The Functional Arrangement

Chapter 23

Chapter 23

Marcus

The rest of the morning passed by in a mindless blur, with Morgan and Marcus both silently moving around and packing up all their belongings before they checked out of the hotel. Marcus wished he could say something to Morgan, but she was currently giving him the silent treatment. He felt he deserved her silence, and regardless, he had no idea what he wanted to say to her if she was planning to talk to him. Therefore, silence was probably the preferable option.

When he had suggested this morning that they pursue a "friends with benefits" type of relationship, he expected her to at least think about it: what he hadn't expected was for her to be so hurt and offended by his proposal that she broke off their entire arrangement. He had convinced himself that the two of them were on the same page... but apparently he could not have been more wrong.

How could I have been so stupid?

Morgan was incredible - she was intelligent, beautiful, witty, and sweet. A real one-of-a-kind woman... and after making love to her the other night, he could tell the two of them had great chemistry together. The way her body had moved underneath his, how her soft skin had felt in his hands, and the way she tilted her head back as she cried out in pleasure had him completely enraptured. Was it really so ridiculous that he wanted to add this element to their relationship?

Morgan wants more, though.

But was that what he wanted too? He had told Morgan multiple times that he wasn't looking for a relationship right now, and she had said the same to him. When had things changed for her though?

Have they changed for me too?

Marcus had no idea how to answer that.

"I'm ready whenever you are."

Marcus looked over to see Morgan walk out of the bedroom carrying her packed suitcases in her hands, her expression neutral. She gazed at him with her clear green eyes.

"Marcus?" she asked when he didn't respond. "Are we ready to go?"

"...Um," Marcus cleared his throat, suddenly aware that there was so much he wanted to say to her but was unsure of how to go about it. After a moment, he settled on just playing along and pretending that everything was okay. "Yeah, just about. Let me grab my bags."

Morgan nodded, and almost on instinct Marcus spoke: "Morgan, I..."

Morgan looked up at him again. "What?"

He didn't say anything as he looked at her, the words he needed to say seeming to fail to reach her lips. He fought the urge to apologize for everything that went down this morning as he cleared his throat again. "Um... you can just take your stuff down to the car. I'll check us out at the front desk and meet you there."

Morgan simply nodded, a flicker of emotion in her eyes that seemed to mask her true feelings, and without a word she headed out the door, her suitcases in hand.

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Morgan

The drive back to Boston was basically torture. Morgan almost wished she and Marcus could chat with that easy, friendly banter they had had back when they were just friends pretending to be in a relationship, but knew in her heart there was no way that could happen again. So silence reigned as Marcus navigated the car down the interstate toward home. Morgan spent the time scribbling on a pad of paper, jotting down questions she wanted to ask in her interview with the new marketing company later this week. The radio played quiet music throughout the drive, and Morgan silently wished there was something she could say to Marcus that could make all this better.