, I felt like we were going out
on a date, and a teeny, tiny part of me hoped he’d kiss me that night.
“Have you eaten here before?” I asked as
we rode the elevator down to the hotel lobby.
“Never,” he said. “But it seemed like
something everyone should do at least once in their lives. When in Rome,
right?”
Preston had been in a great mood ever
since our pitch earlier that day. Things were going well, and I was starting to
grow fond of the Preston that existed outside of the office. I almost hated for
our little trip to end.
We finished our sweet little dinner at
Sky City, mostly talking about work things and keeping the conversation light,
though the tension between us was so ripe there was no denying it.
“Observation deck?” Preston asked as we
left the restaurant. “Care for one more drink before we head back to the
hotel?”
We’d shared a bottle of red wine over
dinner, his idea, and I was already feeling a little uninhibited, but since he
was buying, I couldn’t say no. “Sure.”
We headed to the observation deck at the
top of the Space Needle and Preston grabbed us some cocktails from the bar.
Overlooking the entire city of Seattle, we were practically at the top of the
world.
As we stood, in silence, looking down
upon the city lights that were beginning to fill the nighttime sky, Preston was
so close to me I could feel his warm breath on my neck and the musky scent of
his cologne filled my lungs. I closed my eyes, missing deeply brief period of
time when we were irrationally and confusingly passionate about each other. It
was over before it had even begun, but those feelings never left. At least not for me.
“I wanted to ask you something tonight,” Preston
said after several long moments of silence.
“What’s that?” I asked as I spun around
to face him. For the first time ever, he looked slightly nervous.
“I want to ask you to stay,” he said.
“Once your internship is over. I want you on my team.”
“Oh,” I said, trying to disguise the
disappointment in my voice. I had secretly hoped he was going to confess that
his feelings for me had never changed. “I’ll…have to think about that.”
“I can take care of you,” he said.
“I don’t need anyone to take care of me,”
I scoffed. “But thanks.”
“I want to take care of you,” he said.
“If you won’t work for me, at least be with me.”
“Be with you?” I echoed.
“In just a few weeks, you’ll head back to
Georgia,” he said. “I’m not ready to let you
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