26. The silence was comfortable

I could not give Walter the response he needed, instead, I redirected the conversation to the starlight above our heads. He sensed that I did not want to talk about it and he did not push, instead, he looked up and replied:

"You are right, the stars look beautifully different in this part of town, just like you. No one looks as beautiful as you in my eyes, whether in the city or the mountains, you shine the same in my eyes...", he said while wrapping his arm around my shoulder. Walter had a way of comforting a person, him saying that was exactly what I needed to lighten my mood...

We sat in silence with my head resting comfortably on his shoulder, after some time, he then he asked,

"Think we can go back now? or we can just go home if you are not feeling festive ...",

"No, let's go back! we came all this way for a reason and we are going to see this party through...", I sat up straight and put my game face on

"Okay...Alright! Game on!", he chuckled at my serious game face, then got up and reached out his hand to help me stand up, "They said dinner was ready and the are lots of options to choose from", he calmly said

"Really? What are we having?", I could feel my eyes sparkling at the mention of food. I reached out my hand to his

"They said is a buffet, they have buffalo wings, steak, burgers, mash, rice, stew...pizza...salads..sea food", he listed while putting my hand around his arm,

"Are you serious?", we slowly made our way toward the main patio while indulging in our playful conversation

"Yup....and there are also lots of dessert options to choose from, unfortunately, no ice cream, I know that is the only dessert you like", he said 

"How do you know that?", I was genuinely surprised at that fact

"The business trips we went on, I was watching you...", he answered with a smile 

"Ooh, Mr. Sekulu, were you stalking me?", I teased him

"Indeed! you were my prey and I was hunting...", he replied with a naughty smile while squinting his eyes, I was amused by his response. 

Before we knew it, we reached the long dinner table prepared for 14 people, covered with a white cloth and pink roses placed in the middle. Walter was right, there were food stations set up by the kitchen where the chef had been cooking. Walter and I chose the steak and roasted potatoes, we felt it went well with the dry red wine we had been chugging since we got there. Apart from the clinking sounds coming from the cutlery and plates at the table, I could hear small whispers and chattering, with the two women from earlier stealing glances at me from across the table. But I was not bothered, the moment I saw food, I grew a thick skin, their whispers and glances did not affect me, I was completely absorbed in the plate in front of me. That, however, did not stop Walter from leaning in to check if I was okay from time to time.

We chose to leave after dinner, I told Walter that I wanted to be alone, but he was not having any of that, especially after what he saw at the party, he still believed I was not okay. He spent the night at my place holding me until I fell asleep, it felt nice just to snuggle in his chest the whole night. I did not hear him leave, but I woke up in the morning to a note placed on his pillow;

"I have a family emergency, but pancakes are in the microwave and there is freshly brewed coffee, call me when you wake up :)"

I blushed and rolled on the bed a couple of times like an excited little child, Walter was really cute and I was really smitten with the man. I called him as the note instructed but the call did not go through, I tried again in the afternoon, but it still went to voicemail, his phone was off the whole day and he was not at work on Monday. I was starting to get worried until I found a cup of coffee on my desk on Tuesday from our cute regular coffee shop, and I knew it was him. I checked my phone to find a text he sent earlier.

"Thandie, I am sorry for being away, I was in the countryside and the signal is not very good. I got a call from my uncle saying my mother was hospitalized on Saturday due to a heart attack but requested to be discharged on Sunday. I was called home to convince her to go back to the hospital. Anyway, I will be staying in the countryside for the next couple of days looking after her, but I will come to the office 2 or 3 times a week.

P.S. I am really craving for you right now, I can't stop hearing your moans in my head. When all of this is done, we are going away for a weekend...I need to make you moan while I burry face between your legs"

Upon reading Walter's text, I felt a tingling sensation from the little body part in my pants, this man sure knew how to turn me on.

Two weeks went by, and Walter was still staying in the countryside. The frequency of texts and calls between us went down, but every time he was in the office we would meet up for coffee and sometimes have lunch at the coffee shop. However, his behavior was not the same, he was no longer flirty, he was always gloomy and the meetups felt forced, I figured he was worried about his mother. I was trying to be there for him because I knew he would do the same. As if that was not enough to deal with, rumors started flying around that Walter was seeing someone in the office, but I didn't pay much attention until Shirley brought it up during lunch,

"So, Thandie, have you heard? Apparently, Walter is seeing someone from the publishing division!"