When You Are With Me

by E. L. Todd

  I walked up the steps and looked at the Victorian style house. The white trimming around the yellow paint made it look like a small paradise in the middle of the city. Rose bushes and flowers lined the outside of the house. I knocked on the door and hoped this house would be mine someday.

  An older woman answered the door, looking like she was in her late fifties. “How can I help you?” She wore thick glasses that hung on a chain around her neck.

  “Hello, my name is Clementine.” I shook her hand. “ I’m interested in buying your lovely home.”

  “Oh.” She nodded slowly. “Well, you can speak to our realtor and he’ll set you up with a tour.” She started to close the door.

  “Actually, I wanted to discuss something with you personally.”

  She stilled and looked at me.

  “I’m a single mom and I’m expecting my first child in six months. I live in a one-bedroom apartment now and it’s no place to raise a child. I’ve fallen in love with your house and I would really love to raise my baby here.”

  She listened to me, and her eyes glistened in a smile. “Well, congratulations.” She eyed my baby bump then looked back at me. “I will definitely keep you in mind when we review the offers.”

  “Well, I have an unusual offer,” I said quickly. “Actually, I can’t afford the asking price of the house…I can actually afford something much less.” I told her the number and realized how crazy I sounded. “I know it’s unusual for me to do this, but I was hoping you might have some empathy. I’m just trying to do the best for my child.” I gave her my best puppy eye look.

  She sighed. “I’m sorry, dear. I can’t let the house go for that price. You see, this is my goose egg, my retirement. I got grandkids going to college soon, and I’m retiring to a small place outside the city. And I intend to travel with the money I get. I’m sorry I can’t help you.”

  I was devastated and I wasn’t sure why. Could I really expect someone to undervalue their own home? “It’s okay,” I said. “I completely understand.”

  “You’re a sweet girl,” she said. “I do wish you all the luck in the world.”

  “Thank you. It was nice to meet you.” I turned around and walked down the steps. Sadness enveloped me and I felt hopeless. I couldn’t even find a home for us to live. What kind of parent was I? Could I do this?

  Chapter Nine

  Conrad

  Even when I was working, Lexie was a distraction. I thought about her in ways I shouldn’t, like taking her on my desk while she screamed my name. She was such a fireball in bed, and she was super cool even when we weren’t doing it like rabbits.

  She was the coolest chick ever.

  “Conrad.”

  My dad’s voice brought me back down to earth. I realized I was hard and I hoped I wouldn’t have to stand up. It would be difficult to hide in my slacks. “Huh?” I turned away from my computer and looked at him.

  “I’ve been saying your name for about a minute now.” His voice was clipped and irritated but he had an amused expression on his face. He stood in the doorway of my office, looking like a beast with his thick shoulders and wide chest. If I saw my dad in a dark alley I wouldn’t fuck with him.

  “Well, what’s the emergency?”

  He entered my office then unbuttoned his suit before he sat down. “Where’s your mind today?”

  As weird as it sounded, my dad had become my best friend. We teased each other when I was growing up but I never told him stuff like I did now. And when I was growing up, he annoyed me most of the time. But now everything was different. Maybe it’s because we spent so much time together, or maybe it was because he helped me get back on my feet after Beatrice broke my heart. Maybe it was because he almost died in that car accident. Whatever the reason was, my relationship was different and I could tell him anything. “Lexie.”

  “That girl you’re sleeping with?” He rested his ankle on the opposite knee.

  “Yeah. She’s awesome in bed. I can’t keep up with her.”

  “You really like her then?”

  “I wouldn’t say I like her,” I said immediately. “She’s just a really good fling.”

  “No feelings at all?” he asked incredulously.

  “Nope.”

  “You know, it wouldn’t be the end of the world if you actually liked her…”

  “It’s just not possible, Dad. Sorry.” I wanted to change the subject. “So, did you guys book the place?”

  “Yeah, we did.” He released a heavy sigh. “But they’re getting married in two months.”

  My eyes almost popped out of my head. “Two months? That’s insane.”

  “It was either that or two years.” Dad shrugged. “You know Trinity. She’s never been very patient.”

  “That’s just…so fast. They haven’t even been engaged that long.”

  “If anyone can pull it off, it’s your sister.”

  “Poor Slade,” I said with a laugh. “He lives with her so he won’t be able to get away.”

  “Yeah, poor bastard.”

  “And you’re financing this party?”

  “Yep.”

  “Well, I won’t be getting married so you don’t need to worry about paying for two weddings.”

  My dad finally stopped arguing with me about it. “Whatever you say, kid.”

  “So, what did you want to talk about?” I asked. “Why are you in here?”

  “I have a meeting in half an hour. I want you to run it.”

  “Me?” I asked incredulously.

  “Yes, you.” He looked me in the eye. “You can handle it, Conrad.”

  “I’ve never done it before…”

  “I know. I’ll be there if you need help.” He relaxed in the chair and didn’t seem stressed at all.

  “But the meeting is with our investors,” I said. “If I mess up or act like I don’t know what I’m doing, they could pull their funds.”

  “You won’t mess up,” he said firmly. “And you know what you’re doing.”

  “I don’t know…” I was starting to panic.

  “Conrad,” he said firmly. “I wouldn’t push you to do this if I didn’t think you couldn’t handle it.”

  “But you’re my dad,” I argued. “Of course you’re going to be blind to my faults.”

  “I’m not blind,” he said. “If I thought you couldn’t handle it, I would tell you. When have I ever refrained from telling you to pull your head out of your ass?”

  “Never,” I admitted.

  “I know you can do this. After you do it once, your confidence will grow. Then you can run more meetings and I’ll be able to retire.”

  The idea of him not working here anymore scared me. Skye and I would be on our own. Would we really be able to handle that?

  “Baby steps,” he said, reading my mind.

  “How about I get the next one?” I asked.

  “No.” Now he became angry. “You will do this. You have thirty minutes to prepare.”

  Fuck.

  “I’ll give you some privacy.” He left my office and shut the door behind him.

  Could I handle this?

  ***

  Dad, Sean, Skye, and I walked into the meeting. I pretended I wasn’t nervous and about to have a heart attack. A long table featuring twenty of our highest investors lined the room. They all stared at me passively.

  Dad gave me an encouraging look before he addressed everyone. “Mr. Preston will be running this meeting today.” Then he sat down along with Sean and Skye.

  Did everyone know how nervous I was? Did they know I was fucking terrified of screwing this up? I felt like they could see right through me. “Good afternoon, I’m Conrad. And I’m here to talk to you about our new prototype.” I had the clicker in my hand and I began the presentation.

  Dad gave me an encouraging nod.

  Sean glanced at the investors to see their reaction to me.

  I thought about Lexie. The sooner I finished this and got out of there, the sooner I could be wit
h her and forget my troubles. “Let’s begin.”

  ***

  Only when I was in my office with the door closed did I breathe properly. “Fuck, I’m glad that’s over.”

  Dad gave me a genuine smile then gripped my shoulder. “You did great, son. Truly.”

  “You did,” Sean said. “And the fact it was your first time is really impressive.”

  Skye hugged me. “You were awesome.”

  “Yeah?” I loosened my tie because I was so warm.

  “Yeah,” she said. “You’re going to be a great partner for this company.”

  No one ever told me I was good at something before. It was a nice change. “Well, I learned from the best.” I nudged my dad in the side.

  “Did my son just give me a compliment?” he asked with a smirk.

  “Don’t get used to it.”

  He put his arm around my shoulders. “Proud of you, son.”

  That meant the world to me even though I didn’t say it. “Thanks, Dad.”

  ***

  I texted Lexie. Let’s get lunch.

  Why?

  Why not? I’m hungry and you must be too.

  Okay…when did we become friends?

  Since I came all over your tits in the bathroom. Now have lunch with me. I’m going to that deli.

  You’re weird.

  You’re weird. I put my phone in my pocket then headed to the deli. After I ordered my food and sat down, she entered through the front doors. I waved her over.

  She approached the table then put her purse down. “So, what’s up?”

  “Sandwiches.” I took a big bite. “Aren’t you going to get something?”

  “I don’t feel like going to the gym so I think I’ll get a salad today.”

  I rolled my eyes. “Boring.”

  She ordered at the counter then sat across from me with her tiny, pathetic salad. “Why did you want to have lunch with me?”

  “Because we’re friends?” Why was she so weird? “Why can’t we hang out?”

  She gave me a serious look. “I don’t date, Conrad.”

  “I’m not trying to date you,” I said with a cringe. “Believe me. But you’re cool and I want to be your friend.”

  “You want to be my friend?” she asked incredulously.

  “Why is that so hard to believe?” I asked. “Do you not have other friends?”

  “Of course I have other friends,” she snapped. “Do you have girl friends?”

  “Yeah, I have a ton of them.” I kept eating my sandwich.

  “And you don’t sleep with them?”

  “No.” I shook my head because just the thought grossed me out.

  She seemed uncomfortable, like she wasn’t sure if she could trust me or not.

  “What’s going through that pretty little head of yours?” I asked.

  “I just…don’t want you to think I’m going to change my mind.” She continued to study my face. “Because I never will, Conrad. If you think I’m going to fall in love with you and realize I can’t live without you, you’re going to be disappointed.”

  I rolled my eyes. “Lexie, you’re pretty and cool, but I’m never going to fall for you. How many times do I have to say that? Can we be friends that fool around? That sounds perfect to me. We can get all the good things that come from a relationship without actually having a relationship. That’s what I want and I already told you that.”

  She seemed to relax. “And you promise you won’t fall in love with me?”

  I couldn’t believe I was making this promise again. I laughed because it was absurd. “Consider it done.”

  Lexie finally relaxed. “Then I would like to be your friend. This isn’t exclusive, right?”

  “No,” I blurted. “Friends can’t be exclusive.”

  She finally started to eat her salad. “So, how’s your day?”

  “It started out shitty but it ended on a high note.”

  “Tell me about it.” She poured a little dressing over the lettuce then took a few bites.

  “I ran my first meeting with our investors and I actually did a good job. I was terrified but it went well. I couldn’t believe it.”

  “Why would you doubt it would go well?” she asked.

  “Well, I’ve never done it before. And I didn’t want to disappoint my father and uncle. I’m taking over the company and it would be embarrassing if I made all the investors doubt the company because of me. If I really screwed it up, they could have cashed out their stocks.”

  She nodded. “That is scary. But I doubt your dad would have asked you to do it if he didn’t think you could handle it.”

  “Yeah, I guess.”

  “So, how do you feel now?”

  “Awesome,” I blurted. “You should give me good head for what I did.”

  She cocked an eyebrow. “Why should I reward you? I didn’t get anything out of your meeting.”

  “But I’m your friend,” I said with a wicked grin. “You should make your friend feel good.”

  She rolled her eyes. “This is a two-way street.”

  “And I’ll eat out your pussy just the way you like.”

  The line of people waiting to order was near our table, and they glanced at us with disapproving eyes when they heard what I said.

  Lexie cast me a look that said, “Shut your mouth.”

  I rolled my eyes in response. “How’s your day?”

  “I have a married couple that should get divorced immediately.”

  “Did you tell them that?” I asked incredulously.

  “No, of course not. My job is to help them rectify their marriage. But honestly, it’s a lost cause.”

  “Well, don’t you think it would do them more good than harm if you just told them to call it quits?” I asked.

  She shrugged. “If they both agreed to the marriage counseling then that means they’re both willing to make the effort to keep it together. If it’s something they want, I need to help them and encourage them as much as possible, even if I think it’s a lost cause.”

  “And do you think you’re helping them?”

  “I guess,” she said. “But they need to have more sex and it’s clear they aren’t doing it.”

  “How do you know they aren’t?” I asked.

  “Well, the woman is…” She struggled to find the right words. “Morbidly obese.”

  “Oh…” I didn’t know what to say to that.

  “And the guy is very thin. He’s in shape and he does a lot of running.”

  “And they aren’t having sex because…?”

  She took a few more bites of her salad. “I don’t want to get into it, but basically, it’s extremely uncomfortable for both of them to have intercourse.”

  I couldn’t even imagine that. “I see.”

  “The best solution is for her to lose weight. But…that’s been a difficult process. When you’re that overweight, it’s difficult to lose weight because all the bones in the body are under a lot of stress. So, when she tries to run her knees are under a lot of pressure. A simple solution would be to cut her calorie intake, but since she’s so big she needs those calories otherwise she could go into shock. It’s a very complicated situation.”

  I’d never known anyone in that type of situation. “Why did they get married to begin with if they’re so different? If he’s really in shape, wouldn’t be want to be with someone who’s also in shape?”

  “He does,” she said. “And she used to be extremely fit.”

  “What happened?” I blurted. “How does someone gain that much weight?”

  “Her sister passed away,” she explained. “She took it really hard because they were close. She coped by eating.”

  “Oh…” I’d never experienced that kind of grief before. The closest I came to it was when I almost lost my dad. Fortunately, everything worked out. “I’m sorry.”

  She turned to me with an expression I’ve never seen before. “Why are you sorry?”

  “I just…feel bad for her. That
must be really hard. When she’s discouraged she probably just eats more.”

  She nodded. “Exactly.”

  “That must be hard for you, to try to help people who can’t be helped.”

  “I wouldn’t necessarily say that,” she said. “But I think if they got divorced she would be more inclined to work out. When you lose someone, you’re more inclined to get fit to attract a new partner. It’s just how humans work.”

  I never experienced that. When Beatrice broke my heart, I was never inclined to work out more. Actually, I lay around and did nothing. But I was already in tip-top shape anyway. “Well, I hope it works out for everybody involved.”

  “We’ll see,” she said vaguely.

  “What gym do you go to?” I asked, changing the subject.

  “24 Hour Fitness on eighth.”

  “I go to Crunch Fitness.”

  “Cool.” I could tell she said that because she didn’t know what to say.

  “Do you work out with anyone?”

  “No, I do my own thing.”

  “Let me know if you want to work out together,” I offered.

  “Why?”

  I shrugged. “A buddy system is good for the gym.”

  “You just want to see my ass in spandex.” She gave me a playful look.

  “Why would I when I can see your ass in a thong whenever I want.”

  “Not whenever you want,” she corrected.

  I leaned over the table and lowered my voice. “I could see it right here, right now, if I wanted to.”

  “Oh yeah?” she challenged.

  “Yeah.” My hand moved under the table to her thigh. She was wearing a dress so I slowly snaked under the fabric then reached the apex of her thighs. Her legs were crossed but I still managed to move my forefinger to her clitoris and rub it gently.

  Lexie resisted the pleasure I was giving her but soon her face flushed and her breathing increased. She glanced around the room at the people nearby then looked at me again. “Conrad, stop.”

  I kept touching her. “I don’t think you mean that.”

  She squeezed her thighs together. “How long is your lunch break?”

  I smiled in victory. “Long enough.”

  ***