Sparrow

How can it possibly be this hot in the middle of November!

I hastily pushed up the sleeves to my sweater and continued to make my way down the street. I was already running late for work and the heat wasn’t helping matters. I left the house looking like a runway model, in my own mind, and now I looked like a washed up wreck. My once curled hair was now sticking to the back of my neck and I could feel my make-up starting to mix with the sweat that was pouring from forehead. Out of all the days to be late, this had to be the one. I had a very important presentation to do in front of my bosses and it just so happened that my alarm didn’t go off and I missed the train into the city. If I wasn’t already on thin ice, my ass would be falling through after today.

I practically ran into the building, catching an available elevator just in the knick of time. I could see the gazes of those around me but I tried my best to ignore them and get myself somewhat settled. Once the elevator reached the 23rd floor, I rushed towards the bathroom to check myself out before going to my office. I wiped off any makeup that had run and fluffed my hair out a bit before realizing that’s all I could do. I hustled back toward my office and started gathering what I needed for the presentation that had already started. I don’t even know if I gathered everything before I sprinted out of the office and to the conference room across the hall. “Ms. Gandy, glad you could grace us with your presence.” My boss, Mr. Harper, stated once I busted through the doors. “Brandon here was just about to tell us all about the project the two of you were working on.” I shot a glare over to Brandon, the overachiever. “But since you’re here, why don’t you tell us your idea first.” Brandon’s face fell once he heard what Mr. Harper had said. I couldn’t help but smirk as I walked towards the front of the room and began my presentation….

After enduring the staredowns from Brandon and the slowest work day ever, I finally managed to get home right at 8:00 pm. I stripped out of my work clothes and into a pair of shorts and a tank top, before raiding the fridge for dinner. My choices tonight were between frozen pizza and a ham and cheese hot pocket from a year ago. I hadn’t had time to hit up the grocery store so it was my own fault for having nothing to eat. I weighed my options before I picked up the phone and ordered from a local restaurant. I was a regular customer so they already knew what I wanted. I guess you could consider that a perk or slightly shameful.

While I waited for the delivery man, I walked around my apartment to see what I could get into. It had been sometime since I had cleaned the place up but it wasn’t a pigstyle. I’ve seen houses with way more clutter than mine. I had stuff that pertained to my presentation strewn all over my desk and on the surrounding floor. There were some articles of clothing that I had left day after day but that was really about it. It’s not like I left food lying around; my apartment was not a candidate for Hoarders! I moved my adventure to my bedroom, mainly my closet. Out of all the rooms in the apartment, my bedroom and closet were the cleanest. My closet was what I took care of the best. I could live with a little mess in my room but messes were off limits when it came to my closet. This may sound crazy but i’ve had relationships end because of my closet. That was just one room you don’t mess with.

Knock, Knock, Knock

I stopped what I was doing and made my way towards the living room. I was a little surprised that the food had come so quickly seeing as it was a Friday night. I quickly collected my debit card and walked towards the door. “That was qui-” I stopped mid-sentence once I saw who was standing behind the wooden door. My food was in his cut up hands which made me question where the real delivery man was. “Surprise.” He slightly smiled. I could feel my heart drop into my stomach as I took in his appearance. He appeared more clean and more put together than the last time I had seen him. His hair was cut short and his skin was a bit more tan. I’m not gonna lie and say he didn’t look good because he actually looked a bit gorgeous.

“What are you doing here?” I asked after a moment of silence. He shuffled on his feet, taking his eyes to the floor. “And what are you doing with my food?” I noticed a stray smirk appear on his face as his eyes reconnected with mine. “The delivery guy looked a bit shady, so I suggested that I just bring the food up to you. Told him I was a close and personal friend.” I gave him a quizzical look at his response. “I also needed to talk to you about something, something really important.” His face turned a bit more serious as he juggled my takeout in his arms. I had yet to let him in seeing as I was still a bit shocked that he was even here. “Jonathan, the last time I saw you was three years ago. I don’t think there’s anything we need to talk about.” I crossed my arms across my chest. “Plus, it’s pretty shitty of you to just show up at my house after all these years with my food in your hands.”

Jonathan Pine was the epitome of every woman's dreams! He had the perfect look, attitude, and not to mention his accent could make you go weak at the knees. He knew exactly what to say and when to say it. It was like he was born and raised to please women of all ages. I knew that as soon as he approached me all those years ago that I was in for a lot of trouble. I knew he was trouble just by looking at him but that made me want him more. It took less than a month for me to fall head over heels for the man and we ended up getting married. I wasn’t the type of person to marry someone I had just met but Jonathan was different. There was this look in his eyes that told me he was different. We were married for almost two year when I found out I was pregnant. We were both ecstatic over the news but I ended up miscarrying a few weeks later. I could tell that really messed with Jonathan’s thought process. He started to become distant and spent more time at the hotel than at our home. I would see him every other day for maybe an hour or two before he would disappear again. The death of our child was equally hard for me to deal with but Jonathan made the situation worse. It was as if he was blaming me for our baby’s untimely death.

I dealt with his attitude for another year before I finally had enough. I didn’t even file for a divorce; it was too difficult to deal with. I just packed up all my stuff and left one day while he was at work. I couldn’t bring up the nerve to tell him in person that I was leaving, figuring it would be too hard to deal with as well. I caught a red-eye back to the States and bummed my way through friend’s living rooms until I could find my own place. That was officially the last time I had seen or spoke to Jonathan Pine, until tonight that is.

“Saxton?” Jonathan’s voice filtered back into my ears. “Saxton, are you alright?” I quickly snapped out of my thoughts and focused my attention back on the man in front of me. “I’m fine.” I let out a breath. “Do you want to come in; my food is already cold enough by now?” I moved out of the way and allowed him into my home. I watched as he looked around, trying to find a place to put the food. “You can just set it on the table over there.” I pointed toward a direction. He did as he was told. “So, what’s so important that you had to come back here?” I jumped right to the point. Whatever he needed to say, he needed to say it now. He paused for a second before turning around to face me. “I need you to come with me, Saxton.” I looked at him confused. “Tonight, actually.” I’m pretty sure my jaw dropped to the floor after his last statement. “Excuse me?” I questioned. “What the hell did you just say?” I placed my hands on my hip as I usually did in these types of situations. “Are you outta your mind, Jonathan? You think you can just waltz back into my life after three years. with the food you stole from the takeout person, and tell me that you want me to run away with you tonight! You must be out of your damn mind!”

He quickly ran his fingers through his arm, clearly starting to get aggravated. “Saxton, I need you to do this for me. I promise that i’ll explain everything but I need you to come with me tonight.” He repeated. I continued to stand there in shock at what he was suggesting. How was I supposed to stop everything and go off with a man I haven’t seen in a number of years. Where the hell were we even supposed to go?! “Saxton-” He walked towards me. “My boss is waiting for us at the airport right now. The flight I booked for us leaves in less than an hour. If you love and care about me, you will come with me right now and I swear to you that everything will be explained in due time.”

I just stood there. What else was I supposed to do other than stand there. He was right, I still loved and cared for Jonathan but this whole thing sounded crazy. “Please, Saxton.” He continued to plead. “Please, darling.” My heart and my conscious were having an epic battle at this point and my heart was starting to win over. Before I knew what was happening, I let out a sigh and agreed to his demand. A small smile appeared on his face before he took my face in his hands and kissed me square on the lips. It was a fast kiss so I didn’t have time to react. “Uh-” I stammered. “Uh, let me go get some clothes to wear.” I started to walk towards me bedroom in a haze.

I stood in my room for a second as my head continued to spin. What was I about to do? Where were we even going? Who the hell was this boss guy that was waiting for us at the airport? What happened to my night of just watching sleazy reality shows? “Saxton, we need to get going.” Jonathan spoke through the door. I ran my hand down my face and panicked as I looked around the room. I had no idea what to pack since I had no idea where I was going. A couple articles of clothing were placed on my bed and the first thing that came to my mind was that I needed to change out of my shorts. I quickly threw on the clothes and started stuffing whatever I could find into a vacant suitcase. A couple shirts, a pair of jeans, and undergarments were all I could stuff into the bag since I was being rushed. I pulled on my tennis shoes and pulled open the door, finding Jonathan standing right in front of me. “Ready?”