What They Deserve

TWENTY-SEVEN

April didn't call or text Willow to let her know she'd made it home and she had promised that she would. Even so, she had always been good about keeping Willow posted of her whereabouts.
          
Willow pouted over it, telling herself that her best friend had chosen to hole up with Jeff first. And because Phillip hadn't had any contact with her since their last date. 

Despite how often she looked back on that night and hoped for another one soon, she was embarrassed, sure she had done something wrong. Her seduction skills had never gone past making the guy want her. She had no doubt that Phillip had been ready, but what scared him? Was she not clear enough? Should I have just come out and said “I want you!”?
          
She sent April mad emojis as a joke, hoping she’d hear something from her soon and decided to go for a jog. The exercise couldn't hurt anything and she was sure it might help her relieve some stress.
          
Just when she opened the door, there he stood, his fist raised to knock.
          
"Oh. Hey." He shoved his hands into his pockets.
          
"Hi." As much as she wanted to sound curt, she was too stunned to see him standing in front or her, an embarrassed look on his handsome face.
          
The silence was awkward, but neither of them knew what to say. Willow cleared her throat and stepped back. "You wanna come in?"
          
"Maybe we should go for a walk." Phillip gestured at her attire.
          
"Yeah." She nodded, closing the door behind her as she stepped out.
          
"I want to apologize." Phillip began. "I...I've never…I mean, I wanted to. But I just got freaked out."
         
"I thought maybe I did something wrong." Willow sighed in relief. She peeked at him to see that he was looking at the ground as they trudged down the sidewalk.
          
"No. It's not you at all." He shook his head. "The last time I was almost intimate with a woman, she changed her mind. So I guess a part of me was scared you'd do that and I wanted to, uh, control the situation."
          
Willow saw the blush on his cheeks at his admission and felt her heart swell. "I get it. That must have been hard." It didn't occur to her that he had just described the things she'd done to men. He'd described her.
          
They walked around her neighborhood, catching up and she invited him back to her place.
          
"I promise I won't put any moves on you." She winked at him and gained a chuckle.
          
"Okay." He followed her back, still looking a little bashful.
          
Once inside, they made their way to the kitchen.

"So when is your friend supposed to come back?" He leaned forward, his elbows resting against the counter.
          
"Early this morning." Willow furrowed her brows, stopping her quest to grab them some bottled water from the fridge. "I haven't heard from her though." 
          
"Do you think she decided to stay a little longer?"
          
"No. Not really. I mean, I guess it’s possible. She had her last meeting Friday morning and she said she would be back today. She even took tomorrow off to rest."
          
"Maybe she changed her mind." His shrug annoyed her. “If she took tomorrow off, maybe she decided one more day couldn’t hurt.”
          
"I don't know. She would have told me." Willow shook her head, not convinced. Even if April had been a little spacey since Jeff had come around, she doubted the woman she’d known almost all of her life would just stop with her normal routines.
          
"I'm sure everything's okay. She'll probably call you tomorrow. I mean, if she got in early today, she's probably just knocked out." Phillip reached out and placed his hand over hers.
          
"I hope."
          
After her gaze lowered to the counter, Phillip came around and wrapped her in his arms. “Let’s eat.”

She tried to give a convincing smile as they made sandwiches and opened a bag of chips to eat.
          
Phillip left a short while later, planning to take her out the next night. He gave her a small peck on the cheek before she closed the door behind him and promised that April would call her soon.
          
Willow couldn't help feeling that something was wrong, that he was wrong. April wouldn't have changed her plans without telling her. And she would have let her know when she got back, even if it had been at the crack of dawn. So what was going on?

□●□●□●□●□●□●□●□●□●□●□●□●□●□●□
          
Willow spent her whole day trying to get in touch with April. She even visited her boss's office to ask if maybe she had decided to stay in Beijing longer. He hadn't heard anything from her either.
          
Phillip had sent her a text at one point, expressing his enthusiasm for their date. She sent back a quick me too before trying to focus on work.
          
The day moved at a snail's pace and she didn't feel like she accomplished anything. Her mind kept drifting to April.
          
She had enough time to take a shower before she needed to get ready. The water was set to the hottest she could handle and filled the bathroom with steam before she was finished undressing. 
          
The heat and beating water against her back helped her feel a little better. She continued to try to convince herself that April just had extreme jet lag. Everything would be good the next day.

She felt numb as she dressed in a cocktail dress, per Phillip’s instructions, that she’d worn to several of her office’s parties.
          
When Phillip showed up in a beautiful three piece suit, she was ready physically, but her mind was still elsewhere. 

“Wow.” He breathed, taking her in and offering a kiss to her knuckles.

“Thanks. You look dashing.” 

In their cab, every so often, he shot her worried glances, her mood still gloomy, and gave her hand a gentle squeeze to which she responded with a sad smile.

Some life came back to her as they pulled up in front of the concert hall where people were filing in to see the American Symphony Orchestra perform. Her heart began a quick patter against her chest, sure he wasn’t taking her to see them. But as he led her to follow other people in dressy attire, pure joy took over.
          
They were seated in one of the balconies with a full view of the stage and the conductor. 
          
"Wow! This place is magnificent." Willow gushed as she took in the mahogany banister, heavy drapery along the walls, ornate chandeliers hanging from the ceilings. She ran her hands over the chair she sat on, her eyes never staying focused on one thing.
          
When the music began, she settled back, her hands clasped together on her lap. Phillip reached out to take her right hand in his left. He gave her a small squeeze as he zoned in on the musicians.
          
Willow swayed to the music, lost in the beauty of the strings and woodwinds. He preferred the heavier sounds, the booming of the drums and crash of cymbals. 
          
Someone came and offered them a flute of champagne which Phillip took for appearance's sake. Willow sipped the sparkling beverage as the music continued, lost in the magic surrounding them.
          
Once the last song played, the attendants arose to give the musicians a standing ovation. Willow clapped quick and hard. "That was so beautiful. Thank you for taking me. I’ve always wanted to go, but never met anyone who wanted to."
          
Phillip gave her a dashing smile as he leaned down to kiss her forehead before she had a chance to think about April. He took her to the cafe she had taken him to when they first met. She blushed as he ushered her in, remembering that event. They sat near the back and waited for the waitress to take their order.
          
As happy as she looked, the nagging feeling about April was creeping up on her. She slipped her phone out of her clutch to see that she hadn't missed a call or text.
          
"Your friend?" 
          
"Yeah. I think I'm going to go to the police tomorrow morning. I mean, it'll have been forty-eight hours, right? Isn't that how long you're supposed to wait?" Willow fiddled with the wrapper from her straw, evidence of her nerves.
          
"It might be. But you're sure she wouldn't have changed her mind and decided to stay longer?" His voice was gentle and when she looked up, there was a softness in his eyes.
          
"I'm sure. She hasn't contacted our boss either." Willow shook her head, ripping the wrapper into pieces.
          
A frown creased Phillip's forehead as he thought. "Have you tried to call her hotel? I mean, the one she stayed at."
          
"No. I didn't even think about that." Her head snapped up as a sliver of hope blossomed in her chest. "I'll try first thing in the morning."
          
The waitress brought their food out a few minutes later and they discussed their favorite parts of the orchestra. Once finished, Phillip walked Willow to her place, giving her a kiss, a hug, and reassurance that everything was okay with her friend.