Charmaine hovered by the phone all week hoping that Raymond would call her. She assumed that he would obtain her number through Steven or some other means. Each time the phone rang and it wasn’t him, she felt a little more disappointed.

The next week, her face would flush every time she recalled that night. She waited in agony for him to call and she even looked forward to seeing Steven at the Club with the chance that she might get some information about Raymond from him. Steven seemed to brush his name off whenever it was mentioned and Charmaine didn’t want to appear that obvious.

By the fourth week, she no longer wanted to see or think about Raymond. She hated herself for being obsessed and wildly attracted to a guy who she didn’t really know. He hadn’t made any effort to contact her or ask about her. Apparently, she was very forgettable and that made her angry and ashamed of herself. What did she expect? She threw herself at a stranger who probably had tons of women waiting for his beck and call. He probably thought of her as a one night stand. That was certainly the impression she had given by going to bed with him after knowing him for less than an hour. To him, she was probably an available body that was freely given to him.

At the end of the second month since meeting Raymond, Charmaine was scared and worried. She was pregnant. She went to a doctor and the doctor confirmed her suspicions. She couldn’t let her father know. He would be upset and disappointed for she did the exact thing that he tried to protect her from happening. She needed to find Raymond and tell him her circumstances. Then doubt entered her mind: What if he didn’t want to have anything to do with the baby? What if he tells her that he’s not going to take responsibility? And her worse fear: What if he doesn’t even remember who she is? She would never have the answers to her questions if she didn’t seek him out. With the decision made, she grabbed her bag and got into her car. She was downstairs his building within half an hour. Now that she was here, she thought maybe coming wasn’t such a good idea after all. In fact the more she mulled it over, the more unsure she was. Surely if he was interested in her in any way he would have contacted her by now. She couldn’t bare the humiliation of facing him and then being rejected. She pushed the gear to drive and was about to pull out of the parking spot when Raymond appeared right in front of her car.

Raymond walked to her side and saw her grave expression, “Are you looking for me?”

“I-I was just in the neighborhood and thought I stop by to say hello,” Charmaine stammered.

Raymond seemed to accept that answer and nodded. “Care to come up to my place for some coffee?”

Charmaine smiled uncertainly and said, “I don’t know. I have some errands to run.”

Raymond opened her door which was unlocked and reached in to gently pull her out. “My brother should be home soon and I want you to meet him,” he said softly.

“Sure,” Charmaine said because she didn’t have a choice now with him holding tightly to her elbow and guiding her into the building. When she entered the apartment, memories of that night came flooding back. She looked away from the couch where they had once lain together in each other’s arms.

Raymond noted her uneasiness and thought it would be best if they talked somewhere other than the living room. “I just picked up some pastries. It’s in the kitchen. Do you mind us talking in there while I eat?”

Charmaine smiled gratefully, “Ok.”

Raymond poured a cup of coffee and placed it in front of her. He stood with his back against the refrigerator while he watched her sip from it.

Charmaine looked down at her cup refusing to meet his eyes. When she had finished her cup of coffee and he still remained silently staring at her she blurted, “Aren’t you going to say anything to me?”

Raymond walked towards her and sat down on the chair next to her, “I’m waiting for you to start.”

Charmaine didn’t know what to say. She glanced away from his piercing eyes. “I-I…”

“You’re pregnant,” Raymond finished for her.

Charmaine looked at him with shock, “How did you know?”

Raymond couldn’t say that that must be the only reason why she would come looking for him after two months. Instead he said calmly, “I just guessed.”

Charmaine felt her eyes water as she cried, “What am I going to do now? I can’t tell my father. He’s going to have a heart attack if he finds out what I did.” Then an idea occurred to her and she grasped at it, “Do you think we could get married? I can tell my father that we’ve fallen madly in love with each other. After the baby is born we could get a divorce. I won’t ask anything from you. We can sign an agreement setting out the terms and conditions.”

Her words jabbed at his heart. He had been fantasizing about seeing her again for the past two months but this was not the scenario he pictured them in. Raymond stared at her, his face unreadable.

Charmaine mistook his silence as rejection and got up to leave. “I’m sorry for taking up your time. I better get going.”

Raymond stopped her with a hand on her arm. Isn’t this what he wanted all along? He had been thinking about her since that night. She was special to him, he had known that from their first encounter. Although marriage wasn’t what he planned but he can’t deny that he didn’t like the idea. The thought of them being husband and wife and together every day, tickled him with joy. He placed his hands on her shoulders and quietly said, “Let’s get married.”

Charmaine looked at him in awe, “Are you sure?”

Raymond smiled, “Yes but I have one condition.”

Charmaine saw his face light up with glee and she felt her pulse accelerate and whispered, “What is it?”

Raymond cradled her face with his hands as he stared deep into her eyes, “That is to make our marriage for real.” Charmaine opened in surprise at his suggestion and he said, “Look, we’re attracted to each other, do you deny that?” Charmaine shook her head and the answer pleased him. “Let’s work out the minor details later,” he murmured then bent and captured her lips in a fiery kiss and the magic began again as it did two months ago. Only this time, it held meaning and promises of a future together.