It was amazing what an intense, sweaty session did for her appetite.

Sasha rolled over and dozed but Kallie stared at the ceiling, thinking. She kept wanting to smile, but wasn’t entirely sure if she should yet. It was hard to dare to believe that everything was just fine, but when Sasha looked for all the world like he was settling in for the night, everything began to seem more and more possible.

So, okay, maybe there were still things to work through. But right now, here in this place, everything was okay. So, she took a deep cleansing breath, and fought a sudden attack of the giggles when her stomach rumbled. A quick glance at Sasha showed him snoring away, sated and content. Kallie sighed in contentment, and reached for her robe. He might be ready to call it a night. She needed something to eat.

She shuffled to the kitchen barefoot to search the refrigerator. There, still in the bags, was the food she had had delivered. The one takeout container still sat on the counter. She poked at it somewhat dubiously, then figured they hadn’t been upstairs quite that long and set it with the rest, trying to remember what she’d ordered.

Thankfully the restaurant had sent over quite large portions. Munching hummus on pita bread, she shifted the rest of the food onto to two plates for reheating.

An iron forearm snaked around her tiny waist, lifting her off her feet. As soon as her feet hit linoleum again, she twisted in his arms, laughing. Sasha hovered over her, an absolute giant, still and breathtaking. She smacked him hard on the chest. “Quit sneaking up on me like that.”

“I’m too big to sneak.”

Kallie snorted. She’d never met a quieter man in her life. Somehow, he could move without making a sound at all. “I was heating us up some food. I thought you might be hungry.”

He nuzzled the base of her neck with his lips.

The thrill of his contact nearly lifted her off the floor, this time without his help.

“I’ve got to go,” he said, and for the first time it registered with her that he was fully dressed.

Kallie’s heart sank. It hurt. She had broken up with him and he’d made up with her, but to have plans after a moment like they’d just shared, it didn’t seem right. “I thought you wanted to talk,” she remarked, wondering just how much had really changed after all. “We really didn’t have a chance to talk. I mean, you cut straight to the good part.”

Sasha didn’t say anything but rather just looked at her, his eyes inscrutable.

“Are we good?” she prodded, already knowing the answer.

When he didn’t answer a second time she searched his face, in a quiet panic. She’d been a fool to hope after all.

She stepped back in horror. “We aren’t, are we?” Her voice rose on a half-hysterical note.

“We will be,” he promised, stroking the hair from her face. “I just need to think. I came over with every intention of talking, but the good part got in the way. Now, I need to think.”

“I see,” she said, incredulous and hurt. “You just wanted to give me a once around the block to see if it was worth conversation? Okay. What’s the deal with the papers, the lawyer, and the reason I’m here and not in Ocean City? I can set an appointment to talk from there, too, you know.”

“Kallie...” He rolled his eyes and stared at her, arms crossed.

“And the reason why I’m acting so bitchy right now,” she said, trying to keep her voice from quivering, “is I know I can’t ask you where you’re going and if I can go with you.”

His jaw worked as he gritted his teeth.

“Fine. Go.” She threw up her hands and started shoving takeout back into the containers. “Please go. I’m leaving and I’m not coming back, and you are not to come and get me, do you understand? I didn’t tell you what I was thinking or feeling before, so I’ll just leave you with it. I wanted a real relationship with you. But I couldn’t be with you while you’ve compartmentalized sections of your life I can’t be a part of. I could even have lived with mild law-breaking, but not if you do it at my expense, which is what I believed you were doing at the bakery like you did with my first business—something you’ve never even denied, I might note.”

She placed the container into the fridge and turned to face him, arms crossed like his, her heart a rock that wouldn’t be softened again. “And I certainly don’t want to have a guy who has friends he won’t even introduce me to.”

There was more, but she couldn’t even finish. In a minute she’d retrieve the takeout from the fridge just to have the pleasure of throwing it at his head, but she wanted to take it back to the beach apartment with her. She could jolly well eat it there.

“Goodbye, Sasha” she said, pointing at the door. “Thanks for coming by to get your rocks off before it became business as usual.”

“You love me,” he said, his voice calm. His tone measured. “I know you do. I do want to talk with you. I just can’t do it right now. You’re turning this into something it’s not.”

“Love? Hardly. Addiction maybe. It just feels like love. You’re a charismatic guy, and I believe most anyone who meets you has strong feelings about you. I don’t think you love me.”

He raised his eyes to the ceiling, exasperated. “Okay, yeah, you got it. Whatever you want. Maybe time apart is for the best. Maybe you’re right. Maybe it’s addiction on both our parts, because if I’m near you I’ve got to have you. And before you ask if that’s the way it’s with everyone, no it’s not. I’ve never had this before.”

There’s got to be a support group for this somewhere. Kallie sighed and shook her head. “Look, can I borrow a car?”

“You want to break up with me, but you want ties?” he asked, raising an eyebrow.

“I’ll buy one of my own as soon as I get to where I’m going. I’ve got my own money. But you know as well as I do I can’t buy a car this time of night, and I definitely want to hit the road now. I’m not staying around here another second.”

“So, let me give you a car,” he said, throwing his hands up in the air. “Maybe you’d like a driver to go with it?”

“Oh, for shit’s sake... No. I just want to borrow a car until tomorrow. Yes or no?”

“I owe you that much,” he admitted after a long pause, during which they just stared at each other. “I fucked up your business, you said it yourself. If that dork you called a boyfriend—”

“Fiancé,” she corrected.

“Even worse,” he said, shaking his head. “Had half a spine... never mind. You’re getting a car. Sell it when you want, but at least you’ll have it.”

“I kind of wanted to take off ASAP,” she pointed out, already halfway packed in her mind.

“I’ll have one delivered in a little bit. Pack up. Get your appetite back. Eat,” he said, and sighed. He pulled her  to his lips, lingering at her forehead.

“Don’t.” She put her palms flat against his chest and pushed hard enough to give him the message.

Sasha didn’t shower or anything. He just left.