Endlessly

My mother always said I never think things through enough. She's right, of course, but I never realized how right she was until I was standing dead center in IUA Nanotech, one of the country’s biggest research facilities and currently the place of occupation by my girlfriend. Well, technically ex-girlfriend, as of last month, but I was determined to change that.

I traversed my way through the masses of bodies all clad in matching lab coats, stepping up to the receptionist's desk, who looked anything but happy to see me. I figured she was the type who took this kind of job to avoid a heavy workload, or maybe any work at all, actually. How rude of me to ruin that for her.

"I'm here to see Dr. Rose Halven," I said to her jovially.

She wasn't amused. "And you are?" she said, her voice practically dripping with bitter resentment.

"Liam Ellsworth, ma'am. I'm her boyfriend. I'm here to take her out to lunch."

If my story interested her in any way, she certainly didn't show it. With a sigh of contempt, she reached over and lifted a phone to her ear before I stopped her.

"Don't worry about calling her. It's supposed to be a surprise." I flashed the most dazzling smile I could muster. "Y'know, anniversary and all that jazz. Mind telling me how to get to her room?"

Suspicion shone quite plainly on her face as she eyed me, but she slowly lowered the receiver back to the base. "She should be in room 305. Take the elevator and it should be the first room on the right."

With a final sigh, she turned her eyes back to her computer, which I curiously noted was open to a game of Hearts. Such the model employee.

After thanking her, I made my way to the elevator, sliding my way between a middle aged woman and a young man who smelled very much of cat litter. The future consequences of my current actions hadn't really entered my mind until I was staring at my reflection in the golden interior of the elevator car.

There were a lot of reasons why I probably shouldn't be going through with this. 1) It probably won't work because 2) Rose absolutely hates me, so she'll probably 3) call security, leaving me 4) kicked out of the building with nothing to show for my efforts.

Above me, the sound of bell for the third floor filled the small space. Mumbling quiet ‘excuse me's’ to the people surrounding me, I stepped out of the elevator, spinning on my heel toward the first door I could see to my right. Sure enough, there was her name, ‘Dr. Rose Halven’, etched on silver plating at nearly eye level. I took a deep breath to steady myself before placing my hand on the knob and stepping through the door.

Her office was pretty much as I expected: neat and proper, with not even a single sheet of paper out of place. Smelled like her too, an odd yet wonderful mixture of Ivory soap and Vera Wang perfume.

Rose sat at the desk in front of me, her aqua eyes glued to something on the computer screen. Her chestnut brown hair, tied up in a neat braid, rested over her shoulder, her glasses sitting low on the bridge of her nose. Her lips were parted slightly; whatever it was she was looking at, she was pretty entranced by it. I felt my heart skip a beat as I watched her. She'd never ceased being beautiful to me, even when I no longer had claim over her.

Her eyes snapped up as the door closed, looking me over. Her expression morphed into one of surprise, and she opened her mouth before closing it again, clearly having something to say but thinking better of it.

"Liam," she finally said, her voice abnormally strained. "How did... How did you get in?"

"The receptionist told me how to get here." I took a few steps toward her. "Lovely woman, by the way. She seems very dedicated to her job. And she's so cordial-"

"What is it you want?" she snapped. "If you haven't noticed, I have work to do." She turned in her chair, her back to me, and focused back on her computer.

"Oh, I've noticed," I said to her, crossing the space between us to stand behind her. "And I think you know exactly why I'm here." I whispered the words in her ear and laid a hand on her shoulder, which she instantly shook away.

She glared back at me. "No, I don't think I'm aware of what you're doing in my office. Why don't you enlighten me?"

"We need to talk, Rose."

"That's what we're doing, isn't it?" She was raising her voice now; that was new. "So spit it out already!"

"Fine." I walked around to stand in front of her, placing a hand on her chin so she would look me in the eye. "I want you back, Rose."

She slapped my hand away. "Honestly, Liam, do we really need to go over this again? I don't want to be with you anymore! It's over!" She glanced up at me. "When is that gonna get through your thick skull?!"

I leaned in closer, my face inches from hers.

"Not until you mean it."

She exhaled sharply, jumping from her chair and walking to the window, making a clear point not to look at me.

"Why can't... Why can't you seem to take anything seriously?"

She twirled a strand of loose hair around her finger, a nervous trait that only I knew she had. At least, I think I was the only one who knew.

"What if I told you I was being serious? Would you believe me?"

She sighed softly.

"Look, I don't need to be with anyone right now. I'm on the verge of a breakthrough, and I really can't afford any distractions-"

"That's a load of bullshit and you know it." The words came out harsher than I meant them to. "You and I both know the real reason you don't want to be with me is because you're scared of the commitment."

She opened her mouth to speak, but I cut her off.

"Don't lie to me, Rose."

She turned to look at me then, and a look I could only describe as frustration flashed over her face. “Fine. You win, Liam, as usual.” Her voice began to shake. “Yeah, I’m fucking scared, alright? Happy now?”

I slowly started my way towards her, wrapping my arms gingerly around her slender frame. She didn’t move.

“I just… I don’t want to be screwed over. I don’t think I could take it.”

I looked down at her, smiling slightly.

“Y’know, I’m a little hurt that you think so little of me.”

I grabbed hold of her chin again, looking down into her watery eyes. “I love you, Rose,” I whispered softly, “and I would never do anything to hurt you. Not now, not ever.”

She smiled slightly, and that was all the permission I needed. I lowered my head to hers and kissed her.

Her lips were warm and soft, just like I remembered, and tasted of vanilla lip gloss. I felt her hands slide up my back, gripping me around the shoulders, while my own found their way to the locks of her hair, untangling her braid as our lips met with a growing passion.

We finally parted for air minutes later and she rested her head in the crook of my neck as my arms tightly around her waist.

“Hey, Liam,” she muttered quietly. “Promise me something.”

“Anything.”

“If I go back to you now, don’t make me regret it, okay?”

With a laugh, I responded, “It’s a deal.”