~Three Days Earlier~
Christian
I looked at my ringing phone and saw Christopher's name on the display so I answered. "Hey."
"Hey, little brother, how are you?"
"I've been better."
"What's going on?" Christopher asked in his concerned big brother voice.
I sighed deeply, I didn't want Topher to know about Raylynn disappearing on me because of Anna. "I miss my girl." I simply answered.
"Yeah, then why don't you come down here and surprise her?" I could hear the grin in his voice.
Raylynn's in England, why, for how long? I thought. My mind was racing but my thoughts surrounded around the thought of explaining myself and reuniting with Raylynn.
"You think I should?" I smoothly asked, not giving myself away.
"Yeah, they'll be here in three days by early evening. I'll take them out to eat and you can make and appearance." My brother was a genius.
"I want to spend some time with Raylynn alone first, do you think you can make that happen without tipping Grandma or Raylynn off about what's going on?" I was now standing in my office, pacing in front of the ceiling to floor windows.
"Chris, we're talking about me, I can make the impossible happen. Don't worry about it.
I nodded my head as if he could see me. "Thank you, I owe you one if you pull this off."
"I'll pull it off and you will owe me." He chuckled.
After hanging up, I went home, booked my flight, packed, and stayed awake all night practicing what I would say when I saw Raylynn. Nothing said sounded good enough but I wasn't going to go out without a fight.
~Present Day~
When it was time, I had a limo service drop me off at the airport and arranged for one to pick me up. Almost a whole day later, I was at Topher's house coming up with a plan. Exhausted, I finally went to sleep and when I woke up, I was ready to face my toughest challenge.
Now, here I stand. I'm waiting in the shadows, watching Topher put our plan in motion. Raylynn went off to the bathroom. Moments later, a waitress came to the table and informed Grandma and Topher that Raylynn was sick and was currently in a cab back to their hotel. Grandma stood and told Topher she wanted a ride back to the hotel to check on her. Topher told Grandma to wait by the valet while he paid the bill. He paid, the waitress came and collected it, and Topher left the note I'd written to Raylynn asking her to come to the restaurant garden to work off the meal.
I made my way to the spot in the garden I had prepared. It was a small, circular table towards the entrance that had two plates of chocolate cheese cake and a Dr. Pepper for Raylynn, water for me.
I sat at the table and waited for her. I grew impatient with every second I had to wait but when she walked through the flowers to me, time stood still.
Raylynn's eyes bulged from their sockets and she looked ready to run. I stood. "Baby, please, hear me out. If what I tell you doesn't convince you of my love for you, feel free to walk away from me and never return."
Raylynn took a deep breath and closed her eyes. I could tell she wanted to run but she also wanted to stay and hear me out. That as a good sign.
I walked around and pulled her chair from the table. Hesitantly, she walked towards me and sat. I wanted to kiss her, touch her, but I settled for a simple 'Thank you.'
I took my seat and motioned for her to eat her desert. She shook her head and ate. "Good?"
She nodded.
I took a bite of my cake and then spoke. "I miss you, Baby, and I'm so sorry for what you had to see. I swear, swear to you that nothing happened that night between Anna and I. We were drunk and she asked to stay the night. I think I went to my room and passed out. I had no idea she crawled into bed with me." I reached out and grabbed her free hand that rested on the table, pulling it towards me. "I don't know why it happened but I swear to you nothing happened and this or anything like it will never happen again. Take me back, Baby, please." I begged.
Raylynn looked up from her cake, put her fork down, and swallowed the cake in her mouth. Her eyes found mine and she pulled the hand I held away from me. "Anna, she's in love with you." It wasn't a question but a statement. She said it and then bit her bottom lip.
"Baby, I don't care how she feels. I told her the only she could be in my life was if she was my friend. Nothing more." I took both of her hands this time.
Raylynn looked away, a tiny tear slid down her cheek. I leaned across the table and wiped it away, turning her head to face me in the process. "I can't compete with her."
"You have my heart, Raylynn, there is no competition."
Raylynn
"I need you to talk to me, Christian, and tell me the truth." I pleaded.
"Of course." He answered.
"Have you ever slept with Anna."
Christian
I don't know what I was expecting her to ask but it wasn't that. "Um, baby, could we maybe step away from this topic until we get somewhere more private?" I begged.
Tears pooled in Raylynn's eyes. "Let's leave now, go back to my hotel and talk because this is something I need to know now."
I stood and held her hand all the way to the limo. I didn't think she'd let but she did was I was going to milk as much physical contact with her as possible. I held her hand throughout the ride, inside the hotel, and into her room.
"I'm gonna change and then make myself a drink, be prepared to tell me the truth by the time I finish."
As Raylynn made her way to the bathroom, I stood and attempted to make myself more comfortable. I took off my suit jacket, unbuttoned my shirt a little, undid the cuffs at my wrist, and made myself a drink at the mini bar. When Raylynn walked out of the bathroom in her pj's, I offered to make her a drink.
"No thank you, I wasn't planning on having anything alcoholic, just some orange juice."
"Let me get it for you." I offered as a poured her a cup.
Both sitting in the chairs of the living room in her suite across from each other, I waited for her to begin. Secretly praying she forgot the question she asked earlier.
She took a deep breathe, "Did you ever sleep with Anna."
My heart crashed. "Why do you ask?"
"I know you have, I just want you to admit it. It's the only thing that makes sense."
I looked at her in confusion. "What do you mean?"
She laughed humorlessly. "Anna is so intent to have you, determined, the only reason I can think of that would explain her attachment to you is if you slept together. If I had to guess, I'd say you slept together numerous times."
I rubbed my hand over my eyes. "Yes, we slept together in the past. We were fuck buddies before we became friends."
I looked to Raylynn and saw her jaw drop. "When did it stop? Why did it stop?" She asked.
I shook my head. "Anna was- it was only ever physical for me. I liked being around her but my feelings for her don't touch the feelings I have for you."
"You stopped sleeping with her when you met me?" She questioned.
"No, it was long before I met you." I didn't want to tell this story but I'd do it if it meant keeping her. "Like I said, Anna and I were fuck buddies. We had sex with each other but we also saw other people, well, I saw other people. It didn't make sense to allow Anna to sleep with other people when she could get pregnant and we'd have to wait months to see if the baby was mine or someone elses."
Raylynn let out an angry sigh. "Ridiculous. So when did you break it off with Anna?"
"Almost a year ago. A woman I was dating, she was very sweet, she learned about my relationship with Anna. She was heartbroken and told me I'd regret Anna when I met the perfect one for me." I chuckled. "Boy was she right."
"Why were you in bed with Anna that night?" Raylynn asked.
"I was drunk, I don't remember how we got there but nothing happened, we were both dressed and Anna swore we didn't do anything."
"And you believe her?"
"Anna is many things but a liar isn't one of them."