Arabella had gotten to work early that day. It was still dark when she got to her office, but she couldn't sleep. She had so much on her mind, it was like the world was resting on her shoulders. Arabella had snuck out of her apartment after getting about 3 hours of sleep and went down to her office. She needed to be around all of her things and her work computer and her files. As she worked in the silent office, Arabella thought back to Hunter at home briefly. She still loved him. She still had feelings for him. That wasn't about to change. But she was so busy and so stressed out, she just didn't know how to deal with work and starting a relationship with Hunter. Besides, her company was her entire life before Hunter came back. She couldn't just drop it all now.
The sun started to rise and Arabella was sitting by the window with her fourth cup of coffee in her hands. She thanked the gods for 24 hour coffee shops before turning back to her clothes. Arabella had made 2 dresses and started a man's suit. They were just three of the 6 custom orders she had to finish by the end of the day. Arabella had suits to make for Neil Patrick Harris and James Franco. She also had to make dresses for Angelina Jolie, Emma Watson, Halle Berry and Oprah. Arabella let out a huff, finished her coffee and got back to her suit for James. By 11:30 AM, Arabella had only 2 more dresses to finish up and she was exhausted. She had finished off a couple more cups of coffee but now she was crashing. The caffeine was wearing off.
"Ms. Foster, there is a Hunter hear to see you" The voice from her intercom said. Arabella took her forehead off of her desk and looked out the window for a second. She wanted to see him. She really did. But she was wondering why he had come to work to see her and why he didn't call her first. Arabella closed her eyes, feeling a twinge of guilt. He had done so much for her and she had put him through so much. They had a wonderful night together and then she got so busy, she didn't have time to do anything with him. "Ms. Foster?"
"Oh, yeah, sorry. Send him in" Arabella said, rubbing her temples. She looked up as Hunter walked into her office and she gave him a small smile "Hi, Hunter" she sighed in a tired voice. He had a bag in his arms and he looked pretty stressed out too. Arabella felt another twinge of guilt. She had totally forgotten about the call about his parents.
"Did you just make these dresses?" Hunter asked, nodding towards the dresses that were on dress forms. Arabella nodded softly and yawned "They look amazing, Ellie" he said in a slightly quiet voice then held out the bag for her "I made lunch for you" he told her. Arabella took the bag from him and looked inside. It was the pasta pesto. Arabella smiled then stood up and walked over to him, putting her arms around his neck and hugging him. She felt his body relax and his arms tighten around her.
"Thank you so much, Hunter" Arabella said softly. Hunter held her close in a warm hug. Being in his arms made the stress melt away. She could stay in his arms forever. Arabella pulled away slightly so she could look at his face. She placed her hands on his cheeks, caressing his soft skin with her thumbs "I'm sorry that I've been so distant" She whispered and Hunter shrugged like it wasn't a big deal but Arabella knew that she had hurt him. Arabella didn't know what their relationship status was and it confused her. They weren't official but she knew that she loved him. Friends with benefits? Casual? Open? No. All of those felt so dirty and easy. What they had was so much deeper than that. All she knew was that she wanted to kiss him. So Arabella let her hands fall to his chest and she pressed her lips against his gently. Arabella felt him respond to the kiss, leaning into her. She smiled against his lips, the butterflies waking up again. Kissing Hunter was something that amazed her every single time. All of the other guys that she had been with failed in comparison to this. Arabella slid her arms up his chest to wrap around his neck. Hunter's lips traveled to her jaw and Arabella smiled softly "You know, I always thought that making out in my office would be really hot" she whispered, giggling slightly. For the first time in the past couple of days, Arabella didn't care about the stress of work or all of the things that she had to do. She was just focused on Hunter.
"Oh, really?" Hunter whispered back and smiled against her skin. Arabella nodded and pulled away to look at him
"Really" Arabella told him with a smirk then turned with him so that his back was against her desk. She leaned into him, putting her hands on his sides and kissing him with a passion she had never felt with any other guy. Arabella kissed him, smiling against his lips. This was easy with Hunter. With Chad and even with Brian, she had to force herself to feel excited, turned on. But it was all so easy and natural with Hunter. Arabella's hands slid down and she hooked her thumbs in the belt loops on his jeans.
"Oh...oh my gods. Hunnie, you need to learn how to lock your door" Daniel's voice came from behind Arabella. She nearly jumped out of her skin and turned to look at Daniel. Hunter's cheeks were bright red and he was clearly trying to avoid Daniel's eye. Arabella looked at Daniel with flushed cheeks and she fixed her hair.
"What is is, Daniel?" Arabella asked him, a little annoyed. Everything was going so well for Hunter and her. Daniel walked in the room and put an armful of files on her desk with a thump.
"Andre Leon Talley just called. He wanted to remind you about Fashion's Night Out and said that having you there was of great importance. He was also asking about the new designs for the Spring 2012 collection. They're starting to get things together for their spring issue of Vogue and you know how much they like your stuff" Daniel told her with a smirk "Most of these papers are people looking for custom designs" he added.
"Oh gods..." Arabella muttered and walked away from Hunter, going to sit at her desk and looking through the papers "And you told Andre that I'll be there, right? And the pictures of the designs got faxed over to him? The photo shoot that we had done with Nigel Barker?"
"Yes, yes, all of that is done" Daniel said. Hunter looked at Arabella and backed away a little bit to give her some space.
"I'll see you at home, Ellie" Hunter said to her nervously. Arabella hardly waved at him, focusing on her work. The weight of the world was back on her shoulders and she was nearly having a panic attack. She didn't even see him slip out of her office and close the door behind him.