by Piper Rayne
She smiles in a way that says she got caught and hands over her phone.
“Okay.” I scan the list of questions. “Surprisingly, I already know some answers.”
She sits up and leans over my shoulder, her cheek practically touching mine.
“You sing in the shower. My guess is you’d rather ride a hot air balloon than bungee jump, you have a love of emojis and shorten words from your texts and emails.” My thumb slides the page down, but she grabs the phone out of my hand before I can read anymore.
“Why would I rather ride a hot air balloon?”
“Don’t be insulted. You just don’t scream adrenaline.” I slide closer to her and my hand cradles her cheek. “I like that about you.”
“You think I’m so easy to predict, but you are too.”
I wrinkle my forehead. “I am not.”
“Sure you are. Like…” She glances at her phone. “You would not be cool with me making more money if we were married and I doubt you’d stay home with the kids while I worked.”
My head rears back. “Why would you say that?”
She shrugs her shoulder. “A hunch. Am I wrong?”
The truth is, she’s not. I want the opportunity to reach my dreams. I want to support my family and earn money. “Half right.”
“Which half?”
“I wouldn’t be cool if you made more money than me. If that makes me an asshole then so be it. But my mom made more than my dad most of my life and he didn’t give a shit. The reason I want to make more is because I’d never want the household to rest solely on your shoulders. I’d want you to be able to do what you want without having to worry about how much money you can make doing it.”
She holds up her hand. “So, you’re saying that if you don’t make as much or more than I do, you’re not doing your job as a husband?”
I nod. “Exactly.”
“And staying at home?”
“I’d love for one of us to be able to stay home, but if my wife has dreams as big as me, that’s cool, we’ll figure it out.”
Her back relaxes a bit from how it was ramrod straight a few seconds ago. “And what are your dreams, Ethan Ryland?”
I lean my head on the back of the train car. “Not to work at Mars And Venus writing articles about sleeping with co-workers.”
“Not sophisticated enough for you?”
I run my hand down her smooth leg and at some point her hand finds mine and we lock fingers. “No. I want to write something that matters. Something that will help people, even if it’s just one person.”
“Me too.”
“Really?”
She nods. “I have this blog I started a while back. It helped me get the job at Mars And Venus. It kind of spurred me into leaving finance. It’s all about surviving between college and adulthood. Finding your way in life. I wish I could write more stuff like that, but Mars And Venus is the first magazine to give me a chance, so I’m not gonna blow it.”
I sit up straighter and pull out my phone. “What’s the blog called?”
She chews her lip and grimaces.
“Come on.” I tickle her ribcage.
“It’s embarrassing. You went to school for journalism. I didn’t and the early articles… ugh. They’re terrible.”
I lean into her, caging her to the side of the train and kiss her neck, whispering. “It’s me, I’m your number one fan.”
She sighs. “Fine. ‘Post College. What Do I Do Now?’”
I type the name into my phone and the page pulls up. It’s cute and as I read the topics of articles, I see that they’re all good for recent graduates. I tell her so.
“The sad part is I’m not a recent grad.”
I continue to read some articles and scan the pictures. “It’s great. If you want more followers, I can help you be more searchable on the web.”
“Really? I kind of suck at that end of things.”
“Yeah. This could be your job, you know.” I read the topic of another article, copy the link and send it over to my sister. “My sister is gonna love this.”
Blanca gasps looking over at me with wide eyes. “Did you just send that to your sister?”
I kiss her again because her lips are too tempting and now that I can kiss her whenever I want, I want to kiss her all the damn time. “She’ll love it. Relax.”
“Thanks. So what is your end game?”
I blow out a breath, afraid to admit to anyone what I really want. I like to keep my dreams to myself so that if I don’t reach them, there’s no one to pity me.
“Honestly? I want to write somewhere where there are comments that say, you made me realize X. Where people change their lives because of what you wrote.”
She cuddles up to me, laying her head on my shoulder and threading her arm through mine. “That’s admirable.”
Admirable and unreachable, I think to myself.
Chapter Eighteen
Blanca
*
By midweek, Ethan has hand delivered two lunches so I figure we should head out for lunch today. I grab my jacket and purse and head over to the cubicle next door.
He has his AirPods on and he’s typing away. Glancing from side-to-side, I don’t spot anyone, so I step in, sliding my hands down the front of his chest and kissing the start of a five o’clock shadow on his jawline.
He stops me right before I get to the middle of his thighs and he spins his chair around, his free hand moving to my neck and pulling me down for a quick kiss. This is by far the boldest we’ve been this week at work. Besides some footsie during the Monday morning meeting and a quick peck in the break room, we’ve behaved ourselves.
Ethan stokes this appetite in me that never seems to be quenched. It makes me feel like the new hot Victoria Secret model with angel wings on her back. His tongue slides into my mouth and he pulls me closer to him.
Knowing better, we don’t get too carried away but Ethan sports a nice sized chub when he stands up.
“I figure we could go out for lunch today.”
He grabs his jacket and his phone off his desk. “I’m game. Where to?”
“Truthfully, I’m done with Mexican food. I was thinking we’d grab some sandwiches and head toward the river.”
“I thought you’d suggest my apartment,” he says in a low voice that sounds like temptation.
We walk out of the office, past Mandy to the elevator keeping a good distance between each other. “We’ll be back in an hour,” I tell Mandy who’s busy on the phone. She waves and as luck would have it, we end up on the elevator alone.
The doors aren’t even closed, and Ethan’s lips are on mine. His hands rush up my back, pulling me as close as I can get to him.
Then the elevator bounces to a stop and the doors part. Once again, our secret kisses are cut short and Ethan releases me, leaving me to grab the thin metal bar to hold myself up. He stands up and smiles at the man who steps onto the elevator.
“Good afternoon,” Ethan greets him like the Boy Scout he is not.
I nod and by the time we reach ground level, I’m ready for some time alone. Truth is, as much as I would love to have Ethan again, it’s all we seem to do. It’s like we’re hiding from the world, content in our little bubble of new coupledom.
We reach a small sandwich shop that reminds me of my Zia and Zio’s deli in Chicago.
“Do you mind ordering for me? I have to go to the bathroom.”
“Sure.”
“Italian cold cut. Twelve-inch one.”
“Italian, huh?” I smile like his sandwich choice has anything to do with me.
He glances around the small shop and takes me in his arms, locking them on my back. “I’m kind of partial to Italian lately.”
“Is that a fact?”
“Especially, cute Italian brunettes.”
I probably look like a lovesick thirteen-year-old with the way my blissful gaze floats up to meet his.
“NEXT!” a mean voice says. “HEY, are you going to order or suck f
ace?”
“I think she’s talking to us,” Ethan whispers and he kisses me on my cheek, releasing me.
Sure enough, I turn around and there’s an older woman behind the counter with no smile or friendliness at all in her demeanor. Definitely not like my Zia.
“Sorry.” I rush over to her. “We’ll have a twelve-inch Italian and—”
“Don’t sell her anything,” Dylan’s voice distracts me from ordering my sandwich. “She’s a bad girl, Hilda.” He comes up to my side.
The woman, who I now know as Hilda, smiles at Dylan. Of course, she does. He’s one of those people that you can’t not smile at. He’s permanently happy all the time.
“What are you doing here?” I ask.
He rears back. “I didn’t know this was Blanca territory.”
I chuckle and roll my eyes. “I just mean it’s on the other side of town from your tattoo shop.”
“Hilda and I go way back.” He winks at her and she blushes. I bet if I got a dollar for every woman Dylan gets to blush in a day, I wouldn’t have to work. “What about you?”
“Just out to lunch.”
Hilda disappears and I huff. I have a feeling she’s off to prepare his order because I didn’t even get to finish mine.
“With the guy?”
And I guess I’m number two for blushing but it’s not Dylan, it’s the thought of Ethan that brings color to my cheeks.
I nod.
“When do we get to meet this guy who’s holding you captive in his apartment all the time?”
I shrug. “It’s still early. I’m not ready for him to meet my friends yet.”
He rubs his hands together. “So I’m the lucky one?” He looks over my shoulder around the shop.
“NO.” I push him in the chest.
Hilda returns with a box and hands it over to Dylan. He hands her cash and tells her to keep the change. “I might be eating in, Hilda. That’s not a problem, right?” He’s laughing so hard he can barely get it out.
“No.” I glance behind me. No sign of Ethan.
“Okay. I’m not one to push, but I promise whenever we can meet Mr. Wonderful, I’ll be on my best behavior.” He winks and walks toward the door. “Until next week, Hilda.”
Just as I’m about to release a breath, Dylan stops and walks back. “On second thought I think someone asked for a cookie.”
“Dylan!”
He laughs and walks out of the sandwich shop.
My heart rate finally slows when he disappears. It’s not that I don’t want to introduce Ethan to my new friends, but we’re a new couple and I think Ethan would take it as a sign of getting really serious. I don’t want to scare him off this early.
“Hey,” he whispers into my ear, arms around my waist. “Did you order?”
My head whips away from the door. “I was just about to.”
I smile at Hilda who has lost her smile now that Dylan’s gone. I look to the door one more time just to double check Dylan is really gone and then I relax into Ethan’s arms.
We find a bench by the river and sit down to eat our sandwiches.
“I never come down here.” Ethan bites into his sandwich.
“This is my first time.”
“I keep forgetting you’re new to the area. And here I haven’t shown you around at all.”
I shrug with a sly smile. “I haven’t minded what we’ve been doing lately.”
“Me either. But this weekend I’m taking you on a real date.”
“No complaints from me.” I take a sip of my drink and bite my sandwich.
We sit and eat, neither of us saying much, but enjoying a sunny day by the river while a few moms and kids feed the ducks nearby.
“I forgot to tell you. I talked to my sister on Sunday about your blog. She loved it and has already told her friends about it. But she noticed that you haven’t posted for a while?”
I turn on the bench to face him. “I was going to abandon it.”
“Why?” His alarm feels complimentary. “It’s great. You can’t just let that go.”
“I’m a ways past college and though I still don’t have my shit together, I don’t feel like I’m qualified to speak on the topic anymore.”
He nods and licks his lips, swallowing down his bite of his sandwich. He places it next to him and pats the spot on the bench between us. When I don’t slide over, he pats it again.
“What?”
“First of all who says you don’t have your shit together?” He swings his arm around my shoulders, his fingers mindlessly running along my bare neck.
“My brothers are all either married or on their way. They have killer careers making money I’ll never see in my lifetime. My best friend has a great career she loves. I just … I haven’t found my place.”
He doesn’t say much so I continue to nibble on my sandwich.
“You changed course, that’s okay. If you were in finance would you be happy?”
“At least I’d be more established.”
“I asked if you’d be happy?” He touches my nose.
“No, that’s why I left.”
He lowers his chin so he’s staring into my eyes and takes my sandwich, placing it down next to me. “Exactly. You’re happy right now. You have a budding career. Mars And Venus isn’t the end all but believe me there are a lot worse jobs you could have in journalism. I should know. Plus, you moved to this great city and have an amazing boyfriend.”
I smile at the warm feeling in my chest. “Are you?”
“What?”
“My boyfriend?”
His eyes stray for a moment, but he returns them to me. “Yes.”
“But we’ve only been…”
“I’m not a casual kind of guy. Never have been. I knew when you came home with me that first night that we wouldn’t be a one-time thing. So yes, I’m your boyfriend. That is if you’ll have me?”
“Well.” I shrug and hem and haw for a moment. He raises his eyebrows. “Of course I’ll have you.”
“Then it’s official. Should we hold hands down the hallway at work to signify we’re a couple?”
I laugh and my head falls into his chest.
“Now, I have some ideas for your blog. Come over tonight and let’s get it updated.”
“Are you sure?”
“Hey, you’re my priority now.” He gives me a PG kiss, acknowledging the families nearby, but I swoon just the same.
Having him as a boyfriend feels great, but the fact that he believes in me and my blog means more.
Chapter Nineteen
Blanca
*
“He’s not even picking you up?” Sierra asks from her spot on the couch, her iPad open and reading another article about Prince Adrian Marx.
“No. I’m meeting him.”
“Blanca, this isn’t like you.” She shakes her head.
Rian pulls banana bread out of the oven. “What isn’t like her?”
“That smells amazing. Save me a slice?” I say to Rian.
She huffs. “Come home and you’d have ample opportunity to have some, unlike last weekend.”
“Yes, Mom.”
She throws the hot pad at me.
“Blanca is a ‘pick me up on the doorstep holding flowers and give me a goodnight kiss on the front porch’ kind of a girl. She’s not a ‘let’s bang the weekend away with no strings girl.’”
“I never said there weren’t strings. Things are progressing but I’m not sure he’s ready for friend introductions.”
She rolls her eyes and then squeals.
“Guess she’s forgot me already.”
Rian laughs, as the loaf of bread slides perfectly out of the pan onto the cooling rack.
“Prince Adrian Marx is planning a trip to New York!” She stands up and Rian and I exchange a look to say she’s nuts. “I have to find him. I have to at least get an interview.”
“I think you’re hoping for more than an interview,” I say.
Rian giggles and nods in
agreement.
“Hell yes. I’m not the ‘goodnight kiss on the front porch girl.’ I’m the ‘bang me every which way you want in your hotel room for however long you want.’”
“Nice, Sierra.” Rian shakes her head at her with a frown.
“It will be nice. As soon as I figure out a way to cross paths with him.”
Knowing her, she will. Not much is an obstacle for Sierra Sanders.
The apartment door opens and Dylan takes a sniff. “What’s that I smell?”
“You’re like a drug dog,” I say and shake my head.
He stops in front of me. “Well, thank you. That’s a huge compliment. Drug dogs are highly intelligent.”
Rian giggles because that’s pretty much all she does when it comes to Dylan? He reaches out for the loaf and she slaps his hand. “It has to cool.”
He takes a chair and flips it around so he’s straddling the back. “Okay. How long?”
I grab my purse and put it crossways over my chest. “I have no idea how you’re not fifty pounds overweight.”
Dylan leans back and pats his trim stomach. “Want to feel my abs, Blanca?”
“Um… no.”
He stands up and lifts his shirt. “Are you sure?” He runs his own hand down his six-pack. I’ll admit they are a nice set of abs which makes me wonder when he puts in the time to achieve them. “I bet they’re better than Mr. Wonderful’s.”
“Nope.”
“Oh.” He whirls around, his shirt dropping before Rian can catch a glimpse and she frowns. “I saw Mr. Wonderful.”
I narrow my eyes at him. “No, you didn’t.”
“Wednesday. She was at Hilda’s with him.”
Sierra isn’t paying attention, her head buried in her iPad.
“What’s he look like?”
“Not as handsome as me.” Dylan winks and there goes Rian’s blush. The difference between her and other women is that hers covers her entire neck too.
“You did not meet him.”
“Almost.” Dylan reaches for the banana bread and Rian smacks his hand again. “Come on. You always let me have the first taste.”
Rian picks up the hot pad off the floor from when she threw it at me.
Dylan glances back to Sierra and then leans forward. “We have a bigger problem,” he says in a low voice.
