Too Far 01- Fallen Too Far

quickly and started taking the quesadillas off the skillet. He put them on a platter full of hard and soft tacos. There were even burritos. He’d made some of everything.
    “Everything else is on the table already. Grab me a Corona out of the fridge and follow me.”
    I quickly did as I was told and hurried after Rush. He didn’t stop in the dining room. Instead, he stepped outside onto the large back porch overlooking the ocean. Two hurricane lamps stood in the middle of the table so that we could have candlelight without it blowing out.
    “Sit. I’ll fix your plate,” he said, motioning for me to take a seat at the first seat we came to. There were only two out here.
    I sat down and Rush began to dish one of everything onto my plate. Then he put the tray of food down and placed the napkin from beside my plate on my lap. His mouth was so close to my ear that his warm breath made me shiver.
    “Can I get you another drink?” he whispered in my ear before standing back up.
    I shook my head. I wouldn’t be able to drink if he was going to do things like that. My heart was racing like crazy already. I couldn’t swallow a thing like this.
    Rush picked up his drink and took the seat across from me. I watched as he fixed his plate then his eyes lifted to mine. “If you hate it, don’t tell me. My ego can’t handle it.”
    I was sure nothing he made would taste bad. I grinned and picked up my fork and knife to cut off a small piece of the enchilada he’d placed on my plate. There was no way I could eat all this but I could taste some of everything.
    The minute it touched my tongue it surprised me. It was as good as any I’d eaten at a Mexican restaurant. Smiling, I looked at him. “It’s delicious and I can’t say I’m surprised.”
    Rush put a forkful in his mouth and smirked. His ego could never be crushed. It might even need to be brought down a few pegs. I started to taste the other things and found myself hungrier than I’d first thought. Everything was so good I didn’t want to waste anything.
    After my fourth taste of everything on the plate, I knew I had to stop. I sipped my Corona and settled back in my seat. Rush was washing down his food as well. Once he finished he set the bottle down and his eyes went serious. Uh-oh. We were about to talk about last night. I had wanted to forget last night. Especially since tonight had been so nice.
    “I’m sorry about how Nan treated you today,” he said with a pained sincere voice.
    “How did you know about that?” I asked suddenly feeling uncomfortable.
    “Woods called me. He was warning me that Nan would be asked to leave the next time she was rude to an employee.
Woods was a nice guy. He could be a little too much at times but he was a good boss. I nodded.
    “She shouldn’t have spoken to you that way. I’ve had a talk with her. She promised me it wouldn’t happen again. But if it does, somewhere else, then please come tell me.”
    This had been an apology meal for his younger sisters bad behavior, not a mending of fences between us. I wasn’t on a romantic date like my imagination had managed to concoct in my head. This was just Rush apologizing for Nan.
    I pushed my chair back and picked up my plate. “Thank you. I appreciate the gesture. It was very nice of you. I assure you that I don’t intend to tattle to Woods if Nan is rude to me in the future. He just happened to witness it first-hand today.” I picked up my drink. “Dinner was lovely. Nice to have after a long day at work. Thank you so much.” I didn’t make eye contact with him. I just wanted to get away from him.
    Hurrying inside, I rinsed off my plate and placed it in the dishwasher before rinsing out my bottle and putting it in the recycle container.
    “Blaire,” Rush said from behind me and his body was suddenly right there caging me in. His hands were on each side of the counter and all I could do was stand there and look down at the sink in front of me. His hard warm body brushed against my back and I bit my tongue to keep from making a whimper. I would not let him see how he affected me.
    “This wasn’t an attempt to apologize for Nan. It was an attempt to apologize for me. I’m sorry about last night. I lay in bed all night wishing you were there with me. Wishing I hadn’t pushed you away. I push people away Blaire. It’s a protective mechanism for me. But I don’t want to push you away.”
    Walking away from him and keeping him at a distance was the smart