Winter in Cambridge

Chapter 7 - Oops

Tom was starstruck when he opened his office door, hoping beyond hope that he wasn't just imagining Winter standing there with an unreadable look on her face, his heart jolting him back to reality like a punch to the gut with the lurch of its hard beat.

She looked both nervous and confident, all rolled into one, as she stood at the entrance of his office door.

Her kelp green eyes were dark with a hidden purpose, but her hand fidgeted with the strap of her bag.

Winter had done nothing but think about what Sarah said on Friday night.

Was she prepared to be his dirty little secret?

It had taken every inch of courage that Winter could muster to do as Tom asked her and go to his office after class today. He hadn't realised how long she had stood outside his office door before she found the courage to knock. Even if it was just because she was curious, her trepidation and conscience still yelled at her to use caution, causing her nervous energy to build in her hands and fidget with the strap of her bag as an outlet for her anxiety.

She had questions.

Lots of them.

Winter wanted to know why he had placed the chocolate in her apron.

Did he know she worked at Francisco's, and was she the only one he did this with behind his wife's back?

Winter wanted to know if he was a serial cheater or if this was the first time he felt the draw of someone else?

Was she just going to be just another mistress to him?

It had been clear that there were a lot of problems in his relationship with Catherine, but he was still married to her.

Why was that?

Could they just be going through a rough patch, or was this something more severe and the start of a breakdown in their marriage?

The question that Winter really wanted to know was about her potential relationship with him.

Was she merely a distraction for Tom, an escape from reality and ultimately someone that could be picked up and dropped at any moment once he had gotten bored and sought another new plaything.

She assumed that Catherine and Tom had no children as there were no baby pictures on either of their Instagram accounts. Winter was sure that at least one would have put a picture of their creation, considering the other images, especially on Catherine's account. Catherine would want to show off what she had made to the world just as much as she showed off what material things she could afford.

But as soon as Tom opened that door and smiled at her, the questions melted into insignificance, catching in her throat as his eyes bore into hers, drawing her in like some silly little moth to a flame, unable to think clearly and just mindlessly heading towards the draw of the light, no matter the consequences of getting burnt.

A newfound confidence surged through her, and it was something that he'd given her with just the hungry look in his eyes as they had shamelessly raked over her before he stepped aside to let her in.

Tom had watched her take a seat at his desk as he pushed his back against the door and twisted the key in the lock. He swallowed down his excitement as he walked around to the other side of his desk, stopping himself from touching her by clenching his fists into tight balls. Only once he sat and looked directly at Winter as she reached into her bag did his hands relax as he placed them on the desk.

Tom watched with interest as Winter pulled that square little black wrapper from her bag and removed the chocolate. He had wanted to talk to her about her sending her manuscript to him but was utterly bewitched by what she did next.