I was awoken by Emma and Jasper jumping on my bed.

"Wake up. Wake up."

I opened my eyes and glared at both of them. Emma and Jasper made themselves comfortable on each side of me as they climbed under the covers.

"So, tell us about last night." Emma beamed with excitement.

“Ugh, are you two always this happy in the morning?" I pulled the sheet over my head.

 Jasper grabbed it from me and pulled it back.

"Only when our friend has juicy stories for us."

I sat up as Emma reached over to the nightstand and handed me a cup of coffee she had just made.

"You are never going to believe it," I said as I took my first sip. "He is none other than Mr. Andrew London."

Jasper and Emma looked at me in confusion.

"Okay, Addison, so now you know his last name," Jasper commented.

"Hello? Do I need to spell it out for you? London is his last name, as in London Arc Corporation, the company I work for."

They both clasped their hands over their mouths in shock.

"I know, right?" I spoke.

Jasper grabbed my hand. “Not only is he hot, but he's filthy rich. Way to go, girl."

I rolled my eyes.

"Did you sleep with him? I want all the details!” Emma smiled.

There was no topic off limits in our friendship.

I sighed. "No. I thought maybe we were going to, but he stopped it.”

"Stopped? Is he gay?" Jasper smiled.

I softly hit his arm. “No, he's not gay. He said that he respected me too much and it was only our first date."

"Technically, it was your second, Addison," Emma chimed in.

“He’s a very thoughtful man. I'm really falling for him, and I'm scared. I don't want to get hurt again.” Tears started filling my eyes.

"Aw, Addison. Come on, don't cry." Emma pouted. "Just take things slow. Judging by what I saw at the club that night, and the flowers he sent you, I think he's head over heels for you. He just doesn’t want to rush into sex yet. Which, to be honest, I find a little weird for a guy.”

“Don’t be silly,” Jasper spoke. “He’s obviously a perfect gentleman and he wants to make sure things don’t get complicated. Sex complicates things, sometimes. Look at what happened with George.” He placed his hand over his mouth. “Oops. Sorry, darling. I truly didn’t mean to say that.”

Emma rolled her eyes. “Whatever. It’s fine. I’m over that asshole anyway.”

I climbed out of bed and went into the bathroom.

“Andrew is a perfect gentleman, but I don’t know how long I can wait.”

****

During the next week, we saw each other every night. We would communicate via text messaging and occasional phone calls during the day, and then he would come by my apartment after work and we would eat dinner together and talk about our day. Each time we saw each other, we grew closer and my sexual frustration was getting stronger. Every time we had to say goodbye, it was harder. I hadn’t a clue why Andrew was waiting to have sex. It was abnormal to me and something I wasn’t used to.

The weekend had finally arrived. I lay in bed staring at the little specks of sunlight that flowed through the small slits of the blinds. Excitement soared through me because Andrew and I were going to spend the entire day together. Doing what, I didn’t know. I got up to use the bathroom, and when I was finished, I heard my phone ding with a text message from Andrew.

"Good morning, Angel. Dress warm. I want to take you somewhere and show you something. I’ll be by your place in an hour.”

"Good morning. Just got up, make it an hour and a half. I can’t wait to spend the day with you.”

“Fine. An hour and a half. I can’t wait to spend the day with you either. See you soon.”

I quickly hopped into the shower. As the hot water ran down me, I couldn’t stop thinking about him and I wondered where he was taking me. It didn’t matter, though. Just being with him the whole day was good enough for me. After my shower, I dressed in a pair of jeans and a cream-colored sweater. I put my hair up in a ponytail and applied my makeup.

I was walking towards the kitchen for another cup of coffee when the doorbell rang. When I opened it, Andrew was standing there with a coffee from Starbucks in his hand. I smiled as I grabbed his coat and pulled him inside.

 "You're early.”

"I know. I couldn't wait to see you." He smiled as he kissed me.

"Thank you for the coffee, Mr. London. I was just about to make another cup.”

He wrapped his arms around my waist and kissed my neck.

"You're welcome, Miss Belle.”

The fire inside started to roar, and my heart was happy. It was a feeling I never wanted to end. After grabbing my purse and saying goodbye to Jasper and Emma, we left the apartment and headed to the Escalade. Carson smiled as he tipped his hat.

 "Have a good day, Miss Belle. Mr. London."

"Will do, Carson. Thank you.” Andrew smiled.

He opened the door for me and I slid inside.

“Good morning, Addison," Phillip spoke.

"Good morning, Phillip," I smiled.

Andrew slid in next to me and grabbed my hand.

"Did you sleep well last night?" he asked.

"I slept good. How about you?" I asked as I stared into his perfectly blue eyes.

"It was okay. I would have slept better if you were there with me.”

I gently squeezed his hand to let him know I felt the same way, and then I leaned over and kissed his cheek.

"What was that for?" he asked.

"I was just thanking you for being you." I smiled.

He stared at me and I could see the burning desire in his eyes. He wanted me as much as I wanted him, and I knew it would only be a matter of time. He raised his hand and cupped my chin.

"No. I should be thanking you for being you." He grinned.

 I looked out the window and saw the marina. Instantly, I froze, and a sickness washed over me. Phillip parked the SUV and Andrew opened my door, took my hand, and helped me out. My grip on his hand was tight as we began walking down the docks.

"I love it here." He smiled.

My legs were getting weaker the more we walked. We approached a large white boat, a yacht actually. I stopped dead in my tracks and Andrew turned his head and looked at me.

"Addison, what's wrong? You're as white as a ghost. Are you okay?" he asked with concern.

Tears started swelling in my eyes as I looked at him.

"I can't. I just can't,” I cried as I abruptly let go of his hand, turned away, and hastily started walking back to the SUV.

"Addison, wait," I heard him call.

But I couldn’t stop. I needed to get out of there right away. I could feel my chest tightening and my breathing became shallow. I could barely swallow, and my body started to shake as Andrew came up from behind and grabbed me, holding me tight in his arms. We both fell to the ground as I tried to regain my breath.

"It’s okay. I'm here. I’ve got you and you're going to be all right," Andrew whispered as he stroked my hair.

I buried my head into his chest and my breathing started to return to normal as I lay there and listened to the beating of his heart.

"I'm so sorry,” I whispered as I lifted my head from his chest.

He gently wiped away my tears with his thumb.

"Don't be sorry. It's okay. I should have asked you if you liked boats or the water. To think my bringing you here did this to you.” He hugged me tight. "Forgive me, Addison."

“There’s no need for you to apologize. There’s no way you could have known.”

We both got up from the ground, his grip still tight around me. I took in a deep breath and stared into his eyes. Mascara was running down my face, but I didn't care.

"Take me back to your place, Andrew, please,” I begged him.

“Anything for you, Angel,” he softly spoke.

He walked me back to the car. Once we were inside, he hooked his arm around me and pulled me into him while he stroked my hair. Neither of us spoke a word.