She nods. “I’m just gonna run to the ladies’ room real quick,” she says, getting to her feet.
She disappears briefly while I take care of the bill, and by the time she returns, I’m ready and walk her out to the car, opening the side door again to let her in.
Admittedly, part of me doesn’t want to give her up for the night yet, so I take a little bit of a scenic route back to her place to buy me a few extra minutes with her.
But too quickly, I’m back in front of her house. She doesn’t immediately get out of the car, however, lingering to keep talking.
“You know,” I tell her, “I always wanted to do this back when we worked together, but with that stupid policy and all the other shit going on…”
She nods. “I felt the same way,” she says with a shy smile, “I always liked you, but it was pretty obvious you had a lot on your plate.”
“Well, I’m a pretty lucky guy, getting a second chance with you,” I tell her.
She blushes. “The feeling’s mutual, Todd.”
“So, you think maybe we could do this again sometime? Soon?”
I’m a little bit surprised when she hesitates. When the pause goes on a little too long, I decide to make another move. “Or perhaps you need a little more convincing,” I murmur, then lean in and press my mouth to hers.
Her body tenses for an instant in a reaction of pure surprise, but she quickly relaxes, kissing me back, and it feels like a victory. My tongue traces her full, rosy lips and she parts them, inviting me in.
I thread my fingers through her soft blonde hair as my tongue explores her mouth, and she lets out a little whimper into my mouth that has me instantly hard as a rock.
While the horny-brained part of me just wants to hike up the skirt of that little sweater dress and take her right here in my backseat, my more rational parts don’t want to get carried away. So reluctantly, after enjoying her just a little longer, I pull back.
She lets out a shaky breath and opens her eyes slowly. “Whoa.”
I can’t help a smug little grin. “Is that a yes?”
She laughs, shaking her head a bit, “Yes. Call me.”
Chapter Ten
Marlene
My phone ringing wakes me up in the middle of the afternoon. I didn’t even realize I’d dozed off, just sitting on my couch. When I glance at the caller ID, it’s some random 800 number I presume is probably a scam or some kind of robo-call, so I ignore it.
Despite having freshly woken up, I feel more rundown than ever. I’ve been feeling a little under the weather the last couple of days. Not sick exactly, I haven’t been coughing and sneezing, but I’ve just generally been feeling sort of rundown, like my body’s fighting something off.
I wonder if maybe I should call Todd and cancel our date for tonight so I can get some rest, although I don’t exactly want to. We’ve been out a few times since that first night, and it gets better and better the more time I spend with him.
Which only makes me feel worse about the constant fucking torment in my head. Because no matter how charming Todd is, no matter how hard I’m starting to fall for him, I can’t shake my feelings for Corey and Andrei.
They haven’t been completely ignoring me, but things definitely feel a little strained. There’s been no talk of abandoning our little arrangement, but it feels like they’re making the intent clear, re-drawing a line in the sand. And I keep reminding myself that it’s what I wanted.
It was always supposed to just be temporary, but I should have known better. I guess I just thought that after all my failed relationships, maybe I was incapable of getting attached.
Clearly that’s not the case, and now I’ve figured it out in the worst way. It’s like my heart’s torn into pieces, scattered all over the place.
I need to use the bathroom, so I pad down the hall. Once I’m done, I notice that the roll’s done, and when I go to retrieve a replacement from under my sink, I happen to knock over a box of tampons, scattering the contents all over my bathroom floor.
And it hits me. I should have been using these. Days ago. I count back the days in my head, and realize that my period was due the night I went to the open mic performance.
I’d been so caught up in my wallowing and my reunion with Todd, I’d actually managed to forget the whole fucking purpose behind what started all of this.
I don’t think it registers that I’m driving until I’m already halfway to the drugstore. My head is absolutely swimming. My ears are ringing, my hands are icy and numb, and when I pull up and get out of the car, it’s like I’m moving underwater.
I don’t think, just grab a handful of differently branded pregnancy tests. I don’t even have it in me to be embarrassed as the cashier’s ringing me up.