CHAPTER 55
“You can’t commit.” I finish for him.
He shakes his head softly. “And I don’t want you being upset because of me.”
“I don’t want commitment, Alastar. I want respect.”
He frowns.
“You misunderstand me. I have never had a one night stand before. I am not the kind of girl who does
that sort of thing.”C0ntent © 2024 (N/ô)velDrama.Org.
“I know,” he replies sadly.
“I had the wildest, craziest night of my life with this gorgeous stranger and it wasn’t sleazy or cheap. I
felt cared for and cherished.”
“You were.” He picks up my hand again and smiles softly.
“And then you lied.”
He stares at me.
“I don’t want a boyfriend that lies. I don’t even want a boyfriend. I spent a long time trying to find
myself and now that I have found her… I’m keeping her.”
Confusion crosses his face.
“I want a friend. One that I know cares for me and wont lie to me.”
“You want friends with benefits?” He frowns in shock.
I shake my head. “I don’t even know what I want, but I know it isn’t putting all my eggs into one
basket, giving you or anyone else the ability to make me feel like I did this last week.”
“How did I make you feel?”
I swallow the lump in my throat. “Like I’m insignificant,” I whisper.
His eyes hold mine, his thumbs brushing over the back of my hand as he thinks. “How could you ever
think that?”
I shrug.
“I don’t want you with anyone else,” he whispers.
I sit back. “You just told me that you can’t commit to anything.”
“I know.” He frowns.
“What exactly are you saying?” I ask.
He shrugs. “I’m going away in six weeks and probably won’t be back before you leave.”
“And?”
“I just didn’t want things to get messy between us.”
I smirk. “So, you thought being an ass was easier?”
He nods once. I pick up my coffee and sip it. I don’t know even what to say to that. Yes, I do: Coward.
He stares into space as if contemplating something. “Tell me your idea of friends with benefits?”
I smirk. “I don’t know. I have never had it, to be honest.” I think for a moment. “In a perfect world I
would have a friendship and a connection with someone without there being any expectations.”
He frowns. “Like what?”
I shrug and smile as I sip my coffee. “Like…” I hesitate. “I would see them two or three times a week
and we would care for each other but not fall in love.”
His elbow is resting on the table, and he leans his cheek on his hand, a trace of a smile crossing his
face at my romantic dream.
“And then when it ended, when I went home to Australia, we would both marry other people.”
He watches me intently.
“Then in twenty years I could look back and say I had this beautiful friendship with a man in London
back in the day, and it would be a happy memory. Something that was dear and special to me.”
He smiles softly. “That does sound nice.”
I smile and pick up his free hand from the table. “Thank you for coming and seeing me. You are right, I
do feel better.”
His eyes hold mine and I know he wants to say something.
“You are not as much of an ass as I first thought.” I smirk.
“Could you sleep with me four or five times a week and not fall in love with me?” he asks suddenly.
I laugh. “You are so conceited, and I said two or three times, not four or five.”
“Rounding up.” He smiles, but I know he’s dead serious.
I pick up his hand and kiss the back of it. “The question is, Alastar, could you do it without falling in
love with me?”
His eyes hold mine and I melt into them a little.
“Aye.”
“And I would go home at the end of my trip? With no strings?”
He smiles softly. “Aye.”