Just Once: An Older Man Younger Woman Romance

by Kate Hunt

  It doesn’t take long before we’ve shucked off our clothes and are making love up against the wall. And then on my couch. And then in the shower. After our little sex fest is over, we order delivery and pop open the bottle of wine.

  It feels like such a magical weekend, getting to spend all that uninterrupted time with Dante. And not just because of the sex. It’s just so nice being with him. Talking. Joking around. Getting to know each other.

  Honestly, it feels like we’re meant to be.

  I can’t help but feel increasingly guilty about hiding this from my parents, though. And before Dante goes home, I know I need to bring it up with him.

  “You really want to tell them?” he says, looking doubtful.

  “I mean, I’m scared as hell to,” I say. “But I hate hiding something like this from them. They deserve to know.”

  Dante nods. “No, you’re right. And to be honest, it’s been pretty tough working with your dad and knowing that I’m hiding this from him. I feel like I’m betraying him.”

  “How mad do you think he’ll be when we tell him?”

  Dante lets out a huge sigh. “Fuck. I don’t even know.”

  “So…when should we talk to them? Maybe next weekend?”

  “You would drive up, I’m assuming? We’d tell them in person?”

  “Yeah. I think that would be best.”

  “Okay,” says Dante. He gives me a kiss. “Here’s hoping it doesn’t end in disaster.”

  One week later, Dante and I are standing on my parents’ doormat together, and my hands are shaking so much that I make Dante ring the doorbell. I’m so scared to go through with this, but I know we need to.

  Especially since I think I’m starting to fall in love.

  My parents’ front door opens and my mom’s eyes go wide when she sees me standing there.

  “Angel!” she says. “I didn’t know you were coming up this weekend.”

  Then, confused, she looks up at Dante. “Dante? What are you doing here? Is something wrong?”

  “Can we come in, Mom?” I ask.

  “Of course, honey.” She steps back and lets the two of us into the house.

  “Is Dad around?” I ask.

  My mom still looks extremely confused, and I don’t blame her. She nods, then turns her head and calls up to my dad. “Ron? Can you come down here, please?”

  My dad looks just as confused when he comes down the stairs and finds Dante and I standing there together.

  “Angel? Dante? What are you two doing here?”

  “We need to talk to you. Can we all sit down?”

  My parents look at each other, then head into the living room. Dante reaches over and gives my hand a quick squeeze as we follow them in. In the living room, we all take seats, and then awkward silence pools out between us.

  “Angel?” says my mom. “Honey, what’s going on?”

  “I…” I look at my mom, then my dad, and then at Dante. I shake my head. I can’t get the words out. I’m too scared.

  “Angel and I are together,” Dante says. “We have been for a few weeks now.”

  My mom’s eyes go even wider. My dad shifts in his chair.

  “What do you mean, you’re together?” he asks, frowning.

  “We’re dating,” I manage to say.

  “I don’t understand,” says my mom. “Angel? Is this some kind of joke?”

  I shake my head. “I know you two are probably in shock right now. I know it probably seems strange. But Dante and I…” I look over at him. “We just have a connection. I can’t explain it. It’s like we’re meant to be.”

  Dante gives me a warm smile. But then he looks cautiously over at my parents. “How do you two feel about this?”

  “I’m not sure. I’m still in shock,” says my mom. She looks over at my dad. “Ron?”

  My dad is just sitting there. Simmering. I’ve never seen him look so pissed.

  “Dad?” I say.

  “This ends today,” he spits out.

  Then he stands up and walks out of the room.

  Chapter Six

  Dante

  My heart sinks when Ron reacts the way he does. But I guess I don’t completely blame him. If I was in his position, I’d probably react the exact same way.

  I stand up to go after him, but Angel’s mom stops me.

  “Leave him be, Dante,” she urges.

  I figure she knows best, so I don’t go any further. I glance at Angel, then say, “Maybe I should go.”

  “I’ll walk you out,” Angel says, quickly getting up and pulling me by the hand toward the door. When we reach it, she wraps her arms around me and sighs into my chest.

  “It’ll be okay,” I assure her. “We’ll figure this out.”

  She gazes up at me. “Do you still want to be with me?”

  “Of course,” I tell her.

  “Even if my parents stay pissed like that?”

  “Yes. Even if your parents stay pissed like that.”

  “Okay. Good. Because I still want to be with you, too.”

  “I don’t know if I’ll be able to keep working with your dad, though.”

  “I know. I’m sorry.”

  “Don’t be sorry,” I say. “It’s just a job.”

  I give her a quick kiss, tell her to call me if she needs me to come back, and then I head out. I feel pretty awful as I head home, and I continue to feel awful for the rest of the day.

  Finally, Angel texts me.

  My dad’s still really upset, but I think he’s accepted the fact that I’m not going to break it off with you. Ditto for Mom.

  Okay, I text back. Keep me posted. I’m proud of you for talking to them.

  Thank you. I love you.

  I stare at her text. Angel loves me? Even in the form of a text, the words immediately make me emotional.

  Suddenly, my phone rings. It’s her. I pick up.

  “I love you, too,” I say.

  Angel starts laughing and crying. “Oh, Dante. I can’t believe I told you I love you for the first time over text. Can I have a do over? Can I say it now for the first time instead? I love you, Dante. I’m so in love with you.”

  “I’m in love with you, too, baby. So much.”

  “I wish I could be with you right now.”

  “Me too,” I say. “But we’ll have other nights together. So many other nights.” I pause. “Actually…what would you say if I moved down to be closer to you? After all, I have a feeling that I’m going to need a new job…”

  Angel sniffles. “I would love that. But let’s talk about it more later.”

  “Deal,” I say.

  The following morning, when I walk into Ron’s office, I fully expect to walk out of there without a job. But to my surprise, Ron is much, much calmer than he was the night before.

  “Take a seat,” he tells me. “And close the door.”

  I do both. After I sit down, I look him straight in the eye and wait to hear what he has to say.

  “I’m not happy that you’re dating my daughter,” Ron says. “If it was up to me, you wouldn’t even look at her. But Angel and I had a long talk last night, and she managed to convince me that it’s the real deal between you two.”

  “It is, Ron. I assure you.”

  He gives me a reluctant nod. “Well, I feel a little bit more comfortable knowing that. Look. We’re all adults. And I know I can’t force you two apart. I can’t see myself ever being happy about this situation, but I’ll learn to live with it. I only ask that you keep my feelings and Angel’s mother’s feelings in mind.”

  “I can do that,” I say. “Thank you for being so understanding, Ron.”

  Ron sighs. “Okay. Let’s get back to work.”

  I nod in agreement.

  I’m a little bit disappointed that my plan to move closer to Angel doesn’t work out after all. But I know it’s better that I stay here and work on smoothing things out with her dad. After all, if this relationship goes the way I hope it will, Ron is going to end up
being more than just a business partner to me. He’ll end up being family.

  Thankfully, as the days and weeks go on, Ron’s coolness starts to wear off. Things more or less go back to normal between us. Meanwhile, my relationship with Angel continues to progress. I fall more in love with her every time I see her—as well as every time I make love to her.

  It’s a slightly drizzly Tuesday morning when I walk into Ron’s office and ask him if I can talk to him about something important.

  “Is it about the new client?” he asks, not looking up from his computer.

  “It’s about Angel,” I say, closing the door.

  Ron pulls his eyes away from his computer screen, then motions for me to take a seat.

  “What about her?” he asks, his face turning serious.

  I carefully take a seat.

  “I want to ask for your blessing, Ron,” I say. “I want to propose to Angel.”

  He doesn’t say anything for several seconds. Then he swallows and nods. “I know I didn’t take the news very well when you two first told me that you were seeing each other. And I held onto those bitter feelings for a while. But…well, what the hell. Dante, you’ve proven to me how much you care about her. And getting to work with you has shown me your character, too. If you really love her, and she really loves you…well, of course you two should be together. You have my blessing.”

  I stand up and walk around his desk. He looks up at me in surprise, but I do it anyway—I give the guy a hug.

  “Thanks, Ron,” I say. “It means the world to me. And I know it will mean the world to her.”

  “Good luck, son,” he says, and gives my shoulder a squeeze.

  Chapter Seven

  Angel

  2 Years Later

  “Oh, shoot!” I say. “Dante? Can you pick that up for me?”

  Dante laughs and bends down to grab the headband that just slipped off of our baby’s head. It’s part of Lila’s ladybug costume, and the darn thing keeps falling off.

  The last two years have been incredible. When Dante proposed, I said yes, of course. Part of me wanted to get married right away. But I still had school to finish, so I stayed focused on that and didn’t let myself get distracted with wedding planning until I graduated, moved up north to be with Dante, and got a job. As soon as I got those things settled, though, I went a little crazy with the wedding planning, and we got married a few months later. And a few months after that, we started trying for a family. Lila was born nine months later.

  “You know, I think she still looks like a ladybug even without the headband,” he says.

  “You think so?” I look down at Lila, who’s sleeping in my arms. “No. I think she looks like a watermelon without it. Come on. Let me put the headband on her again.”

  He hands over the headband and I fit it onto Lila’s tiny head. She squirms a little in her sleep but doesn’t wake up.

  “Okay,” I say. “I have a good feeling that it’s going to stay on this time. Should we head out?”

  “I still can’t believe we’re going trick-or-treating with a baby,” Dante says. “Also…I can’t believe I agreed to wear this costume.”

  I grin at him. Dante and I are both dressed up as big flower pots. With Lila the ladybug with us, it’s pretty sweet.

  “I promise I’ll make it worth your while later,” I say.

  “I’m going to hold you to that, Angel,” he murmurs.

  “I can’t wait,” I say, flashing him a coquettish look.

  He laughs and gives me a kiss on the cheek. And then the three of us head out of the house and start our trick-or-treating adventure.

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  Sneak Peek: Take Me

  In some ways, I’m a typical college student. I pull all-nighters. I’m broke. I’ve eaten more than my fair share of ramen noodles. But in other ways, I’m the furthest thing from a cliché. I don’t party. I don’t have random sex. (In fact, I’ve never had sex at all.) And, believe it or not, I actually love going to class. This most recent semester—spring semester of my junior year—I got to take some some amazing classes, like “Forbidden Romance in Literature” and “Heroes and Villains.” Maybe it’s super nerdy of me to admit, but I’m actually sad that the semester is over.

  If it were up to me, I would take classes this summer. But it’s not up to me. For better or worse, my older brother, Jake, is in charge of the money that funds my education, and he has insisted that I spend the next couple months doing two things: having fun and working a summer job to “get some real-world experience” and “build my character.”

  Ugh. Older brothers, right? They’re so annoying.

  Even more annoyingly, Jake has set up a summer job for me, which I’m on my way to right now. I guess I should just be glad that he’s not making me be an intern or something at the police station where he works. Still, I’m not exactly excited about the job he did set me up with.

  I’m going to be working in an ice cream shop that Jake’s friend owns. Apparently, it’s in this boutiquey part of town and is super popular. When I looked up the website, there was one never-ending page dedicated to photos of the ice cream that people have posted on social media. Honestly, I got pretty overwhelmed looking at it. I couldn’t stop thinking about how I was going to have to learn to produce those perfectly photogenic ice cream scoops. And I also couldn’t stop thinking about all the rich, skinny girls who I was going to have to serve. They’re all going to be on one side of the counter, taking selfies with their ice cream—so tall that their heads will practically hit the ceiling—and I’ll be stuck on the other side of the counter, barely able to see over it, my thick thighs rubbing as I frantically run back and forth between flavors.

  Around that point in my spiral of anxiety, I decided I needed to stop looking at the website. But first, because my curiosity temporarily outweighed my nerves, I clicked on the “About” page.

  And, well, that was a big mistake. Because the page that loaded showed a photograph of the guy who owns the ice cream shop—my brother’s friend—and that photograph made me feel weak in the knees. Shane Armstrong’s official title was Founder and Owner of Sweet Cream. But it also should have said Superhunk. Damn, the guy was hot.

  Which wouldn’t have been such a bad thing if he wasn’t going to be my new boss.

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