CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN

Astra woke up with the comfortable feeling of someone holding her, and then she was blissfully sore. She froze for a moment as she realized what her being sore meant, last night was not a dream. Astra knew that a dream could not be so vivid and clear. She was with Nicholas night, she was still with him this morning.
Astra turned and saw Nicholas sleeping soundly beside her, she took a deep breath as she confirmed it was not Jared. That would have been an issue. Now that Astra was sure that it was Nicholas sleeping close to her, she was not sure what to do with that information. She was scared, angry, and frustrated. She just had sex with Nicholas, and she willingly did it. She just fucked the man that threw her out of his house while she was pregnant with his child, the man that made her pass through so much pain and disgrace. Astra frowned as she remembered how much of an alcoholic she became over time and the fire that had damaged her skin and made her need plastic surgery in the first place. She just slept with the man that she promised herself she would have nothing with.
Astra stood up from the bed, forcefully removing Nicholas' arm from hers.
'Astra," she heard Nicholas say, but she ignored him and stood up to go into the bathroom. She could feel the stickiness between her thighs and she groaned again. Closing her eyes tightly in regret. What had she gotten herself into?
Astra took her bath and hoped that Nicholas would have left by the time she was done with her bath. When she finished taking her bath, she wrapped herself in a towel and came out. Astra just wanted to forget that she had sex with him at all, it seemed like the best she could do. She could just ignore him and he would go away.
It was very disappointing to come out and see that Nicholas was still seated on her bed, he was wearing shorts and his chest was bare. He looked worried and tired.
'What do you want?" Astros asked him. She knew that she sounded rude but she was tired she was not in the mood to be nice. Nicholas looked at her shocked, but he did not say anything more. He probably read the room.
'I wanted to talk to you," Nicholas said.
'Well you did more than talk," Astra spat. She was angry at herself and her body for being so easy.
'I am sorry. I will wait in the living room while you dress so that we can talk," Nicholas said and walked out of the room. Astra stared at his back as he went out of the room. She did not remember that Nicholas could be such a gentleman it was actually nice to see.
Astra moved to put on her clothes and she felt the blissful soreness between her legs. She had not had sex since Nicholas and so it felt new to her body, she felt alive in ways that she had forgotten. It had been five years after all. A flash of last night came to her vision and Astra closed her eyes slightly grinding her thighs together, Nicholas could make her feel so good, it was almost a curse.
She put on her clothes and went into the living room. The smell of eggs and bacon greeted her. Nicholas was making breakfast, it was not the first time. It had almost become a ritual. He did that a lot when they were together and she loved it about him.
'Thank you," Astra said as she sat down and helped herself to the food. The eggs were nice and fluffy. The coffee was just right. She smiled a bit as it was long since it had been long since she was this babied.
'I wanted to talk to you about what Thompson told you," Nicholas said and Astra looked at him. It seemed like there was more to it than she thought.
'I wanted to let you know myself that Sarah is my cousin and Theo is her son, not mine. I met her after we got divorced. She was pregnant and in need of a job, her parents had died and her boyfriend left her. I love her very much as we helped each other heal with time, but the love is platonic, just like a sister," Nicholas said and Astra raised an eyebrow.
'You came to my house in the middle of the might to tell me that?" Astra asked and Nicholas had the good grace to look shy.
'Yeah, basically. Sarah wants me to recover fully. She is very protective," Nicholas said. It was surprising Astra how calm and civil she was being.
'Oh okay that's nice. I wanted to tell you something else. He told me that you were scamming your shareholders and he found evidence in that respect, and he gave the evidence to your shareholders," Astra said and she could see anger evident in Nicholas' eyes. He was pissed.
'He said what?" Nicholas asked.
'That's what he said. I am not sure what to believe. Why would he lie?" Astra asked Nicholas
'For the life of me I can't figure that out. It makes me think that he has done this more than once. He is trying to sabotage me, but why? We didn't have any issue that I know of, but he clearly has plans to run me to the ground," Nicholas said.
'Relax," Astra replied.
'And now he has disappeared into thin air, vanished just like that. No one knows where he has gone or who is protecting him. Someone has to be helping him, he has to be doing this with someone. There is no way he would survive on his own," Nicholas said and Astra frowned, Thompson had disappeared? Why had he run? Or was he kidnapped? So many questions to ask and no replies.
'That's weird. What the hell is happening?" Astra asked. She was confused as to the situation on ground.
'I don't know, but I feel that someone who hates me is behind Thompson. I really have to go, thank you for this information," Nicholas said and put on his shirt before strolling out of her apartment building.
As he left, Astra put on her clothes and started to get ready for work. They were just going to act as though they did not just fuck and it was fine. It would be easier that way, it was better than unnecessary complications.
Astra had submitted her CV to five companies and she had been invited for two interviews. She truly hoped that she would be able to land a job and soon.
She drove down to her office and got in one piece. No one was talking the Thompson case anymore. Even if Nicholas had not dropped the case, it was almost as though he dropped it and forgot about its existence.
Since neither Nicholas nor Jared were dropping flowers on her desk, the gossip had died down a bit. There was only the new gist that all the men had left her alone because she was emotionally abusive and had a narcissistic disorder. Astra could not wait until she was leaving.
She sat at her desk and started working on the never ending paperwork. It was almost midday when Jared came to her desk. Her thoughts had been plagued with him and Nicholas all day and so when she saw him it was shocking in a way.
It felt like she cheated on him with a Nicholas and it was not fair to Jared. She could not even think about telling Stephanie that she slept with Nicholas, again. Astra knew that it would be the last time as she would lock her door after today. She used to expect him, but now it had gotten out of hand, she was hurting someone's son.
'How are you?" Jared asked with a smile.
'I am good," she replied when she was in fact still sore. Having sex seemed to have awoken and increased her drive. She was horny too.
'Want to pop out for lunch?" Jared asked with a smile. He looked so charming at the moment that she could not say now. He was like an acquired taste that she had learnt to like over time. She almost did not want to like him but she could not help herself.
'Sure," she said and stood up from her chair, taking her bag with her.
They both walked out of the office together. 'We should go into my car. I want to drive you somewhere," Jared said, and Astra got into his car. They drove into town to a Chinese restaurant.
'All these for lunch?" Astra asked smiling, and then she caught herself. She could not be smiling and Jared, all she was doing was leading him on, which was terrible.
'Well come in will you," Jared said with a smile. The interior of restaurant was beautiful with a homey Chinese vibe. The rich scents of spices filled the air. Astra was already in love.
'I love coming here to eat, their food is marvelous," Jared said as they sat down. He convinced Astra that he knew the best dishes and ordered for the both of them. It took a lot of trust in him to let him.
He did seem to know his ball though, what he ordered was delicious, the noodles, the soup, the meat, everything. Astra ate until she was full. To think that two different men had treated her to food in one day. She felt guilty again, for talking to Jared, for making the relationship last for so long. It was wrong of her to lead him on.
'So, how did you like it?" Jared asked, he has this childish smile on his face, it was infectious.
'Oh I loved it," Astra said and smiled at him.
'That's a relief. We can come here more often," Jared said, and Astra frowned a bit, he was already thinking of the future. Was she taking it too far?
'Maybe," she muttered in response. She had nothing else that she would say.
'I have something to ask Astra, it's really important to me," Jared said. Astra was a bit worried about how serious he sounded.
'What is it?" Astra asked.
'So every year or so I usually go with my buddies for an art camp. It's just one weekend. We have a cabin, it's not so far. They coke with their girlfriends and wives and I usually go alone. I was hoping that this time, you could accompany me, I would be very happy if you say yes," Jared said. He had a pleading look on his face.
'So you gave me food to soften me up?" Astra asked, joking.
'No, it's not that, I sincerely wanted to do something with you, it had been a while," Jared said and Astra agreed. It had been long truly.
'Will there be food?" Astra asked. Jared looked confused for a moment.
'At the camp I mean," Astra clarified.
'Well of course there will be food, I can even bring extra if you want," Jared said. He was shaking a bit, Astra could tell that he was nervous.
'Well, in that case, I will go," Astra said and Jared smiled. Astra just hoped that she hadn't made the wrong choice.