Total pages in book: 26
Estimated words: 22709 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 114(@200wpm)___ 91(@250wpm)___ 76(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 22709 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 114(@200wpm)___ 91(@250wpm)___ 76(@300wpm)
Ordinarily, we were very careful about hiding our relationship at work. We never touched each other or flirted around our coworkers. But right now, that was the last thing on my mind. Geo needed me, and no antiquated policy was going to stop me from helping him.
I led Geo into a bathroom in the hall and locked the door behind us. I wasn’t trying to hide him; I simply wanted to give him space to let things out without nosy neighbors butting in, and I wanted to comfort him without an audience.
The moment we were alone, Geo wrapped his arms around my shoulders and buried his face into the lapel of my suit, sobbing as I helplessly rubbed my hands up and down his back.
“Geo, what’s wrong? What happened, sweetheart?”
His voice was muffled as he hiccupped against my chest, “It’s…Richard Swimmins! He’s…he’s…gone!”
I considered myself a smart man. I was well educated and had a good head on my shoulders, so why the hell was my first thought, where did he go? As if he was lost because he swam away to the ocean.
It must have been the stress of the moment that caused the delay in grasping that he meant his pet had died. For a moment, I was relieved, but then I felt like an asshole. Even if in my mind things could be worse, sweet Geo was falling apart in my arms.
I’d never had a pet. But just because I’d never experienced that type of bond, I’d witnessed it first hand with Geo and that little fish. Just because I couldn’t relate didn’t mean that I didn’t care. Anything that affected him was important to me.
“I’m so sorry,” I offered, hugging him tighter. “Why didn’t you call me?” There may not have been anything I could have done, but I would have gladly empathized and supported him.
“I…tried,” he answered before sniffing loudly.
I wriggled my phone from my pocket to find that Geo had attempted to call me four times that morning, and I had six unread texts. “Oh honey,” I sighed, feeling like an even bigger asshole when I saw the emblem at the top of my screen, “I am so, so sorry; I still have my ringer turned off from when we were watching the movie last night.”
“It’s okay.”
“No it’s not. You needed me and I wasn’t there for you.”
“You are now.” Geo was the one hurting, yet he was still trying to comfort me.
“I’ll always be here for you.” They were big words, but I meant them with every fiber of my being. I wanted to be by his side through all of life’s ups and downs. I wasn’t going anywhere unless he asked me to, and I needed him to know it. “I promise, Geo. Always.”
“I know,” he answered quietly but confidently, and my heart swelled. “So will I.” He was in this just as deeply as I was. I knew it, and I could feel it.
“What do you need? Have you eaten? Would you like a coffee? What can I do for you?” He could ask for anything and I’d find a way to make it happen.
“Just hold me a little while longer?”
It was a simple request that meant so much. Of all the things he could have asked for, my touch was all he craved. My presence gave him comfort. So, I held onto his body like the precious treasure it was, stroking his back and dropping kisses on the top of his head. In that moment, nothing else mattered. Work could wait. My priority stood before me, wrapped in my arms.
It was the first time I’d ever felt this way. My whole life, I had been focused on my education and working towards achieving my goals; proving my doubters wrong and carving out my place in the world. Those things were still important to me, but so was having someone to share it with. And there was no one else I wanted beside me.
I knew the word for this feeling, and it was fighting like hell to get out of my throat. I’d never spoken it to anyone except for my mother. I’d never felt it before. But now it couldn’t be denied. It filled my lungs until they burned. It weighed on my tongue, demanding to be let out.
“I love you.” My words were quiet but true. Saying them out loud made me feel lighter. I could breathe easier. Nothing had ever felt more right. Granted, maybe I hadn’t planned on telling Geo I loved him for the first time while hiding in the bathroom at work, but it was still somehow perfect.
Geo raised his head from my chest and looked at me with wide eyes. They were swollen and watery, but still the most beautiful I’d ever seen. “I love you too.”