My man merely shakes his head again.
“You do crazy things to me, girl.”
“And you love every second of it,” I reply smartly.
His eyes grow serious. “You’re right, I do. I hope you do, too, sweetheart.”
I put my hand over his, the moment suddenly intimate. “I wouldn’t be here if I didn’t.”
It’s wonderful because Ed has overcome his hesitations about my age. We don’t talk about it anymore, and I have no reason to think that it’s rearing its ugly head anymore. As a result, there’s no reason to rehash the same conversation over and over again. I’m young, I get that, but I’m also an adult who can make her own decisions and Ed seems okay with it now. Shooting my man a sunny smile, I ask, “How was work today?”
He smiles while biting into a rib the size of my forearm.
“It was the same. I missed you though.”
I cock my head.
“Yes, but I’m just upstairs. You can always come up for lunch and I’ll make us sandwiches or something.”
He shakes his head. “As much as I’d love to, I need to stay downstairs and supervise my employees because we’ve been especially busy lately.”
I nod.
“Well, I hope I’m not keeping you from your work.”
Ed merely bites into his dinosaur rib again.
“Not at all, Suze. EarthMatters can handle the workload, no problem. I just don’t want to leave my employees to do all the dirty work while I’m having fun with you because it wouldn’t be fair, and what kind of example would I be setting?”
I giggle.
“But wait – do your employees know about us?”
Ed shrugs.
“I don’t know. They definitely know I have a young woman staying with me upstairs, but I’m not sure they suspect the shenanigans we get up to. If I came home for lunch, they definitely would though, because of all the screaming and pounding.”
That makes me laugh.
“We do have quite a bit of fun. That thing we did yesterday…”
“The door thing or the couch thing?” My lover quirks an eyebrow at me, grinning evilly.
“The door. But the couch was great, too, you’ve just got to bend me over more. You know I like it when my ankles are up by my ears.”
Ed laughs. “Fuck baby, you’re dirty and I love it. I’ll make note of that.”
We delve back into a conversation about our escapade from yesterday, and the laughing and dirty looks get out of control because although there aren’t many people around, a few patrons do give us the stink eye. After staring back at one particularly bitchy-looking Karen, Ed takes my hand.
“Don’t worry, she’s just jealous that we have a better sex life than her. Look at the helmet of blonde hair. She’s probably the kind who does missionary and only missionary.”
I giggle. “Ed! We’re in public and she might hear!”
My lover winks.
“That’s the only reason I haven’t jumped over the table to ravish you, sweet princess. As much as I like taking you out on a date, I want dessert back at our place.”
My heart does an excited dance then because I love it when Ed calls it ‘our’ place. Does he see this going somewhere? I’m supposed to move back to the dorms shortly, but maybe this relationship can persist even after I go back to school.
But then Ed’s face grows serious as he sips his beer.
“I want you to know, Susie, that we can stop this at any time. If you feel uncomfortable, just say the word because I don’t want you to think that you have to pay me for room and board. Either with money or in other ways,” he says in a low tone.
I shake my head furiously. “You know I don’t think that at all. OMG, I’ve never thought that. I’m the one putting you through the ringer, Ed, because you have to put up with my insane libido.”
My lover’s grin sneaks back onto his face.
“I’m happy to do it, sweetheart. I haven’t felt this alive in years and I’m swear I’m like a new man.”
I giggle.
“That’s what being with a younger woman does to you,” I coo. “It turns the clock backwards.”
But then, a thought strikes and my expression drops.
“Ed, I hate to ask this but …”
He swallows a huge bite of cornbread.
“But what, honey? I’m all ears. You know you don’t have to hold back when you’re with me.”
I swallow hard because this isn’t going to be easy. “Well, when you were with Nanette, did you ever…?”
I can’t get the words out because even the idea makes me nauseous, so I take a sip of water, hoping to hide my unease. But Ed intuits my question and slides a big hand over my own.
“You don’t need to worry about it, Susie. Nanette and I dated in high school and kind of not even that, to be honest. We were only together for a short time, and it wasn’t serious.”