Chapter 300 - Friends Can Sleep Together

Ever since Trisha joined the Hong Kong/Macau branch of Interpol, she had been living on her own in Hong Kong. Her mother passed away from cancer when she was young and her father passed away roughly 10 years ago during a terrorist attack on the Hong Kong consulate in London where he worked. So, when she returned to Hong Kong, she was all on her own. She still had relatives in Hong Kong but she wasn't familiar with them and she didn't want to rely on them either. Fortunately, she had the inheritance and insurance payout from her father's death and it was enough for her to purchase an apartment where she could settle down.

Her father was a huge influence on her life. He was the one that inspired her to pursue law enforcement, and his death pushed her to join Interpol. So, her career was very important to her. It wasn't something she could just give up on. If she got herself involved with Oliver again, his mother would not be pleased.

As she stared at the shameless man opposite her, she frowned, "Get out! You're not staying here!"

Oliver remained seated on the sofa and refused to move as a slight smile appeared on his lips. He tried so hard to trick her into letting him into her apartment, he wasn't leaving so easily.

"Come on, we're friends. I came to see you as soon as I landed. I haven't even found a place to stay yet. Plus, I'm injured because of you. I can't go anywhere like this. Just let me stay for one night," Oliver frowned.

"I'm not stupid," Trisha replied. "Where's your luggage? You must have dropped it off somewhere. I only have one bed. There's nowhere for you to sleep!"

Oliver's smile turned slightly evil when he heard this response. "I can sleep with you," he said straightforwardly. "It's not like we haven't slept together before."

Trisha frowned and kneeled down beside the man's foot. She then pressed the ice pack in her hand hard against his ankle. "Ouch," Oliver yelped. "Gently, it hurts."

"I thought I made it clear that we are just friends," Trisha said as she held the ice pack against Oliver's foot.

At that moment, Oliver shuffled forward a little and leaned towards Trisha. "Friends can still sleep together," he said suggestively.

Trisha cleared her throat and blushed a little. What was this man saying? Were they interpreting the activity of 'sleeping together' differently?

Memories of the night they spent in London suddenly came to her mind. That was the first and only time they slept together but she could remember it clearly in her mind as though it just happened yesterday. She still remembered the way he kissed her, the way he nibbled on her ear lobe and teased her neck, the way he ran his hands across her thighs, and the way he left her begging for more. It was the most passionate night she had ever experienced.

That night was the first thing that came to mind when she thought of sleeping together. How could friends do that?

Trisha moved back a little as she felt her body heat up. She wanted to remove the ice pack from Oliver's foot and use it on herself instead to cool herself down, but of course, she couldn't do that. So, she tried her best to maintain her composure as she grabbed some bandages and started wrapping Oliver's foot.

"Stop messing around. Where are you staying? You're here on vacation, you must have booked a hotel before you arrived," she said with seriousness.

Oliver chuckled and suddenly grabbed onto Trisha's chin. Lifting her head so she could look into his eyes, he said in an equally serious tone, "I'm not here on vacation. I've accepted a job here in Hong Kong and I'm moving here."

Trisha looked at Oliver with confusion, "You're moving to Hong Kong? What about your mother?"

Oliver laughed at the thought of his stubborn mother. The last month had been tough. When Trisha left, she thought she had removed the strain between the mother and son and they would return to normal, but she was wrong. All she did was make him more certain about what he really wanted.

He remembered calling his father for advice after Trisha left and the words he had said to him, "Your mother will never change unless you force her to realize that her way of living isn't the only way to live. She's lived her entire life in the same place with the same people and has never found a reason to change. If you don't fight for what you want and just give up, you will be trapped in her bubble forever. I've lived with her and I understand how she is like. When we had our divorce and I left, I failed to change her. But, you are different - you are her son. She would do anything for you. Trust me, if you stick to your decision, she will learn to accept it. Stop compromising for her and she will start compromising instead. You're not put on this earth to live the life that she wants. She may not support you, but I will always back you up! Trisha sounds like a great woman, don't let her get away!"

After talking to his father, he received the extra push that he really needed and spent the next month packing up the life he had created in London and planning out his life in Hong Kong.

The first thing he did was contact an old friend in Hong Kong who worked in journalism and that friend quickly helped him land a job with one of Hong Kong's leading expat newspapers. Even though Hong Kong was handed back to China in 1997, it was still a huge finance hub with a large expat community, so there was still a demand for English sources of information. When they saw Oliver's resume, they hired him on the spot. After all, who wouldn't want an award-winning journalist from the London Times?

In the end, his father was right about his mother. As soon as he told her his decision to move to Hong Kong, she was completely against it, but when he ignored her unreasonable response, she realized she had no control over the situation and began to compromise. After all, she didn't want to lose her son completely. So, on the day that he left, she called out behind him as he walked out the door, "Fine, you can go if you really want to, but make sure you Skype me every single day and visit often!"

Oliver smiled as he thought back on the month he had been through. He won his battle with his mother in the end. Now, it was time to win back the love of his life.