Raina gave it considerable thought, and decided that she did want to talk with Michael about it. Willow was right; they needed to discuss the possibility of there being more between them together, because it would be coming from both sides if it happened. She also knew that Willow had been right about her taking on a true romantic relationship with a man who had a teenage girl living with him. That was a big responsibility not only for Michael, but it would totally change the dynamic of her relationship with Michael if they did go forward with sharing more between them. Joanna would be involved in it, there would be no question of that.
She asked Michael to meet her at the café where they had first met each other, and he was glad to do it. She went early and was thinking carefully about everything that she wanted to discuss with him when he arrived.
He embraced her closely and gave her a soft, warm kiss before sitting down beside her. “How are you doing?” he asked, looking optimistically cautious about why they might be meeting at a café.
“I’m good.” She smiled at him. “I just thought that it would be nice to visit and talk. I’m glad you came.”
He nodded and reached for his coffee. “Of course. I love getting to see you.”
She nodded. “I love seeing you, too. I wanted to ask you about working as an escort like you do. Why is it that you’re doing that? I mean… is there anything else that you’d rather be doing?”
He shrugged. “Well, in a perfect world I’d be an actor full time, but getting full time acting work is almost impossible unless you’re a big name celebrity. The escort work brings in a fair amount of money, and that’s the most important thing. I do it for Joanna, so that I can provide for her.”
Raina listened carefully and took in everything that he was saying. “Is it something that you would quit doing if you could?”
Michael tilted his head as he regarded her, looking curious about why she was asking him the things that she was. He shook his head. “I wouldn’t quit. I need to make more money so that I can give Joanna all the things that she wants, and all of the things that I want for her. I want to spoil her all that I can.”
“Well, I can certainly understand that,” Raina replied, knowing that he was wondering about her line of questions. She knew that the time had come for her to open up about what she was really there for.
“It’s just that I’ve been wondering… well… things seem to be changing between us, don’t you think? Have you noticed that? That things are changing a lot between us?” She put the question to him, hoping that he would open up and tell her what he was feeling and thinking about the two of them.
Realization came over his face and he nodded and sighed a little. “I see. Raina, I know we don’t really talk about it, but I feel like I need to remind you that you’re not the only woman that I see through the escort service. I do date other women. You’re not the only woman I’m seeing.”
She sighed quietly. “I do know that,” she answered in a soft voice. She had put it from her own mind enough that she hadn’t thought about it for a while, and she didn’t want to think about it, but she did know it. She paused in her train of thought, wondering if there would ever be a way they could be together, or a reason for them to be together.
Raina looked at him again. “If you didn’t have to work as an escort, would you still want to see other women?” It was a question that begged a definitive answer, and that she should probably base everything that she was thinking about with him on whatever he told her. It would clarify his genuine feelings for her.
He didn’t answer right away, but when he did, his dark brown eyes held hers in a steady gaze and his voice was even. “I don’t know,” he said simply.
She began to wonder if he felt the same way for her that she was beginning to feel for him. It wasn’t obvious to her just how he did feel about her, and she wasn’t entirely sure just how solid the footing was on the ground that they shared.
He leaned closer to her then and rested his hand on her knee, giving it a soft squeeze. “I will say this, though. No one turns me on as much or as fast as you do.”
Little electric tingles blazed up her thigh and that familiar ache for him warmed inside of her. She smiled at him. “Ditto,” she answered simply.
He leaned back in his chair and winked at her. She reminded herself then that he was just there for fun, for a hot affair, and for nothing else. She knew that she wasn’t supposed to feel anything for him, and she reminded herself that it just wasn’t part of the bargain.
She had to remain fair to herself and to him. They were in a heated and passionate business arrangement, and that was all that there was to it. From where she was sitting just then, it felt like that might be all there was to it, and she tried to tell herself that that was fine, and that it would be enough. Her growing feelings needed to be kept in check, especially if she didn’t want to get hurt.
***
Raina got off a business call at her desk and called through the open office door to Willow, who was sitting just on the other side of it. “I am going to Seattle on Thursday for business. I’ll be gone until Sunday.”
Willow was quiet only a moment before she asked back, “Before I book it, will you be taking Michael with you?”
Raina smiled. “I don’t know… we had a conversation and I talked with him about what’s going on between us. I kind of feel like maybe that isn’t going quite the way that I thought it was. I’m not sure if I’m going to take Michael on this trip.”
“So you’re going alone?” she asked in reply.
Raina leaned back in her chair and rubbed her forefinger over her lower lip thoughtfully. “You know what, let me get back to you on that. I’ll let you know tomorrow.”
She reached for her phone and saw a saucy message from Michael waiting for her. She smiled and instead of answering it right away, she began a new message, and sent it off to Aaron. ‘Would you like to come with me to Seattle for a few days? Leaving Thurs coming back Sun. My treat.’
Half an hour later, she heard her phone go off, and she picked it up and saw a message from Aaron, along with another message from Michael. She opened Aaron’s message. ‘Would love to. Always wanted to go to Seattle. Send me details.’
She grinned and let Willow know that Aaron was going. She knew that they were going to have a great time, and she found herself looking forward to it with excitement.
Thursday came and he met her at her house, and she drove them to the airport. He was giddy with delight for the trip, and she found herself getting caught up in it with him, which made it all the more fun for her.
“I can’t believe you’ve never been to Seattle!” she said with a smile as they walked to their gate.
He shrugged. “I meant to, and I wanted to, but it just hasn’t come up, at least until now, and I’m glad that I’m going for the first time with you. That’s going to make it an even better experience for me. You can show me around and I know that no matter what we do, we’ll have a blast. Even if we just sit in a coffee shop and talk for the whole weekend.”
She laughed at him. “Well, we’re going to do that, but we’re going to do a lot more than that, too! The question in Seattle isn’t ever ‘what are we going to do’, the question is always ‘what aren’t we going to do’, because there is no end of things to do and see there. I love that city. It’s beautiful, and it’s fun.”
“Just like you.” Aaron winked at her, and she laughed at him.
They were in first class, as she usually was, and she was surprised to learn that Aaron had never been in first class, like Michael hadn’t. He enjoyed it, taking it all in, and she felt a good deal of happiness from watching him be so happy. She knew that he was going through a rough time with his divorce, and she wanted to do whatever she could to make it easier on him. She knew that their trip was going to give him a much needed break from his painful day to day reality.
The flight attendant gave them each a glass of champagne and Aaron held it up to her, offering her a toast. “To old friends; finer than old wine, and stronger with time.”
“Cheers!” she toasted him in return. “How’s the book going?” she asked, giving him a smile.
He nodded thoughtfully. “It’s going well. I’m making some real headway on it. I expect to have it finished soon. I’ve really been pouring myself into it every chance that I get, and it’s become the best distraction from my divorce that I could imagine. I really feel like it’s some of my best work, and I’m looking forward to getting it to the publisher soon.”
Raina gave his hand a squeeze. “Good. I’m so glad to hear that.”
His turn of phrase caught in her mind and hovered there; ‘the best distraction’, and Michael’s words echoed in her mind. ‘you’re my favorite pleasant distraction’, and for the first time, she wondered what it was that she was distracting him from so often.
She knew what he distracted her from; her work, her shopping, her life… he was on her mind so often, but she was his work, and she began to wonder what else it was that she was distracting him from.
The plane touched down in a soft misty rain blanketing the city of Seattle. The gray blue bay was off to one side of the city that hugged it all along the coastline, and behind the city were hills covered in houses and tall pine trees.
Aaron was almost gleeful as they drove from the airport over the hill and down into the city. He grinned when he saw the Space Needle, and he started singing the theme song from the popular television show ‘Frasier’.
Raina laughed at him and drove their car to the hotel downtown where they were staying. Aaron remarked what a beautiful city it was, and she had to agree with him.
“You know, I’ve been to a lot of cities all over the world, and they each have their own personality… like people. I love them all for different reasons, but this one stays with me. I think a lot of people would say that this city has the personality of a clinically depressed person, but I think Seattle has gotten a bad rap for that. It’s never felt like that to me.” She looked at the lights that had come on for the evening, shining all around them in the soft rain.
“Well, it doesn’t feel depressing to me. It’s exciting,” he replied, and she knew that he was going to love it. He hadn’t even seen it, and she knew that he was going to love it.
They went to a quiet restaurant in Chinatown and he admired the big Chinatown gate that stretched over the street, welcoming visitors to the little Asian enclave. Aaron asked a passerby to snap their photo, and the woman obliged, using Aaron’s cell phone to get the shot of he and Raina standing beneath the gate.
He thanked her and when she was out of earshot, he leaned in close to Raina. “I like this one, but I think ours is better. I’m just saying.” He gave her a wink and a smile and she nodded.
“You might be right about that,” she admitted.
They enjoyed their dinner, and when it was done, she took him over to the Space Needle so that they could go up in it at night and see the city all lit up around them.
“It’s beautiful!” Aaron exclaimed, standing beneath the needle, looking up at it shining against the dark cloudy sky.
“It is! And it’s warm and dry inside, so let’s go!” She took his hand and led him into the gift shop at the base of the tower, and not long afterward, they were standing at the top of it, looking out over the world at their feet.
“Now this is beautiful,” she said with a blissful smile, as she gazed out of the windows. She turned to look at Aaron, and was surprised to see that he was looking at her, rather than out of the window.
“Yes it is,” he answered quietly. He rubbed his hand over her shoulder and then turned and looked out of the huge glass window before them.
Butterflies danced soft and warm inside of her, and she felt a bubble of happiness rising up in her, though she wasn’t entirely sure where it had come from, or why. She took Aaron’s hand in hers and together they walked around the expanse of the glass room at the top of the needle. They stayed a while, they had their photo taken, and then they went back down to the gift shop again. She bought him a little keychain depicting the tower and the city skyline, and gave it to him as a memento.
He kissed her cheek in thanks and they went outside. Directly beside the tower was a massive building in the strangest shapes and colors that Aaron had ever seen. He stopped and stared at it, shaking his head.
“What is that thing?” he asked in wonder as he stood looking up at it.
“It’s the EMP Museum. Architectural genius, and lots of fun. Wait until you see it in the daytime, and hopefully in the sunlight. It’s definitely something to appreciate. It’s half rock and roll museum, and they have a seriously impressive collection of instruments and personal effects of some of the greatest musicians who ever lived, and the other half is all sci-fi, though they change out those exhibits every once in a while. I’ve seen everything from Star Wars costumes to old television sci-fi show characters.
“I saw one of the Teenage Ninja Turtles in there once, and a script from a long ago Star Trek episode. It’s a fun place to visit, but we’ll do that either tomorrow or Saturday. I’m not sure how long I’ll be in my meeting, but when I’m done with it, I’ll have the rest of the weekend to show you around.” She gave him a grin and the two of them walked away from the museum and hailed a cab to go back to their hotel.
“I don’t care what we do or see, I’m just glad to be here with you,” Aaron told her as they settled into the back seat of the cab.
She nodded in agreement. “I know just what you mean.”
They shared a room, but there were two queen sized beds in the room, and they slept in separate beds. As they laid there in the dark, just before they fell asleep, Aaron spoke in a soft voice.
“You know, we haven’t slept in the same room like this since we were twenty.” He laughed a little and she thought back to the old days.
“You’re right. Thanks for making me feel old. Now go to sleep.”
He laughed again. “No, I don’t mean to make you feel old, and you’re not old. I just mean that it’s nice. I like it. It feels comfortable.”
She knew what he meant. “Yeah, it does feel comfortable.”
“Sweet dreams.” He looked over at her in the dim light from the window.
“Sweet dreams to you, too,” she answered, thinking how sweet it really was to have him there with her.
Her meeting only took up part of the day, and she ended up having most of the afternoon off. Aaron had explored a little of the area around the hotel while he was waiting for her, spending a couple of hours in an art museum nearby. When she went back to the hotel, she and Aaron got into the car and she drove them further north from the center of the city.
“Where are we going?” he asked, looking at everything outside of the window.
“We’re starting with the troll.” She gave him a playful look.
“Troll? There’s a troll?” he asked in amazement.
She nodded and took on a serious expression and note to her voice. “Oh yes. There’s a troll. He lives underneath the troll bridge. He was an art installation that has stayed. He has his hand on a real Volkswagen Beetle Bug; almost as if he had just plucked it from the bridge above him. He’s a must see.”
Aaron laughed and shook his head. “Well then, let’s go see him.”
They did see the troll, and had their picture taken there with it. They wandered through the neighborhood around the troll and stopped in one of the cafés for coffee, and a couple of book shops and second hand stores. It was a sweet little neighborhood, filled with hidden treasure types of places.
They stopped in a café for a bite, and she saw that Michael had texted her. ‘Missing you. What are you doing this weekend?’
She texted him back quickly, wanting to tuck her phone away and get back to her visit with Aaron. ‘In Seattle on business. Will be back in SF Sun night.’
Michael replied right away. ‘Wish I was with you. Maybe next time.’ She sighed and tucked her phone into her bag, turning her attention back to Aaron and the café they had stopped in. It surprised her that she didn’t want to hear from Michael just then. She always thrilled to get a text from him, but just then while she was with Aaron, it felt like a small nuisance, and she didn’t want to be interrupted.
When they left that area, she took him to the conservatory in Volunteer Park, and the Asian Art Museum right next to it. They explored the ancient works of art and tried their skills at hands on crafts like creating origami and wrapping themselves in a sari, which ended poorly amidst a fit of laughter. They took photos of each other in their made up costumes, and left the park to go walk down Broadway street in the Capitol Hill neighborhood. There were little brass shoe-prints embedded into the sidewalk to teach dance steps for popular old dances, and Raina wasn’t very surprised at all when Aaron took her into his arms and danced each one of the dances with her, all the way down the sidewalk.
“We should have something like this in San Francisco. I can’t believe that we don’t. Look what we’re missing out on!” he exclaimed as he turned her for the waltz.
She laughed out loud at him, and they hugged each other and kept going on in their exploration. When they had canvassed Capitol Hill, she took him down to the aquarium and the shops along the water’s edge. They rode the Ferris wheel and saw the old curiosity shop. She took him to the EMP Museum, and he saw for himself all the interesting things on display there. They found an old Irish pub hidden in an unassuming alley just off of the water, where they had dinner and drinks, and by the end of dinner, they were both ready for a good night’s rest.
On Saturday, she took him to the Pike’s Public Market to pick up some fresh produce and breakfast, and he surprised her with a bouquet of beautiful flowers. They wandered down the road to the first Starbucks coffee shop, and then went to the Athenian in the market for a proper seafood lunch. When that was done, she took him to the marina and chartered a boat to take them out whale watching.
The boat sailed out of Puget sound up to the San Juan Islands, and though she had last been there with Michael, she found that it was a very different experience being there with Aaron. She was at ease with him, relaxed and happy, and enjoying every single moment with him.
He was completely elated at being out on the boat, but even more so when they spotted two resident pods of orca swimming near Friday Harbor. They were able to watch them for a few hours before the pod swam off for other areas, and the boat they were on sailed back to the city.
When they were back on land, Aaron bought her a cup of coffee and they strolled along the streets and looked at all of the sites to see. She was just wondering about dinner when he smiled at her and took her hand in his.
“I saw a little Thai place when I was out walking around during your meeting yesterday. I thought I would take you out to dinner there. Shall we give that a try?” he asked, looking optimistic.
Raina smiled at him. “You don’t have to do that! I said the trip was my treat!”
He held up his hand and shook his head. “Oh no, this is my treat. I want to thank you for giving me such an amazing visit here.”
Relenting, she laughed softly and let him lead her to the place he had found. They enjoyed a delicious dinner and tea there, and then went out to a bar where a local band was playing. Aaron made the point of mentioning that most of the music of the nineties was based off of bands that originated in Seattle.
When they went back to the hotel, both of them took their time getting ready for bed, and just as Raina was about to get into hers, Aaron walked over to the edge of her bed and looked at her, his green eyes questioning, his voice soft when he spoke.
“I don’t want to make you uncomfortable, but what would you think about me sleeping here with you. Would you mind?” he asked, looking a little nervous.
She shook her head and pulled the covers back for him. “No, of course I don’t mind. You’re on lamp duty, then, but otherwise it’s fine.” She moved over and he slid into bed beside her.
They started talking about the day they had shared, and their conversation began to stretch over many years and memories they had experienced together. It felt like their old school days as they reminisced, and she and Aaron both loved talking long into the night.
The wee hours had come when he finally turned the light off and they said that they were going to sleep. She tried to sleep, but she woke up a little while later, shivering, and Aaron picked his head up off of his pillow.
“What is it?” he asked in concern.
“I’m freezing,” she admitted. “Would you mind if I turn the heater up a little?”
He held the blanket up a few inches. “I’m a perpetual furnace. Slide over here and I’ll warm you up.”
She scooted closer to him and he wrapped his arm around her and spooned her, though she could only feel his legs against hers, and his chest on her back.
“Wow, you’re right. You are a furnace!” she laughed softly and nestled into the warmth of his arms. Not long afterward, she was fast asleep.
When she woke in the morning, she realized that she was still in Aaron’s arms, and he was sleeping. She opened her eyes and looked around, and something in her didn’t want to move. She felt that if she moved, she might spoil the sweet moment, like a broken silence, and she wanted to hold on to it for as long as she could.
It was a little while later when she heard Aaron whisper. “Are you awake?”
“Yes,” she replied with a smile, loving the sound and feel of them waking up side by side. “I’ve been awake for a while; I just didn’t want to get up yet, and I didn’t want to wake you.”
He chuckled softly. “I didn’t want to get up either. It was nice holding you like this.” His voice was low and his words were honest.
“Well, since neither of us want to get up, what if we have breakfast in bed?” she asked, turning in his arms and facing him.
She hadn’t really thought about how close they were, and what had felt comforting to her a moment before, changed as she found her head beside his on the pillow, and her body pressed against his bare chest. Her face was inches from his, and she was surprised by the urge she felt to lean forward and kiss him. She wanted to reach her hand up and touch the disheveled locks of his strawberry blonde hair that hung down low over his forehead into his eyes.
He watched her, his arms still around her, and for a moment she thought that he was going to kiss her, and she wanted him to, but he took a breath and turned his head away from her, pulling his arm back from her as he did.
“You’re onto something there. I think breakfast in bed is a great idea. I can’t even remember the last time I had breakfast in bed. Let’s do it. I’m going to go brush my teeth first, though.” He pushed himself up from the bed and she rolled onto her back and closed her eyes, sighing.
She heard the bathroom door close and she told herself that she had better get a hold on what she was doing. The last thing she needed to do was get confused about how she felt about her oldest and dearest friend. She closed her eyes and drew in a deep breath, trying to still the butterflies that were going wild within her.
Raina pushed herself up and propped all of the pillows up on the headboard, and then reached for the room service menu. She was looking at it when Aaron came back out of the bathroom, his bare chest covered with a t-shirt, and his pajama bottoms tied up.
He climbed into bed beside her, sitting with his back against the pillows, and some space between them.
“What do they have for breakfast?” he asked in an easy voice.
“Everything, get whatever you want,” she answered him with a smile.
He took the menu from her and looked over it, deciding fairly quickly on his meal. He called down to the restaurant and placed the order and then turned to look at her.
“We had the best pillow talk last night. I loved that. I don’t think there’s anything that I couldn’t talk with you about… well, just about anything.” He laughed a little, looking away from her.
She tilted her head somewhat. “What is there that you couldn’t talk to me about?”
He looked back at her with serious eyes and an honest smile. “Let me answer that question with a question; are there things you wouldn’t talk with me about?”
She thought about it and nodded slowly. “Maybe, a few things, but not much.”
“Exactly how I feel. So, what do you want to do while we wait for breakfast? They said it’ll be half an hour before it’s up here.”
“Let’s see what movies they have,” she suggested.
He reached for the remote and together they looked through the list available to them. They decided on a Tim Allen Christmas movie, ‘The Santa Clause’, and nestled into the pillows and blankets side by side.
Breakfast was delivered to them a short while later and they had an early morning picnic on their bed as they laughed at the movie and enjoyed it all together. They took their time showering and packing, getting ready to go back to San Francisco.
Raina asked him if he wanted to walk along the water once more before they left, and he said yes. They strolled along for a ways, hand in hand, scarves tucked around them and coats buttoned up, gazing at the city to one side of them, and the sea water rolling into the bay on the other side of them. They stopped at one point, and stood side by side, taking it all in.
There had been a serene silence between them as they walked, no words being said, nothing needing to be said, though much was felt. Aaron turned to her and gave her a smile as he looked into her eyes.
“This has been one of the best times of my whole life. Thank you so much for it.”
He reached his hand up and touched her cheek. She felt warmth coming from him and wished that she could wrap herself in his arms as she had the night before.
“Me, too, Aaron. One of the best times ever. Thank you.” She smiled, covering his hand on her face with her own hand.
He hesitated for a moment, and then leaned forward and lifted her chin up to him, closing his mouth tenderly on hers in a soft kiss. He moved his lips over hers just for a moment, and in that moment, everything in her suddenly felt as if it had come alive, as if everything that she was feeling had been dormant in her, waiting patiently, and his kiss had somehow breathed life into all of it.
She closed her eyes and kissed him back as her heart began to race, and hot blood surged through her. She curled her fingers around his a little tighter, and then he lifted his mouth from hers, staying close to her as his eyes searched hers.
She was breathless and stunned, unsure what to do, unsure of what to say, or of how she felt. He saw it in her eyes and on her face, and his parted lips smiled a little, and he let her go.
“Thank you. It’s been a great trip,” he said simply.
He took a deep breath and put his hands into his jacket pockets, and she tried to remember how to breathe and turned away from him slightly.
“It really has been,” she agreed, sliding her hands into her own pockets.
They walked along the water again in silence for a while, and then Aaron brought up a few things about the book he was writing, and she was eager to talk with him about it and get her mind on almost anything else, other than the confusion that was tugging at her.
Later that afternoon, they boarded the plane and flew back to San Francisco. Neither of them said anything about the kiss that they had shared, and she let herself wonder a little about it, trying to determine if it was the kiss of a friend, or of something a bit more than friendship.
Aaron was acting his usual self all the way through the rest of the day that they spent together, and she told herself after he left her at her home and drove off, that she had read too much into it, and that it was the kiss of a friend.