After All These Years Ch. 02

Rose woke up early the next morning to find Phoenix sound asleep next to her. They were both still naked in his bed. He looked like he was getting a long needed good sleep. Rose quickly got up from the bed and grabbed some work clothes out of her suitcase, heading for the bathroom. She turned on the shower and hopped in, letting the hot water cover her from head to toe. After everything the night before, she needed a shower. Once she got washed up she got out and dried off, putting on her clean clothes. She started drying her hair when she heard a knock on the bathroom door.

"It's open," she called, going back to drying.

Phoenix walked in, a sleepy look on his face, but that changed quickly when he saw her. He grinned and walked up behind her, putting his hands on her waist. He kissed the back of her neck. Rose noticed that his sweat pants were on, but felt something pressing against her ass. She smiled to herself and hung the towel up, turning around to face him.

"Good morning," she whispered to him, kissing him on the lips.

"Oh yes, it is," he kissed her back and pushed her against the counter, pressing himself into her front.

"Whatcha doin'?" She whispered, reaching down and rubbing his cock through his pants. "Someone's awake."

He didn't respond with words, only started grinding against her, moving her hand out from between them so that he could rub on the spot he wanted. Rose moaned softly and then shook her head to take her mind away from this.

"Hey," she whispered, pushing him back slightly. "I really want to do this right now, but I need to head into the city for the day. Work stuff. I'll get an Uber back this evening."

"Aww come on," he kissed her neck, along her jaw. "I want you now though."

"And I want to keep my job," she pushed him back and smiled. "Tonight. I'll be back."

Phoenix sighed and stepped back, letting her move out of the room. "Fine, but just so you know, I'm going to be extra horny if I have to wait like this."

"Oh darn," Rose grinned and walked out of the bathroom and made her way to the living room. She grabbed her shoes, put them on, then got her phone and called an Uber.

She heard the shower turn on, so she stepped outside to wait for the car. She texted Phoenix just as the car pulled up.

R: I'll see you tonight... xoxo

She stuffed the phone in her pocket and climbed into the back seat of the car. The drive into the city was pretty quiet. Very few people worked weekends, which is one reason why Rose was feeling upset. She had to go to a conference that was going to take up most of her morning. Just as she was thinking about the meeting, her phone buzzed.

Mr. Kline: Rose, the conference has been moved back an hour, lost the venue we had rented. Meet the group at the hotel and we can proceed from there.

Rose sighed and typed a message back to her boss.

R: Okay, be there in a little. Thank you.

The ride was fairly quick. It didn't take longer than twenty minutes to arrive at the hotel. The building was huge. She stepped out of the car and walked up to the doors, entering the lobby. Her co-workers were sitting on the fancy sofas inside, talking about topics for the meeting.

"Rose!" It was her favorite co-worker calling her over. Serena was tall, black hair and brown eyes, and one of her only work friends. She walked over to Rose, her high heels clicking on the shiny floor. "Where were you last night?"

"Oh," Rose's mind ran back to last night, the best night she had had in a long while. "I will tell you later."

Out of all her co-workers, Serena was the only other woman besides herself. The rest were middle aged men who took their jobs way too seriously. Rose looked over at the guys who were laughing about something, then looked back to Serena.

"Wait a second," Serena whispered, smirking at her. "Did you have sex?"

"Shush," Rose waved away the topic, heading over to the others. She sat on one of the sofas, somewhat next to one of her other co-workers. He wasn't much into the conversation going on, so he looked over at her.

"Kline's making us do this stupid conference for what exactly?" He whispered jokingly, as to not be heard by the others.

"Honestly, I don't even know, Paul," Rose shrugged and pulled her phone out of her pocket. She was hoping to have seen a reply from Phoenix, but nothing. Just then a message popped up on her screen.

Serena: You. Had. Sex. I want details, girl. That shit is written all over your face and you're acting so chill today it's suspicious. Who was it and was he good?

Rose looked up from her phone and looked across at the other sofa where Serena sat, staring at her. Rose shook her head, setting her phone down in her lap.

"Everyone," Mr. Kline finally showed up, his stupid suit and tie look being a little over the top. All of the other guys had the same suit and tie, but Rose just didn't like her boss, so she made any excuse to not like him. "I spoke with our main office and they said we should be able to just use the hotel's conference room. It's big enough. Serena, you will be taking notes today. Our competitors are going to be sneaky and we need to catch everything, and since you're great with detail I figured you're best suited for the job. As for Paul, please make sure to keep track of any financial changes. The rest of the guys, assume your usual roles during this meeting."

Everyone nodded, except Rose. She knew he had some special thing for her to do. He always did. She was one of the newest members of the company and Kline would always give new members special treatment to get them to like him. Serena had warned her about him, though, so she was prepared for anything he could say.

"And Rose," he turned to where she was sitting and flashed her a smile. "Since this conference is going to be the most important one while we are here, stick by me and I'll show you the ropes and what I'll need you to do. All right everyone, let's head to the conference."

Ugh. Great. The less time I have to spend around him, the better... this was going to be hell. "Sounds good," she lied, putting on a fake smile. She stood up and followed the rest of them to the room. Serena walked up beside her.

"Careful," Serena's voice actually sounded concerned. "I went through some really weird shit with Kline. He's manipulative. I've got your back if you need me."

Rose got the impression that something pretty serious happened between them, so she nodded. "Okay..."

In the conference room there was a long rectangular table which was surrounded by black chairs. Everyone took a seat, Rose making sure she was close to Serena. Paul sat on the opposite side of Serena. Another group of people entered the room. This was their rival company's CEO and higher up's.

"Everyone, please welcome CEO of Omega Zeron, Mr. James Richter and his crew," Kline introduced and everyone shook hands.

Rose felt her phone buzz in her pocket, so she took it out under the table and glanced down while no one was looking.

P: Miss you tons already. Have fun at your thingy. xxxxx

She shoved her phone between her knees and held it there, not wanting to put it back into her pocket and make it obvious that she wasn't listening to the meeting. Serena was taking notes beside her and Kline was busy talking, so Rose was able to reply fairly quickly without being noticed.

R: You have no idea how boring this is. Pretty sure my boss is a creep. Should've seen the way he was looking at me. Eugh. Can't wait for this day to be over.

"Rose, can I have you join me?" Kline was looking right at her.

Rose shoved her phone in her pocket quickly as she stood up. She walked around the table to where a whiteboard stood with a diagram written on it, Kline getting right up beside her.

"Show Mr. Richter our recent changes in structure and finance, please," Kline had a weird tone in his voice. Rose didn't know exactly all the details, but began anyway.

"Um, okay, so," she felt flustered. She hated speaking in front of people. "As we have on the board, you can see last month our stocks went up ten percent, whereas yours dropped by five. We have made many changes which have benefited our company and its employees, providing a better workplace and in turn helping create better products."

Kline stepped forward and pointed to one thing on the board and said, "And if you were to sell Omega Zeron to us, you'd make out well. Your team would be hired on with us. Our company would be willing to change our name to Zeron Syntax, still giving the name recognition."

There was a long pause before the CEO of Omega Zeron stood up and walked over, examining the board carefully.

"I think..." he scanned the board one more time, then turned to Rose and Kline. "We may consider. Give us two weeks. We will continue with another meeting next week. For now, let's talk about finances."

Paul stood up from the table now and walked over, taking Rose's place. Rose quickly went to her chair, getting her phone out of her pocket and holding it in her hand under the table. It buzzed twice.

P: Sucky. Sounds like a creep to me.

P: Just be careful..

R: Oh I will, don't worry.

P: Off topic... dinner again tonight?

R: Sounds great. I'm up for anything. I'm sure I'll be hungry by the time I'm back.

P: Any idea when that'll be?

R: Actually, I don't know yet. The meeting is about halfway done. I need to catch up on some late work that I didn't finish the other day. Reports due and such.

P: Try for 8? That'll give you plenty of time to get stuff done.

R: Yeah, I should be able to make it by then. Hey, gotta go now. Talk later.

P: All right, then.. I love you.

Rose stared at her phone for a second, slowly typing back her reply. It felt good being able to write this again and actually mean it.

R: I love you, too.

The meeting lasted another hour, but when they finally finished it felt like it had been way longer than that. Rose stood up and Serena did as well, grabbing her arm and pulling her out of the conference room into the hall.

"Kline noticed you on your phone," Serena was frowning, gripping her arm tighter. "Watch it. You need to be careful. He didn't look happy at all."

"I'll be more careful," Rose really didn't understand how bad it could be. She didn't want to lose her job, but a few texts shouldn't cause a job loss.

"Let's go get lunch," Serena opened the conference room door and motioned for Paul to join them.

The three of them left the hotel and walked across the street to a local sandwich deli. They ordered food and sat down at a small table. Paul sat next to Serena and Rose sat across from them. She noticed how close they were sitting and wondered if they were secretly going out. There were no relationships allowed within the workplace, so it was understandable if they were. She didn't want to say anything, though.

"Damn, that was a good sandwich," Paul had finished his first and leaned back in his chair, stretching. "Definitely needed food after that boring conference. We didn't even need to have it. We've got Omega Zeron in our pockets already."

"They're going to sell, I could see it in the CEO's face when he went to the board," Serena said, finishing up her sandwich. "But hey, I'm not complaining. We get to be in Phoenix for an entire month. Let's get the most out of it."

Rose smiled, so glad she was in Arizona for an entire month. Her heart sank suddenly, now thinking of the fact that she had to leave in a month. You should've thought of that last night before making a commitment. She sighed and finished the last few bites of her sandwich.

On their way out of the deli, Paul turned to Rose and looked at her questioningly. "Hey, where were you last night? Didn't see you when we all went to check-in at the hotel."

"Oh," Rose smiled slightly, then shrugged. "I have a friend here in Phoenix. I stayed at his place last night."

"Oh, a he?" Paul grinned at her, nudging her shoulder. "A male friend. Well that obviously means something else."

"How?" Rose glanced over at him as they walked. "I'm friends with you and there's nothing going on there. Explain how I can't be friends with another guy."

This got him. He shrugged and laughed. "Oh, I don't know. I'm just messing with you."

"You staying at the hotel tonight then?" Serena asked, looking over at Rose. "I mean, we could use this time to make some plans of stuff we could do in the city over the next few weeks."

"Um, maybe," Rose didn't want to stay at the hotel, but part of her felt like she should, at least for one night. "I'll think about it."

"It's a five-star hotel, with full paid room service," Paul said as they crossed the street back toward the hotel. "Kline got rooms for everyone before we even got on the plane. Get the most out of it."

"I suppose..." Rose was going to have to cancel her plans for the evening with Phoenix. She didn't really want to, but she needed to spend at least one night with Serena just having girl talk.

Once back at the hotel the three of them went upstairs. Their rooms were side by side, Rose's being in the middle. Serena went to her door and went inside. Rose went to hers, looking around the room. It was just then that she remembered her suitcase was still at Phoenix's house. She picked up her phone and decided to just call him. It rang a few times before he answered.

"Hey," he sounded like he was in a crowded place. "What's up?"

"Hi, bad news," Rose groaned, sitting down on the large queen bed that she had all to herself. "I'm going to have to stay at the hotel tonight. A few things came up and I feel bad that I can't come stay at yours. I'll need to come back to your place and get my suitcase, or at least a few things from it for tonight and tomorrow morning."

"Oh," Phoenix sounded disappointed, but she could tell he didn't want to say anything to stop her. "Okay. Well I'm out right now, but I can meet you there in an hour, is that okay?"

"Okay," Rose picked at her fingernail and bit her lip. "Well... see you in a while."

"Yeah," he hung up the phone right after that.

Rose flopped back onto her bed and closed her eyes, sighing. There was a knock at her door just then and before she could answer it was opening.

"Hey," it was Serena. "I took your extra key card, hope you don't mind. Here's one for my room."

Rose sat up and took the card from Serina's hand. "Why do you need that and why do I need this?"

"In case you need anything, I'll be able to get to you," Serena grinned, sitting on the edge of the bed as well. "And vice versa."

After a few moments of silence, Serena nudged Rose's arm. "Sooo, are you going to tell me what happened last night?"

"A lot happened," Rose started to smile, staring at her hands.

"Details," Serena always loved knowing the details, especially when it came to anything to do with sex. "Please."

"Fine," Rose turned to face her and couldn't help but grin. "So my online ex from years ago and I stayed friends, which meant we kept in touch. When I found out we were coming to Arizona, I made sure that I'd see him. I texted him, he met me for dinner, I pretended I couldn't find a hotel room and ended up staying at his place. Turns out we both are still super attracted to each other. By midnight the sexual tension was just so much that we basically were all over each other. Yes, we had sex. It was fucking amazing."

"Giiirl," Serena was grinning from ear to ear. "That's so hot. Damn. I haven't had any in over a month. Need to find me a man."

"Aren't you and Paul...?" Rose thought for sure they were together.

"Well, I don't know," Serena's smile vanished and she looked down at her hands. "I mean, he's cute, but I don't know if I'm really his type."

"The way he looks at you tells me otherwise," Rose shrugged, patting Serena's knee. "You need to talk to him. If he hasn't asked you out yet, or even made a move, he will if you show him you're really interested."

"Maybe," Serena shrugged, getting up off the bed. "Well, I need to go get a few things done."

"Yeah, I need to get to Phoenix's house," Rose got up as well. "I left my suitcase. Didn't think I'd be staying here tonight."

"Get yourself a quickie with him," Serena reached the door and laughed. "Sounds like you're in for a good time again."

One Uber ride later and Rose had arrived back at Phoenix's apartment. His car wasn't in the driveway and his door was locked, so she had to wait on the front step. Couples were passing by, some walking their dogs, some with their kids. Rose wanted what they had. A family. Being only 26, though, she decided she was going to wait to go that far just yet. She was happy with how she was right now. Just then Phoenix pulled up and got out of the car. He looked over at her and smiled.

"Here to get your stuff?" he walked up to the step where she was sitting. "Sucky that you can't stay here tonight."

"Yeah," Rose stood up on the step, making herself just as tall as him. "I'll try to make it so that I can stay tomorrow, though."

"You can stay the entire time you're here," he offered, stepping up and unlocking the door. "I wouldn't mind it."

That reminded Rose that she was going to be leaving Arizona. She didn't want to, but she needed the job. "Hey, I wanted to ask you something," she said as they walked into the livingroom.

"Go ahead," Phoenix tossed his keys onto the table and turned to her, putting his hands on her waist. "What is it?"

"Since I'm only here for a month... what's going to happen when I have to leave?" Rose hated thinking about leaving. "Long distance is so hard, Phi... I'm just afraid we're going to lose what we have when I finally do go back."

"We won't," Phoenix leaned in and kissed her lips softly. "We'll make it work. I was thinking about that this morning after you left. Honestly, the only thing keeping me in Arizona is my job, and even then it's not the greatest. So, I was thinking... maybe I'll move to New York."

Rose grinned and bit her lip. "You'd leave everything here and come to a new place just for me? That's dedication."

"You'd do the same if your job wasn't so great," he was right, she would drop everything for him. "We can work it out. I may have to stay here for a few months more after you're back there, but I'll work as much as I can, save up, and move out of here. I'll drive to New York and we can start fresh there."

"You have no idea how happy that makes me!" Rose grinned and hugged him tightly, then felt him reach down and grab her ass. "And that, too."

Phoenix laughed and kissed her again. "You're just so damn sexy," he shrugged, smiling at her. "You'd better go get your things for tonight."

Rose nodded and went to the bedroom, gathering a few items of clothing out of her suitcase and putting them into a smaller bag that she could take with her. She bit her lip, thinking about what Serena had said. Rose was feeling a little excited at the moment, so she went to the bedroom door and peered out at Phoenix.

"Could you help me with something?" she beckoned him with her finger, giving him a look. He obviously understood exactly what she wanted, because he grinned and quickly made his way to the bedroom.

Rose wrapped her arms around his neck and jumped up, wrapping her legs around his waist. He put his hands under her ass and held her up, kissing her lips and neck. He kicked the bedroom door shut and carried her over to the bed, laying her on her back, continuing to kiss her. He unbuttoned her pants and pulled them off, then slid her top off. He brought his mouth down to her breasts and bit at her nipples through her bra. Rose quickly sat up and unbuttoned it, taking it and tossing it on the floor. He bit her nipples gently, then sucked until she was arching her back, pressing her body up against him. He stopped and looked at her, a smirk on his face.