the trip. Still, it was well worth it. It reminded me of the beginning of our relationship, when we couldn’t get enough of each other, knowing that our time together had an expiration date.
We arrived at the Holiday Inn Hotel in Denver at close to ten o’clock that night. We were so exhausted from the day that we just fell into bed, skipping dinner altogether. I meant to seduce him, to finally make love to him again like I’d been daydreaming the entire day, but the moment my head hit the pillow, I was out.
I awoke the next morning to my cell phone ringing and buzzing on the nightstand. “Hello?” I croaked.
“Miss Sherman?” said a male voice. “It’s Ian Lang, the manager at Lakeview Apartments. I believe we had an appointment at nine o’clock?”
I sat up with a start, seeing that it was already nine-fifteen. “Oh my God, I’m so sorry!” I cried, jumping out of bed. “We overslept.”
“No problem, Miss Sherman,” he said. “If you can make it here by ten, I can still fit you in.”
“I’ll be there in fifteen minutes,” I said, slipping into my jeans. I dropped the phone and looked at Henry, who was still quietly snoring. I didn’t have the heart to wake him so I just finished getting ready, grabbed my purse, and ran out the door.
The apartment was modern and overpriced but it was close to work and was on the first floor, which meant Henry and I wouldn’t have too much trouble getting my furniture inside. With a pounding heart, I signed on that dotted line, placing another obstacle in the way of my happy ever after with Henry.
When I made it back to the hotel, Henry was already showered and dressed, drinking coffee and watching something on television. “Hey,” he said with some relief. “How did it go?”
“It went. I signed.”
“I thought we were going together.”
“I’m sorry. I didn’t want to wake you,” I said. “Besides, you didn’t really need to be there. It wasn’t a big deal.”
He nodded, his jaw muscles working. “So when do you move in?”
“Whenever you’re ready.”
He set his mug down and got to his feet. “Then let’s get going. We’ve got a long day ahead of us.”
5 | RETURNING HOME
Unloading my furniture was not nearly as tough as I’d feared, since my furniture was lightweight and fairly easy to lift. Only the large bookcase and bedroom dresser gave us trouble, but with the help of a hand truck we were able to maneuver them inside the apartment with only a few scratches and dings. We placed the furniture in their permanent place, set up the bed, stacked boxes against the wall, and called it a day.
“I’m beat,” Henry said, collapsing on the couch. He lay on his side, resting his head on his folded arm, and closed his eyes.
I lay in front of him, burying my face in his neck, molding myself into the hollow spaces of his muscular frame. With a sigh, I closed my eyes and focused on the thudding of his heart, and soon the steady beat lulled me to sleep.
I woke up a little while later with my legs and feet cold. I tried to wriggle out of Henry’s arms, but they tightened around me. “Stay,” he murmured into my hair.
If only he knew how close I was to asking him the very same thing. “I need to take a shower,” I said instead.
“Mmm, good idea,” he said, letting me go and stretching. “I could use a good soaping down.”
I chuckled as I stood up and found the box labeled bath stuff , grabbing everything we’d need for a shower. I was in high spirits until I entered the bathroom. Finding Henry in there, taking up more than his fair share of the space, gave me a sudden case of the butterflies. It had been over a year since we’d had sex; what if it wasn’t as good? Or worse, if it was mind-changingly fantastic?
Able to read the hesitation on my face, Henry said, “We don’t have to do anything.” He took off his shirt, revealing his muscular torso. “I just thought we could shower
Learning to Kill: Stories