Chapter 191: Difficult Parting

In all of his years, Derek had never gotten ready for the work day with another person by his side before. Rather than rushing home and going to shower. They had both decided that it would be more convenient for Emily to shower at the penthouse. She would then be able to rush home. Then just slip into her work attire without having to waste too much time.

That had been the logic that they had come up with when they had been getting ready for bed the night before, and back then it had been a decision taken because it made the most sense. But now, as Derek stood next to Emily.

The two of them brushing their teeth side by side for what would be the last time for a long while. The three days before their sleep cycle began would be hard.

Derek was glad that they had come to that decision. It was hard, harder than he had expected to be parting ways with her. So he was savoring the last bit of open contact.

Their shoulders were actively brushing against one another as they moved, and as Derek went to grab his towel so that he could wipe at his face. He did not even try to move away from her, stealing touches here and there. Emily herself did not try to move away. Actively leaning into the touches that Derek initiated.

They were being as blatant as could be, but none of them were mentioning it. The two of them were saying goodbye quietly. And neither of them had the energy to acknowledge it out loud.

Downstairs, breakfast was not the simple affair of cereal like they had been having all weekend. Instead, the two of them worked together to try and piece together something that almost felt like a goodbye feast.

By the time that they were done, they had in front of them enough food to feed a small family. From buttered toast to bacon, sliced fruit, yogurt, muesli, and freshly squeezed juice.

It was a meal that would have been appetizing on any other day. But that morning Derek could barely bring himself to stomach it.

The only reason that he ate it, pretending as though he were enjoying it more than he was. Was because he did not want Emily to go away feeling bad. Thinking that he was upset over something.

This was their contract. This was their agreement.

Monday, Tuesdays and Wednesdays were off limits. Their sleeping days were Thursdays, Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays.

They had agreed to that and they would stick to it. Otherwise things would just get weird. Derek just wished that it did not have to be so hard.

He knew that it probably seemed as though he was being over dramatic. After all, they would be sleeping together again come Thursday. But just the thought of her not being there that coming night, had Derek feeling as though he was going to be sick.

Less than a week in bed with her, and he was addicted.

He had no idea what he was going to do with himself that evening. And he was dreading coming home to the quiet penthouse and trying to get some sleep, which he knew would never happen.

The sound of Emily clearing her throat broke Derek out of his thoughts. When he looked up, she was looking over at him. She gestured to her cleared plate, and then she looked back over at him.

"I think that we should get going. I do not wish to be late.

And I also do not want to run the risk of anybody seeing us together, especially given how early it is. So why don’t you just drop me off at a bus stop instead of taking me directly home? I will make my way to work from my apartment and no one will be none the wiser. That the two of us spent the weekend together," She said.

Afterwards, instead of standing and grabbing her things. She just sat there staring at Derek, and he too just stayed put.

"This is hard," Emily finally said, blowing out a breath

Derek could not help but nod in agreement.

"I know, right? It is way harder than I thought it would be. I read somewhere that people, especially those who have regular skin contact, can form bonds very quickly,"

"This might be it. I think that the two of us might have been touch starved, without realizing it. And in these few days where we have been touching one another, we formed a deeper bond without even realizing. So separation will be a bit harder," She said.

All that Derek could do was nod, finally, a logical reason for how awful he was feeling. He had thought that he was losing it a bit.

That he was one of those people who fell hard and fast. Even if there were no actual romantic feelings involved. Just an unfortunate situation of clinging too quickly to somebody when he should not have. But it turned out that Emily knew exactly what was going on.

Now that he was no longer overburdened by the thought that it felt as though he had somehow overattached to Emily in the span of a few days, Derek felt better. All of the sleep that he had been getting would now be easier to enjoy.

It was a marvelous thing walking around without a headache. Or all of the other ailments that his constant lack of sleep had caused him to have.

As he stood, and walked Emily out, Derek felt light in a way that he could not explain. Emily said something on the way out the door that made Derek laugh. The sound louder than he normally allowed of himself.

When it did not instantly set off, a feeling like a bomb going off in his head. He smiled even wider, pausing a fraction, to just enjoy such a simple thing.

The sleeping together thing had definitely been a good idea. If the only downside that came with it, was that he felt a bit clingy, thanks to the touch starvation thing that Emily had mentioned. Then Derek could deal with that.

There were worse things that could have happened. Sleep could have not come for him at all, he reasoned. And as he drove Emily to the bus stop, the two of them kept sharing smiles in the car.

Just happy to be in each other’s presence.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by Aunomay Read