Sugar

32

chapter thirty two
florence thompson
song: no right to love you - rhys lewis

After our get-together Sunday night, Ben, Rico and I all had to work early in the morning, much to Ben and his hangover's dismay. That day seemed to drag on forever, the same drawn out thoughts plaguing my every down moment.

Tuesday seemed to go by quicker than I wanted it to. I was dreading Vincent and I's dinner, my stomach unsettled for the whole beginning of my day. He was probably the last person I wanted to see right now. I would take Regular Reggie over him at this point.

Nonetheless, the time passed all the same and before I knew it I found myself standing alone in the same elevator I nearly had a mental break down in last week.

My nerves swarmed my stomach obnoxiously, making me only that much more aware of the dread I was feeling over our dinner tonight.

Eventually, the doors slid open as they always do and Vincent was standing in the middle of his living room, scrolling through his phone. As soon as the elevator dinged, his eyes found my own.

There was a momentary silence between the two of us, me frozen in my spot for a few seconds too long before walking into his apartment.

"Am I early?" I asked, even though I knew I was running a few minutes late. I was grasping at the straws of small talk, the thing I hated so much.

"Oh, no, no," he shook his head, slipping his phone into his pocket and coming to greet me.

I tugged my jacket off and placed it into his open hand before he hung it up on the coat rack. The silence between us was less tense than the last time I saw him thankfully. I could breathe easier, my chest not feeling as if it was being weighed down by stacked bricks this time around.

I'd come to terms with the fact that I had no place to be upset with him for seeking other people romantically. We weren't even anywhere close to committed and we never would be, so I just needed to come to accept that and move on.

Honestly, I need financial help more than I need to get my feelings mixed in the middle of our agreement, so instead, I will continue my quest for my soulmate and detach any growing feelings I may have had for Vincent.

"I wasn't sure you were going to show up tonight, honestly," he admitted, coming back to where I was stood in the middle of his living room now and facing me, mismatched eyes dancing over my features.

I smiled softly at him.

"I'm a woman of my word," I responded, keeping my gaze solely fixed on his eyes.

"That you are, Miss Thompson." He nodded, the ghost of a smile on his lips. "Dinner should be ready, come," he added, falling into step in front of me and nodding towards the doors to the balcony where we usually ate if it was still light out by the time I got here.

I followed behind him, trying to keep my gaze off of him and instead on the bright sunset that cascaded over the sky as the sun began to sink behind the horizon. When he came to the glass doors, he unlocked them and slid them open before allowing me to step out first.

On the small table was some type of chicken with sauce and garnishes over it. Though I wasn't hungry all thanks to my snacking habits at work, it looked delicious.

When we finally were seated, I could feel Vincent's unnerving gaze on my face. I tried my best to ignore it, taking a sip of my water and watching the colors of the sunset melt together. Truth be told, I don't want to talk about the last time I was here and I have a funny feeling that's exactly what he wants to talk about right now.