Page 10 of Dear One Night Stand
“Was that Baker?”
“Yeah, he called because he said he needed to talk to me.”
Chris glances over at the clock on the nightstand. “At three in the morning?”
"He said it would only take five minutes." I start to pick up my dress and slip it on over my head, letting the blanket drop out beneath it.
“And you’re going?”
“It's not what you think," I try to assure him. "Five minutes tops, and I will be right back."
Chris opens his mouth but decides to think better of whatever he was going to say.
“It will be fine.” I lean down and give him a quick peck on the lips. “I’ll be right back. I promise.”
Chris follows me out into the living room, where I grab my panties off the floor and slip them on. He's wrapped in the sheet from my bed. His chest muscles the moonlight shining in the windows are almost enough to make me forget about leaving. But I need this closure with Baker. He and I are done.
“Are you sure you want to go?”
“I think I owe it to myself to see what he has to say.”
“What can he say that will change how he treated you?”
“Nothing, but I have to do this.”
Chris grabs my hand and pulls me back against him, cupping my face in his hand. He brushes his lips against mine, softly at first, but the tenderness turns to a more passionate want when his tongue licks my lips to urge them to open and deepen the kiss.
The feel of his lips against mine nearly makes me forget my name. But my phone rings again in my hand, popping the bubble that surrounded us.
“Five minutes.” I pull back. “I promise.”
* * *
The bell above the diner door rings as I walk in. Baker is the only person sitting in one of the vinyl booths that lines the front windows. He waves me over as if I wouldn't be able to see it was him.
“I didn’t think you were going to come,” he says, standing up.
“I nearly didn’t.”
“I’m glad you did.” He steps forward and holds out his arms to me, but I step back.
“What did you need to say to me that is so important that you woke me up in the middle of the night to meet you?”
Baker sighs like he's annoyed that whatever he thought would happen isn't going according to his plan. He sits down on one side of the booth, and I sit down on the other.
“I made a huge mistake.”
I don’t respond. I only stare at him, forcing him to continue.
“I didn’t know what I lost until I saw you tonight.”
"Well, I don't think that really matters anymore. You have a fiancée,” I remind him.
He shakes his head. “I don’t love her the way I love you.”
In all the years since that night when Baker broke my heart into a million tiny pieces, I've dreamed of hearing him say this to me. But as I sit here, out in the cold, I realize that Baker isn't the one I should be with right now. I should never have left the bed. I should never have walked out on Chris, thinking only of myself.
“Is that all?” I ask, pushing to my feet.
