by Kristy Love
“What brings you in today?” Mia asked as she walked back to her desk. I followed her. I wanted to delay seeing David as much as I could. I didn’t want to drop the bombshell on him that I wanted to talk. Really, I didn’t want to have the conversation, but the idea had taken root and it was flying around my brain like a fly, buzzing and not letting me forget it was there.
“Oh, since David was out of town this weekend, I figured I’d pop in and surprise him. I thought maybe we could go to lunch or something.”
Her face fell and my stomach clenched up. “He can’t do lunch today, unfortunately.”
“That’s no big deal.” Maybe I could get out of here before David saw me and I embarrassed myself. Was this when things fell apart? Was this where I found out he was sleeping with other women?
“He has a client coming in over lunch. Otherwise, I know he’d love to see you.”
My anxiety dropped and I pulled in a long breath. “I understand. He’s a busy and in demand man.” I smiled.
“He is. Business has really picked up lately. He’s been working a lot more hours.”
“I noticed.”
She typed something on her computer and her eyes scanned the screen. “It looks like he’s free for the next forty five minutes if you want to see him.”
“I don’t want to interrupt his work.”
Mia looked up at me and smiled conspiratorially. “Roxie, he would never consider you an interruption. He’d love to see you.”
“Really?” I hated how unsure I sounded, but I couldn’t fight the feeling that I wasn’t good enough for him, that maybe I wasn’t enough for him.
“Yes, really. He was actually asking me if I could shift around his schedule so he could take a day off this week to spend with you. Unfortunately, there just isn’t time this week. Too many big clients.”
My heart soared and I smiled so wide my cheeks ached. Maybe he wanted more with me, too. Maybe he was waiting for me to make the first move. “Oh.”
Mia smiled. “He really likes you. He’d kill me if he knew I was saying that, but he’s different with you. He’s smiling more now and he’s more relaxed. I can always tell when it’s you texting him because he smiles so big that I fear his face will split in two.”
“I like him, too.”
She bounced in her seat and clapped. “That’s so awesome. I’ve been wanting him to find someone for so long, and no one interested him for more than a very short time. I can just tell the two of you are so awesome together.”
“Woah, Mia. Chill. We aren’t getting married or anything.”
“No, you aren’t. But you’re both opening up and unfolding for each other. Maybe it’s forever, maybe it’s a for-now thing. Either way, you’re both happy. Isn’t that all that matters?” I nodded and bit my lip. This conversation would have sent me running for the hills a few months ago. Now? It filled me with hope. “Oh, how selfish of me. I should have already called David and told him you were here instead of sitting here and gabbing.” She picked up her phone and dialed what I assumed was David’s number.
“Hey, David. Roxie’s here to see you.” She was quiet a few seconds and then smiled. “Sure. See you in a few.” She hung up and looked up at me. “He’ll be in shortly.”
“Thanks, Mia.”
“Thank you.” She went back to work and I stood there, watching her. There was something about her that I really liked. It was rare to find someone so genuinely nice. Instead of being fake or annoying, it made her more endearing. I could see becoming friends with her.
Maybe I’d get the chance if David was open to a more serious relationship.
Interrupting me from my musings, David walked in from the shop. He was wiping oil from his hands. When his eyes met mine, he smiled wide and strode over quickly. Instead of pulling me into an embrace, he leaned over and kissed me on the cheek, letting his lips linger.
“Hey, love. I’d hug you, but I have oil all over me.” He held up his hands to show the dirt on his hands.
I pulled him into me, kissing him hard on the lips. I didn’t care if he got oil, grease, or dirt all over me. I just wanted him closer. “I’ve missed you,” I said when I moved away slightly, my body still pressed against him.
He smiled and his eyes crinkled in the corners. “I missed you. It feels like it’s been weeks instead of days.”
“I know.” I leaned forward and captured his lips in a kiss. He kept his hands and arms away from me so he didn’t get anything on my outfit and that made me fall for him a little more. I broke the kiss because I knew I’d stand there and kiss him all day. “I was wondering if you had any time for me this week.”
“Just a few minutes, unfortunately. Things are crazy around here right now.” He smiled and kissed me on the forehead. My insides melted. “I was actually going to ask you if you wanted to head up to New York City with me next time I go. I think I’m going in two weeks.”
“That’d be so much fun! I’d love to go.” I reached up and wound my arms around his neck. I couldn’t seem to get close enough or to stop touching him.
“I think so. It’ll be a little getaway. I have some work to do, but there’s more than enough to keep you entertained and busy.”
My answer was to kiss him. My fears and doubts left as soon as I was with him, kissing him, pressed up against him, talking to him. We kissed long and hard, tongues stroking and lips caressing. My hands slid down to his waist and I held him closer to me.
A throat clearing behind me broke us out of our spell. I’d forgotten Mia was in the room as soon as David entered it. I turned around and looked at Mia. Her face was shining she was smiling so huge.
“I wanted to ask you, Roxie,” she said, leaning on her desk with her elbows. “We’re having a little gathering this weekend at our house, kind of like a housewarming party, and I wondered if you’d be interested in coming.” Her eyes darted over my shoulder to David before quickly coming back to me.
Did David not want me to go? I turned and looked at him, but he was staring at Mia with an indiscernible look on his face. “I’m not sure,” I said, still gazing at David. His eyes came down to meet mine.
“If you want to come, we’d love to have you,” Mia said. “I told David to invite you, but he wasn’t sure you’d want to come. He said something about it being too much for your arrangement, whatever that means.” Her laughter rang out, but all I saw was the frown on David’s face.
“Do you not want me to come?” I asked, my voice low. I didn’t want him to feel pressured.
“I’d love for you to come. I just wasn’t sure if it was . . . too much for you.”
He didn’t need to explain what he meant. I’d been very clear that I didn’t want to involve families or friends in our arrangement. Once that happened, the relationship became something more, something I hadn’t been ready for. But now, the thought of spending time with David and his family was something I was interested in. I didn’t want to have this conversation in front of Mia, though. I didn’t know what she knew about our relationship, and I didn’t want to make it more awkward or uncomfortable than it already was going to be.
“Do you think we could maybe go into your office and talk for a few minutes?” I laced my fingers through his. His clear blue eyes hardened and his body stiffened. My heart twisted.
“Sure.” He nodded at Mia and led me to his office. As soon as the door was closed, he walked into the bathroom and washed his hands. He scrubbed them for long moments before he came out, drying his hands on a clean, oil-free towel. “What did you want to talk about?” His voice was cold and more distant.
“I wanted to talk about . . . us.” My heart raced and my palms were sweating.
He walked over and sat behind his desk, then ran his hands through his hair. “What about us?”
I sank down into the chair in front of his desk and wrung my hands, unsure of how to say what I wanted to say. “I’m not sure how to say this.”
“Just say it, Roxie.” The coldness and anger
in his voice startled me and I jerked back in my seat.
“What’s wrong?”
“Just say what you want to say.”
I just needed to spit it out before I messed things up even more than I already had. “I wanted to see if you were interested in maybe making things . . . more between us.”
“More?”
“Yeah. I want more from you than just hooking up. I want more of you. I like you, David. I really like you and, I don’t know, I just want more.”
He stared at me for a few minutes, blinking. I nibbled on my lip as he studied my face. That was, until a huge grin plastered across his face and he strode around the desk and pulled me into his arms. “I’d really like more with you too, love.”
“Really?” I looked up at him, marveling at how happy he looked.
“I’ve wanted more for a while now, I just wasn’t sure if you were interested.”
“I am. I think I’ve been ready, too, but I was just . . . scared.”
“I’m falling for you, Roxie.” He cupped the side of my face in his hand and I pressed my cheek into it, reveling in the feel of it. The calluses on his fingers felt good against my soft skin. His hand was warm and made the heat in my chest swell. Instead of answering him in words, I threw my arms around his neck and pressed up on my toes, kissing him fiercely. His hands dropped down to my waist and he pushed his hands under my shirt, stroking the sensitive skin. Goosebumps danced over my limbs and I gasped.
Nothing had ever felt as right as David touching me. I’d never felt more at peace and more at home than when I was in his arms.
He kissed down my chin and over my neck, taking time to kiss and bite the place where my neck met my shoulder. He knew that was a spot that felt good for me, so he always spent extra time there, getting me more and more turned on.
I grabbed him by the collar of his coveralls and pulled him with me back to the desk. As I kissed him, I pulled the zipper down until I could shove it off his shoulders. I kept pushing until they fell to the floor. Under them, he had nothing on but his boxers and that was like pouring lighter fluid on my arousal. I couldn’t get him inside me quick enough. His hands pushed and pulled at my clothes until they were on the ground, joining his coveralls. I pulled down his boxers and held him in my hand. He groaned.
“God, I missed your hands on me.” He braced his hands on the desk next to my hips. “I missed kissing you.” He pressed his lips firmly against mine. “I missed touching you.” His hand trailed down my back, causing me to tremble. “I missed your smell and the way you feel when you’re pressed against me.” He pulled my legs up and wrapped them around his waist. He pressed his hardness into me, though he was stopped by my panties.
I wrapped my arms around his neck, my hands buried in his hair. I held his head so he had to look me right in the eye and he could feel the sincerity in the words I was about to utter. “I think I’m falling in love with you, David.”
His eyes turned molten as he yanked me flush against his body. “I think that’s the sexiest thing anyone has ever said to me.” He flexed his hips into me, letting me know how he really felt about my confession. “I want to be inside you, but I don’t have any condoms in the office.”
“I’m on birth control. Be inside me.”
I didn’t need to tell him twice. He pulled my panties to the side and buried himself inside me in one deep thrust. We both moaned at the feel of reconnecting this way.
He slid in and out of me slowly, touching and kissing me as he brought me higher and higher. I rested back on my hands and watched the intensity cross his face.
My heart raced and flipped in my chest. I could see the emotions in his eyes and as they played across his face. My heart felt as though it was ripping apart and being pieced back together. It was arranging itself so it was whole and fixed and it was made up of David and me together.
There was no denying it. I was in deep with David.
Before long, we both crashed over the edge of bliss, kissing each other passionately to keep our noises from alerting the whole office to what we were doing. Afterwards, we cleaned up and got dressed. He sat in his chair and pulled me onto his lap, kissing me on the neck.
“Does this mean you’ll be my date to my sister’s party on Saturday?”
“Of course. I’d love to.”
He smiled as though I’d just made his day and he kissed me sweetly, though the passion was still there.
“You’ve made me a very happy guy, girlfriend,” he smirked.
“God, we sound like teenagers.” I giggled.
“It’s okay, because I have the hottest girlfriend in the world.” He smiled before burying his face in my neck and kissing it, then moving up to kiss my lips.
DAVID AND I walked around the back of Mia’s house, hand in hand. I couldn’t wipe the smile off my face and David couldn’t either. There was just something so right about being together. Nothing at all had changed. We were still exclusive, but it felt like more. I felt he was mine and I was his and it was just . . . good.
“Look, Gia! It’s Uncle David,” Mia exclaimed. Gia was on her hip and she squealed as soon as she saw David. Mia put her down and she toddled over to David, raising her arms to be picked up. David swung her up into his arms and immediately kiss attacked her neck. Gia giggled and I smiled as I watched the two of them.
Mia came over and pulled me into a hug. “I’m so glad you’re here,” she whispered as she hugged me.
“Thank you for inviting me.”
“You both seem really happy. I’m thrilled for you.” She squeezed me tighter for a second longer before letting me go and pulling David and Gia into a group hug. She let go and gestured toward the patio. “Come, make yourself at home. We have tea, beer, and wine. I’ll be making the food in a moment.” She smiled as we followed her toward the beautifully done patio. It was brick and had a built-in barbeque grill, heat emanated from it. There were a few people sitting in chairs and chatting and they looked up at us as we approached.
“Roxie, this is Henry and his wife, Terry. Also, Marta and Nathan. They all are friends we’ve had for a couple of years now. And this is Viv and Peter; they’re our new neighbors.” Mia walked over and put her hand on a man’s shoulder. “This is my husband, Brock. Brock, this is Roxie. She’s responsible for us having this house right now.” Mia smiled down at him. Brock’s eyes flicked to me, did a scan of my body, and then he looked away as though dismissing me.
Gia wiggled down and went over to her little plastic house and went inside. David wrapped an arm around my waist and pulled me close, kissing the side of my head. That caught Brock’s attention. He looked back up at me and looked over me again.
“You with this guy?” Brock asked, his voice gruff. He nodded toward David.
“She’s with me,” David said, clearly dismissing Brock.
Mia clapped her hands together. “Everyone ready to eat? Let me get the food started!” She took off for the kitchen. No one moved to help her, so I followed her into the kitchen.
Inside, she was biting her lip. When she turned and saw me, I saw tears swimming in her eyes. She quickly wiped under them. “Oh, pregnancy hormones. They just drive me crazy. I’m happy one second and crying the next.” She forced a smile. It was clear the tension between David and Brock bothered her. I wondered why they disliked each other so much.
“My sister just had a baby a couple of months ago. She was an emotional mess.” I smiled at her to ease her discomfort.
“What’d she have?”
“A little girl. They named her Haven.” Even thinking of that little baby made me smile and my heart squeeze. It’d been too long since I saw her and I needed to fix that.
“Haven. That’s gorgeous.” Mia smiled and pulled pre-made burgers out of the fridge, along with a package of hot dogs. She pulled out more food and set it on the counter.
“Let me help you.” I grabbed stuff and carried it over to the counter for her. She rested her hand on her belly. “Are you okay?”
“Yeah. I’m just having some cramps, totally normal. The muscles have to move and rearrange around the growing baby.”
“Do you need to sit down?”
“Oh, no. I’ll be fine. Someone has to cook the food.”
I pressed my lips together, trying to stop any comment from escaping. In the short time I’d been around Brock, it was pretty clear he was a worthless asshole. I wondered why Mia stayed with him, let alone got pregnant with his child again. “I’ll help you carry stuff out.”
After we loaded up our arms, we carried containers of food outside. On our trip back in, David followed and helped us carry stuff. When we went back into the kitchen, David stopped and leveled his gaze on Mia. “Has he helped you at all?”
“It’s fine, David. I had the potato salad to make, the macaroni salad, plus some shopping. He had things to do.”
“Did he help with Gia?” Mia looked up at David, her eyes pleading with him. “So he didn’t do shit all day while you did everything. You’re pregnant, Mia.”
“I’m very well aware of that, David,” she responded, her voice sarcastic and biting. I’d never heard her anything but pleasant and happy. I was beginning to wonder if it was a front to hide her real emotions. The question was: Why? Why did she need to hide? “Can we please go out and enjoy the company and the food?” David nodded, grabbing as much off the counter as he could. I carried the rest, letting Mia take a small break.
Outside, David and I manned the grill and prepared everything so Mia could relax. If Brock wasn’t glaring at David, he was leering at me. I was uncomfortable in his presence, and my heart broke for Mia. She clearly was making the best of a really shitty situation. David’s feelings about Brock were beginning to feel justified.
