Saturday arrived. Alex spent six hours in the office. She and Ben had dinner together that evening, Hastings again. At first there was tension between them, but then it dissipated. The subject of a romantic relationship never came up.
On Sunday, Ben prepared a brunch for Alex at home, and then he stayed in and watched the Yankees, while Alex, dutifully, put in more hours at the office. Ben used the afternoon to pack, since he was heading back to Washington that evening. His interviews had gone well, and he was convinced that he would be hired for an internship starting in June.
Ben was set to depart at 6:30 p.m. on yet another pleasant spring evening. Alex went down to the street with him. He carried a large valise slung over a strong right shoulder and looked for a taxi to take him to the Amtrak Station on 33rd Street.
As he stepped off the curb to hail a taxi, Alex was sorry to see him go. Part of her wanted to reach out to him and ask him not to go. She had an urge to do something to reverse the direction in which she had sent things.
Okay, she suddenly thought. I don’t want to let him go. He’s too good a man and there aren’t enough good men around. I saw him first and I want to keep him. She wondered whether she was rejecting romance simply because she was scared of being in love – and possibly losing love – again. A wonderful man had presented himself to her, hers for the asking, and she had driven him away.
Wake up! a voice inside screamed to her. She was sending him away to another woman who would presumably be smarter, wiser, and do everything in her physical and mental capacity to make him happy and keep him.
He found a cab. It pulled to the curb, and before she could say anything, he tossed his bag into the backseat. Alex stepped up to him. “Ben, listen, I – “
“It’s okay,” he said, interrupting. “Don’t worry. Really, it’s okay. We’re friends and I value that a lot.”
Before she could protest, he embraced her and kissed her. It was a sexy kiss, right on the lips, and it stunned her, although it shouldn’t have.
He stepped back and gave her an affectionate wave. Then he slid into the backseat of the cab and closed the door. Her final image was how handsome and strong he was. Then the taxi pulled away from the curb. She watched until it disappeared among the other vehicles moving down Seventh Avenue.