The Man She Betrayed

38. Unlike A Responsible Adult

Aaron

"You are such a dick Vincent. How can you walk away without talking to her?" Crystal slapped my arm with her tiny hands as I finished telling her what just happened.

"I didn't know what to do. My brain stopped working and my voice really got caught in my throat." I tried to defend my action with the lame excuse.

'I n... need to g..go'. That's what I said to her and she kept looking at my retreating figure with a confused expression.

"She must have felt really confused. I swear you can be so full of shit sometimes." she passed me another threatening glare.

"I know Crys. But it was really difficult. I went there to divorce her and realised that her engagement was just a misunderstanding. What else was I supposed to do?" I asked her.

"I don't know. Maybe talk like a sensible human being for a change?" she frowned.

"You see, that's the issue. I mean yes, she is not engaged. But it doesn't change the fact that despite being married to me, she ran away. I don't want to sound judgemental but I don't even know how many men she had slept with, while still being my wife." I exasperated.

"Aaron!" she sighed disappointedly.

"Besides, you're my girlfriend now." I moved my hand to hold hers but she drew it back.

"Aaron! I hate to admit it to you but I have liked the concept of you and I for a long time. But even I can see that it's never going to work between us." she said, lowering her gaze to the ground.

"Wait! What are you saying?" I asked, drawing my brows closer in confusion.

"I am saying that I know there are many things stopping you from being with Clara. I don't want to be one of them." she whispered, trying to fake a smile.

"Are you breaking up with me?" I asked in a pained voice. "Because I really want us to work. I swear I am trying really hard."

"I know you do." she said and moved forwards, holding my face in between her hands and pulling it down to kiss my forehead. "And I know that a part of you will always love Clara. Sooner or later, you'll realise it and then, I don't want to be the only wall standing between both of you."

"Crystal!" I mumbled defeatedly, resting my forehead against hers. We stayed like that for a moment, talking without any exchange of words.

"Talk to her." she said, pulling away.

I shook my head in no.

"Talk to her Vincent. Otherwise, it would be too late." she said again.

...

I was too mentally exhausted to deal with Clara so when I got to know that Amber and I were going to a business conference for three days, I let out a sigh of relief. These three days will give me time to rethink my decisions and help me into giving some space to myself.

Early in the morning, I took a bath and got dressed into some casual clothes. Amber picked me from my apartment in her SUV and soon, we were both off on our two hour road trip.

"Are you sure this is the route?" I asked her driver once I found him going towards the opposite side.

"Yeah, we are going to pick Clara up." Amber said and I cursed under my breath. I so desperately wanted some days away from her and there I was, stuck with her for the next three days.

The car stopped in front of her house and she walked outside, dressed in a yellow sundress that made her look bright, like sunshine if that made sense. Her hair was pulled up in a bun over her head with few curly tendrils caressing her face. I forced my face away from her because it felt sort of creepy.

She sat down on the seat beside me, her soft feminine scent filled the car. For a moment, our eyes met and I found a hint of anger in her gaze. That made me remember how I ran from her place last night after realising that the guy was her roommate's fiance.

Two hours in a confined space with her were a torture on me. Specially when Amber went to sleep almost half an hour later and we both were stuck in the awkward drive alone.

My eyes kept wandering to her as I contemplated between talking to her and ignoring her. She had engrossed herself in a book she brought with her while I just kept shifting in my seat uncomfortably.

Once the driver stopped at a gas station to use the restroom, that's when I turned to her. Knowing Amber, her waking up before an hour would be no less than a miracle so that was a good time for a sensible talk.

"Listen.." I started but she cut me up by turning towards me.

"No. You listen Mr. Vincent. I get that you're angry at me and I get that I deserve this but I am a human too. It hurts me, a lot and I am willing to be on the receiving side of all the hatred." her voice was breaking, tears were welling inside her eyes but she didn't stop.

"But coming to my apartment specifically, just so you could insult me again was-" I didn't know why I did what I did. Last time, I had an excuse that it was to calm her down but this time, I just kissed her without any cause.

To calm her down again. I told myself.

Her words stopped when my lips landed on her. All the sane thoughts went out of the window and all I knew that I wanted to taste her soft, plump lips that were coated with a bright red lipstick. At first, there was hesitation in the kiss but then my hands went to her hair and her fingers went to mine. Our lips moved against each others, increasing the friction with each movement.

Angling our mouths, we deepened the kiss, my tongue slowly delved into her mouth and I tasted the tanginess of grape juice. It felt really great to kiss someone with this kind of passion. Not just someone, the girl that always had a special place in my heart, the girl that made me feel things. Our tongues were fighting for dominance and there was a hidden anger driving our kiss.

I wanted to stop. I wanted to pull away. This was wrong. We need to talk like sane, responsible adults but here we were, sucking each other's mouths like some hormonal teenager.

Once we heard the footsteps of the driver coming towards us, we pulled apart and sat straight on our respective seats. My heart was beating like crazy but I kept my face blank. Once the driver entered inside, his eyes lingered at our faces for a minute and something resembling a smirk made its way to his mouth.

In front of me, Amber shifted in her seat and slowly opened her eyes, assessing her surroundings. I ran my fingers through my hair to fix the after-effects of that kiss.

I stole a glance of Clara whose cheeks were flushed and her lipstick was smudged all over her mouth. Her once perfect bun was now hanging down her neck in a tangled mess. Overall, she just looked more kissable than she was before.

Shit. What have I done?

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Question of the day: Your favorite sitcom? Needs some suggestions.
I have watched FRIENDS, Brooklyn 99, How I met your mother, Two and a half men, The big bang theory, Modern family, Arrested development.