Inside the limo that was pulling away rapidly, Nora who had been so confident minutes ago felt her defence melt as the reality of what she had just done hit her. Almost immediately, she pulled out her phone and turned it off, kicked her heels off and closed her eyes.
Leaning back in, she started breathing slowly, in and out, as though she was trying to calm herself down.
All through, Leo sat down looking at her.
She had called him an hour before and told him that she was accepting his proposal but they had to review somethings on the contract first. That was the first time they had spoken on the phone since 5 years ago.
"I know you're still gathering yourself, but the next week stuff wasn't part of our plan."Leo started.
" Well, it is part of my plan and it is now the plan."
" I don't know much about marriage but as far as business goes the two parties should be in sync and we were so not in agreement out there."
" Maybe you should have thought about agreement before drawing up that contract. I am in no mood for this banter and I would very much love to review that contract before going to sleep today."
"Ironic how you caused chaos out there and you're thinking about sleep." Leo scoffed.
After some minutes, the limo pulled up in front of a house.
" This is my guest house, you can sleep here if you want but we are staying here to review the contract."
Nora came out of the door opened by the driver and walked straight into the elevator. Leo joins her and they both go up. Stopping at the second floor, they enter into an exquisite suite. Nora dumps her bag on a couch and sits on the chair in the dinning table.
" Anything to drink?" Leo asked walking towards the fridge.
" No. I'll rather sign this with my clear eyes."
" What are you insinuating?"
" Think whatever you want Leo."
" A little less of aggressiveness and uptightness would help this contract, what do you say?"
"Uptightness?" she scoffed.
" I'm just being cautious around you Leo."
" And why?"
" I learnt why."
" You sound like I'm the devil."
" You might as well be."
" So you fell in love with the devil, and I thought you couldn't surprise me more."
"Love?" she scoffed.
" You've always had a knack for flattering yourself Callahan." she said with a dry smile.
Grabbing a bottle of a water from the fridge he sat opposite her.
" You wanted to review our contract Nora, I'm listening."
"Where am I going to live?"
" We would live together, as a couple in my house."
" Room arrangements? I shall love my space."
" We can't stay in separate rooms as my
Mum would get suspicious, I don't plan on telling her how I am married by contract?"
"Your mum is going to live with us?!" Nora asked bewildered.
" She would definitely visit."
"Maybe we could stay together when anyone visits but just for the duration."
"Anything else?"
"About relationships with a third party, could we cross that?"
Leo's teeth clenched without warning.
"Are you seeing someone?" He hissed.
"No. Not presently but I might want to during that long time.".
" Well you can't be married and you are still dating. We can't cross that." He snapped.
" So you're agreeing to not sleep with anybody during this period " she asked.
" Well you can if the person understands confidentiality."
Nora stares at him as if in utter disbelief.
" Well I have a question" Leo says.
" Okay,.... what's it?"
"What about us, is sex okay between us?"
"What are you talkin..."
" If we both consent, is sex okay between us."
Nora's cheeks shone red. Se was flustered.
" I would never consent to anything if that such. Infact I am hoping to see you very almost never during this period." she said getting up to go to the fridge.
He smirked." You're flustered Nora, even I would pay to see you flustered." he said with a drawl.
" If we are done, I'll love to wrap it up here."
" Sure. Lincoln would give you a ride home."
After signing the documents, Nora recovers her bag and is on the way down.
**********************************
Ivy was on her bed after working that day when her phone buzzed.
A notification from Ryan was on the screen.
Don't try to understand how someone who had been drooling over someone less than 3 weeks ago was suddenly very uninterested.
That was it with Ivy. Ghosting had always been her forte. It wasn't just Ryan. All the guys she had been involved with knew that was her pattern. No commitment,and if you got clingy, she cut you off outrightly. She kept the rest for occasional fun days, though that was rare.
When a guy comes into her life, it was just a matter of lay and get lain. No strings attached.
She loved chatting with Ryan. She relished late night calls with him. They were all a good distractions and breaks, but it was time to face reality and move on from that vacation. Even holiday makers had homes and where they lay their heads. The only issue was that Ryan wasn't ready to go home yet and he wasn't reading the room and the invisible answer that was in the room.
He sent another text. She rolled her eyes and finally picked up her phone.
"What's your friend up to?"
" Return my calls."
"What's going on with Nora."
She speed dialled Nora's number and it couldn't connect.
She immediately went to her safari and search Nora Storm.
After watching what her friend was up to she wasn't surprised in the least.
Grabbing her jacket she muttered under her breath.
"You only have to push someone that far before they stand their ground."
She called Ryan and they were off to the Callahan mansion.
"I think we should let them talk about what is going on themselves." Nora started.
"What makes you think I want to pry?"
"You wanted to meet up." she replied rolling her eyes.
"We need to talk."
"About..."
"About us Ivy. I know I'm not the only one who feels we can be more right."
She turned to him, sharp but not unkind. "You want the truth? I ghosted you because you move too fast. You ask questions that matter too much, you… you make it feel like we're heading somewhere I can't handle."
"And that's a bad thing?" His voice softened. "Since when is connection a crime?"
"It's not," Ivy admitted, her tone low. "But I don't do forever, Ryan. I've seen how forever falls apart. Two weeks in, and you already want more than I can give. I can't be the one to break you when I walk away."
" I don't do commitment, and the reason I played along was because I thought we thought the same way."
He leaned closer, his words a whisper. "Maybe I'm stronger than you think. Maybe I don't care about forever right now. I just want you."
"You make it sound so easy, it isn't."
"It could be, I'll keep asking you out every single time, be prepared."
"I'll drop here."
He closed the distance before she could argue further, his lips brushing hers with a gentleness that disarmed her. For a moment, she gave in—the kiss deepening, filling with the weight of everything they hadn't said.
But as soon as she felt herself melt into it, Ivy pulled back, breathless. "No. This is... we shouldn't ... what are you doing."
She managed in one breath.
She pushed the door open before he could answer, sliding out into the cool night air. "Don't follow me, Ryan," she added, her voice barely steady.
Ryan stayed behind, gripping the wheel, the taste of her still lingering, knowing he'd gotten closer than ever—only to lose her again.