It progressed way too quickly for my taste. There were a couple of days in between, but they blurred together so it was almost like Zach was calling me, telling me he was being relocated to Tokyo, and in the next moment he was ready to leave.

We hadn't met in person after the phone call, and I was thankful our next meet was going to be in a crowded airport. I’d probably have broken down if it were just the two of us, and that would have been stupid.

At least Olivia was driving me there and providing moral support.

“Are you sure you’re ready for this?”

I arched an eyebrow at the pointless question. Whether I was ready for it or not, it was happening, so I didn’t see the point in trying to avoid it. And it wouldn’t be fair to Zach to avoid him. Whatever it was between us may not have had enough time to grow into anything, but we were friends first, and as his friend, I would at least get to tell him goodbye in person.

“This has nothing to do with being ready or not. It’s his work, and it’s not like we’re in a real relationship.” I sounded sulky, but I knew I could be open with Olivia. “I can't exactly ask him to refuse, you know?”

“I do, which is why I’m asking if you’re ready for this.”

I ignored her question, groaning as I straightened from my slouched position. “Could traffic move any slower?” I muttered.

Olivia sighed. I sighed as well, only more annoyed.

“What exactly is it that you want me to say? This thing between us has barely been two weeks. I can't go around making demands over something so flimsy.”

“But the two of you have gone out at least twice now, haven’t you?” she said. “And I bet you’ve slept together more than twice.”

Well, yes. The night of the wedding, our first date, and the weekend after that. We were supposed to be meeting up today to go on another date that would end with one of us going to the other’s place for some amazing sex. I’d been numb the past couple of days when I realized not only would it not be happening, but I wouldn’t be seeing him for a while.

“Did he at least tell you how long he would be gone for?” Olivia asked questions when I refused to speak. “Is it a few weeks, months, a year, or…”

Or longer?

It could be, I knew that, and in all honesty, I hadn't even thought to ask him to confirm. It could be a permanent transfer instead of just a trip. But now there was a part of me that feared he’d be gone for years. I couldn’t exactly just pop over to Tokyo for a visit, and he couldn’t come back for the same reason. It was a luxury neither of us could afford to put up with for long.

After a long silence, Olivia sighed again. “Scarlett, how do you feel? Just tell me.”

I tightened my lips and gave her a look out the corner of my eye. “You know exactly how I feel, Olivia. I was getting my hopes up, thinking there could be something there. Maybe not quite a relationship…”

“But you could pretend it was while getting good sex out of it, right?” she finished for me.

I huffed and crossed my arms over my chest. I hadn't expressly said it out loud, but this just proved how well she knew me.

It was stupid, of course, taking everything he said and did seriously. Zach wasn’t mean about it, but he was a playboy. Yeah, he used women for sex, but in the short time I’d spent with him as more than just a friend, I’d come to realize something.

In that short time, when I was with him, he treated me like the perfect gentleman. If all he did was treat me like that every day, then I wouldn’t have minded marrying him in the end. It would be a good foundation for a relationship.

But am I built for something like that? I was pretty sure that I wasn’t.

“I knew better than that,” I bluffed. “We were clear with each other from the beginning, Olivia. It was just good sex and good company, nothing more. The dates were nice, chatting on the phone either through calls or text… But none of that will be happening from now on.”

“Well, yeah, he’ll be out of the country. But what happens when he comes back? The two of you just pick up from where you left off?”

I chewed on my lower lip, unsure of that myself. “I honestly don’t know. I’m just… Going to say goodbye to him today, and when he comes back…”

What? There was no point in keeping my hopes up. If he left the country and met someone overseas, even if it was just to ease his frustration, would I be okay with that? Having an open relationship was fun until I remembered ‘open’ meant we were both free to meet other people. I could never bring myself to do that, but he wasn’t quite like me, was he? He was against relationships in the first place, so he might not think twice about finding comfort in some other woman’s arms.

If he came back to me… Would I open my arms to receive him, no matter what?

No, I decided. I couldn’t do that.

“I don’t know,” I finally said, turning to look at Olivia. She glanced over at me. “I’d like to say we’d be over, but I don’t think I can come out and ask him.”

“So, why not just tell Zach how you feel?” she suggested. “He might like to hear this sort of thing, you know. And, I’m sure he could help you make up your mind about what you want now that you won’t be seeing each other for a while.”

I shook my head and sent her another look. I just told her I couldn’t come out and ask him. I honestly didn’t want to know how he felt about the whole thing because I was too afraid to find out. If it was bad news… I would probably take it hard.

I’d only just started getting over my ex, a lot of it thanks to Zach. This was going to set me back for a while, and I didn’t need more reasons to be depressed about him leaving.

“You know better than that, Olivia. You said it yourself, remember? I don’t think it would be fair to tie him down when he’s going to be on the other side of the planet. He’s a playboy, and I kinda doubt he’d keep it in his pants when we’re not anything official. That marriage pact was a mistake.”

I frowned as, yet again, marriage eluded me. I should be happy to have dodged a bullet. While the idea was nice, put into practice I knew it wouldn’t exactly have been easy between us if we did end up married. Zach all but told me all he’d want from me was sex and a good time. If he ever grew tired of me…

“Such a fucking stupid idea,” I muttered. “Stupid fucking me!”