Echo

24. That Did It

Malax sits on the couch and pulls me down beside him.

Then we sit there.

And sit there.

"Malax, how long are we going to sit here? I'm not going to change my mind about tomorrow. They were trying to help me."

"What about the other 2,000 people in this building? Let them die? They're not worth saving?"

"They didn't know if it was true."

"They could have contacted the authorities and let them know. It would have given me more time to get everyone out."

"Yea, because those men are so well protected from your extremist hate group. They're willing to blow up Phade Enterprise. What do you think that group would do to those 2 men's families? I'm sure those men feared for their lives. What would that group have done to their loved ones? All because they pass on information they don't even know if it's true. It was too much of a risk for them. They tried to get my attention and I hung up on them. If I had listened, you could have had your security do the search. They would have found something and then called the authorities."

"It's not your fault. Don't blame yourself."

"I'm the one who hung up. I had them on the phone. I could have listened. We could have made a plan from there. But I got scared and ran away."

"Anyone would have gotten scared about a man telling them they're going to die on the phone. The fault lies with the people who placed the bombs. Not a couple of idiots that heard rumors about it and scared a woman half to death. I'll go with you tomorrow and we'll talk. Don't worry about it for now."

"Thank you. I think."

"I'll say my piece. I don't know if it'll help them or not. But I have to say it. The people who work here count on me to keep everyone safe. I am failing so badly."

"I didn't know people got hurt."

"Nobody got hurt. The bombs were found in time and everyone was evacuated safely."

"Then how are you failing?"

"The bombs were here to begin with."

"Doesn't mean you failed. Failure would have been the building coming down and killing people. You saved everyone. The bombs were removed. You didn't fail. Now you need to make sure they never get that close to the building again. That was too close."

"I doubled the security outside the building. Added additional cameras. More security in the parking areas. The security now walks the perimeter searching for anything weird."

"You did well. Those were good changes."

"I hope so. I'm trying." He pulls me into his lap. "We'll go tomorrow and say what we want. Kai is right, this isn't black and white."

"Thank you." I turn and hug him.

He rubs my hair. "I like you."

"What?"

"I like you. I've been half stupid since the day you came in. I couldn't even introduce myself right."

"You said you didn't."

"I said you were too young for me to like. You are young and I'm a lot older. You're not an adult yet. But that didn't stop me from liking you. I can't help it. And I'd like not to go to jail. So, I pretend not to like you. I'm not supposed to. You're too young."

"So, in a few weeks, it'll be fine to like me?"

"Yes. I guess. It'll be legal anyway."

"Legal is nice."

"Yea. But honestly, you're not going to be any older in a few weeks than you are now. I'm losing my mind. And now you're dating. It's making everything worse."

"Do you feel better?"

"I don't know. I don't know what to think or do. Every time I say anything, it's stupid. I can't get anything right with you."

"I don't think it's illegal to like me, Malax."

"I can't touch you."

"Liking someone and touching them are different things."

"Oh wow."

I shrug my shoulders and plop against his chest. I do like this. I snuggle him, and he puts his arms around me. "This is nice."

"This is perfect." He kisses my head. "You're soft and smell good."

Next thing I know, I'm waking up, and he's still sleeping. He's warm and happy when he sleeps. He's even a little cuddly. I kiss his cheek and it wakes him up. Then I give him a hug. "I like you too."

"Thank you. I'll try not to be stupid. I would like that date though. It's not because I feel bad for you. I want to take you out. I want to hold your hand. Keep you close. Kiss you."

"You don't need a date for that."

He chuckles, and his lips touch mine. It feels like fireworks are going off inside me.

I straddle him and kiss him again. I lightly touch his neck and feel tingles on my arms where he touches them. I want more of this.

"STOP MAKING OUT WITH YOUR BOSS. SERIOUSLY." Eriska pulls me off. "You're not supposed to do that."

I nod. "I got the rules confused."

She rolls her eyes. "Stay off him. Not to mention he has a girlfriend. You know this already."

"I don't have a girlfriend. That was my sister I was at the movies with. We try to do something every few months. Stay in touch. No girlfriend."

"I guess it's fine then." She leaves.

I scratch my head and stare at the door.

She runs back in. "NO. He is too old for you. You have no idea what the hell you're doing. He'll take advantage of you. He's probably had a million relationships, and you've been on 2 dates. He'll make you fall in love, then leave you after he gets everything he wants. He probably won't last a month. Then you'll be broke for a year. Meanwhile, he'll be happy in another relationship."

"No. That's not even."

"Oh, shut up, Malax. All you do is confuse her anyway. You say you don't like her, then try to stay as close to her as you can. Nothing you do makes any sense. We're taking the rest of the day off to talk about what an asshole you are."

"I told her I liked her."

"Now you did. What about before?"

"I always liked her, but I was scared with her being young. It's not even legal."

"SO YOU COULDN'T TELL HER YOU LIKE HER BUT WANT TO WAIT UNTIL SHE'S 18? BETTER TO LIE AND CONFUSE HER?"

"WELL, WHEN YOU PUT IT LIKE THAT, I'M STUPID."

"WE KNOW THAT."

He rubs his face. "I like her. I want to wait until she's 18 before anything physical happens."

"SHE WAS MAKING OUT WITH YOU. YOU WERE WASHING EACH OTHER IN THE SHOWER. YOU PAINTED EACH OTHER."

"Anything more physical."

My hand shoots up.

She looks at me. "He's talking about sex."

I put my hand down and shake my head.

"If you wanted her to have s*x with you when she turns 18, you should have started dating her last year. SHE'S NOT A WHORE."

"I DIDN'T SAY SHE WAS."

"BUT YOU DON'T WANT A RELATIONSHIP UNTIL SHE TURNS 18? YOU JUST WANT TO SLEEP WITH HER. OR YOU DON'T WANT A RELATIONSHIP WITHOUT s*x? OR YOU ARE SLEEPING WITH EVERYONE ELSE, UNTIL SHE TURNS 18? WHICH ARE YOU SAYING?"

"NONE."

"AND HOW MANY RELATIONSHIPS HAVE YOU BEEN IN?"

"4."

I pick up my chair and throw it at him. I don't know why, but that pissed me off.

He falls off his chair then gets up. "I'M SORRY."

"SIT DOWN."

He sits his ass right back down.

I rub my eyes. "I need a minute."

Eriska nods. "That was a lot."

"I'm going to need you to come to the court with me tomorrow at 10. You're arguing my side."

"What is your side?"

"We'll figure it out when I say it."

"Yea, that works." She turns back towards Malax. "NOW YOU. YOU ARE A COMPLETE ASSHOLE. YOU DON'T WANT A RELATIONSHIP WITH HER UNTIL SHE'LL HAVE s*x WITH YOU."

"That's not..."

"THAT'S EXACTLY WHAT YOU'RE SAYING. YOU'LL LIKE HER FROM A DISTANCE UNTIL SHE'S READY AND LEGAL. THIS WAY, YOU GET TO f**k EVERYONE ELSE WHILE YOU'RE WAITING."

"I'M NOT f*****g ANYONE ELSE. I LIKE HER. I HAVE NEVER CARED ABOUT ANYONE LIKE THIS. I CAN'T EVEN COMMUNICATE RIGHT WITH HER. I MESS EVERYTHING UP. I DO WANT A RELATIONSHIP WITH HER. AND NO, A RELATIONSHIP DOES NOT AUTOMATICALLY MEAN s*x. I WOULD WAIT UNTIL SHE'S READY."

Eriska tilts her head. "He's safe for you to make out with. But he's going to be your boyfriend very soon. You should probably stop dating other people."

I nod. "I'll take that into consideration. Thank you for getting to the bottom of everything."

"My pleasure. See you tomorrow."

He rubs his hair and it goes everywhere. "You planned that?"

"No. But I was confused. I think she picked up on it. She should have gone to law school instead."

"What do you think about everything that was said?"

"It was very loud."

"Yea, it was that." He picks me up. We sit on the couch, and he plays with my hair. "I've never felt this way. I don't understand. I'm so scared of losing you. I'll do anything to keep you around me. Hell, I went to your house when you quit after 1 day. Even then, I didn't want to lose you. I don't know what it is. But you can't go anywhere. I have to know you're safe. I will keep you as close as possible. Every time you touch me, I feel tingles. I love everything about this right here. Just holding you. Touching you."

"I've never had s*x. I've never done anything other than kiss."

"That's not why I want a relationship with you. I'll wait for you to be ready. If you want to wait until you're married, so be it. I'll wait. I'm not going to pressure you. s*x isn't what I want. This is what I want. Sitting here, talking, and touching."

"You would let me wait until marriage?"

"Yes. Then I'll be balls deep in you for a very long time." I tilt my head and he smirks. "You'll like it."

I hide my face in his chest.

He chuckles and adjusts me. "Can I have another kiss before the meeting?"

I smile and give him a kiss. I pull his hair a little. I love having my hands in it. I kiss his neck and shove my boobs against his chest. I cannot get enough of him.

He grabs my hips and pulls me closer. He pushes his d**k at me and it's hard.

"They're making out again. I told them to stop already. Your turn, Rye."

Malax grabs my hips and holds me. "1 minute baby."

The door slams. "Her dad is here."

"Well, that did it."

Rye and Eriska crack up laughing.