Page 54 of The Fear of Falling
Benson:
That’s why I’m so handsomely rich, obviously. Consulting is just a cover.
Avery:
Ah, it all makes sense now! Did I get in the way of the treasure you were going after in Florence?
Benson:
Who says I didn’t get her?
I curse as soon as I hit send and hope she doesn’t read too much into my response. Jewels can be referred to as ‘she,’ right? This is what I get for letting my guard down around this woman. My phone buzzes once, then again, and I’m almost too afraid to look.
Avery:
You says.
But if you ever decide not to be a stick in the mud, you know where to find me.
I stare at the words on the screen until my vision starts to blur. She is…bold. Bolder than she was in Florence, where she let me take the lead on everything. Sure, she got braver as the week went on, but she still went with whatever I planned for her, down to crashing the reception. While she’s been pulling me into conversation and brainstorming at the office this week, she hasn’t openly flirted like this.
And I am finding this side of her a little too attractive. What is it about confident women that I can’t resist?
I can either shut her down, or I can play along, and I know which one would be more enjoyable. She knows this can’t last, so she knows any flirting I do is for the fun of it.
I groan. Does she know that? Things are different now that we’re not bound by anonymity and an end date. She’s made it clear that our week in Italy meant more to her than what it was supposed to, so if Avery is flirting with me right now, it’s because she wants something to exist between us. Something I can’t give her. If I give into the temptation she’s presenting right now and flirt back, there’s a high chance she’s going to end up hurt when I have to leave.
I should end the conversation here and go to bed. Hopefully to get some actual sleep. But the idea of shutting this down and being nothing but colleagues with this woman makes my chest ache, like I can’t breathe.
“That’s a good sign that this is a bad idea,” I mutter to myself, my stomach twisting as I type out another text. I’m going to regret this. But the screens and distance between me and Avery are making me feel reckless, and that feeling is not something I’ve ever been able to suppress easily.
Benson:
I think the real stick in the mud here is the woman who has been going to work at six in the morning.
Avery:
I was thinking about sleeping in tomorrow.
Benson:
No you weren’t.
Avery:
Well now I’m definitely sleeping in.
Benson:
I’ll believe it when I see it.
She doesn’t respond for a minute, during which I pull up the pictures I have of Avery because I haven’t been able to delete them, no matter how many times I tell myself I need to. I’m already making a mistake by texting her late at night, so I might as well make things worse and get a reminder of how truly beautiful she is.
When Avery’s next text comes in, I stare at it for a long time.
Avery:
What do you do when you’re not at the office?
