“And what exactly is our arrangement?” she asked as we walked. “What would you call it?”
“I’m not sure if we have to put a label on it right now,” I said. “But my point was that I want you to know that your job is safe, okay? No matter what happens, Lily, I have no intention of letting you be negatively affected by choices we arebothmaking, do you understand?”
She looked at me but said nothing.
“I know it’s scary, hooking up in the office,” I went on. “Extremely hot, but scary too. And I know that you think I have nothing to lose and that you’re the one taking all the risk, and that’s why I want to ease your worries. I want to tell you that I will protect you and your job, if there were to be any blowback from all of this.”
“That’s… that’s very nice of you.”
We stopped at a crosswalk, and she pressed the button. As we waited, I could tell she was mulling something over. “So, are we good?” I asked after a few seconds.
“We’re fine,” she said. She let out a heavy exhale and finally looked me right in the eye. “Look, all of the stuff you just said, that hadn’t even crossed my mind. I mean, it did, right after we hooked up on Friday, but the more I thought about it the more I knew everything would be okay. You’re not the kind of guy who would let me take the fall or whatever.”
“I’m glad you know that about me.”
The light changed and it was our time to walk.
“I do know that, but still, I appreciate you saying it out loud,” she said. “And I’m happy to know that you’re aware of how big of a risk this is for me. That makes me feel a lot better, not that I was feeling that stressed out about any of it in the first place.”
“If that’s not what made you change our plans for tonight, what did?”
She laughed, though not at me. She was clearly laughing at a joke I hadn’t been let in on. “You want the truth?” She hung a right at the next block and I followed her.
“Of course.”
“The truth is, I changed our plans because a friend of mine got in my head. I told her about us, asked her for some advice, and her advice was that I shouldn’t be too available to you. She said the only way to ensure that everything between us stays casual and fun, was to make sure you understood that I wasn’t just going to be around whenever you wanted me… I’m a fuck buddy, not a booty call. Something like that.”
I had to laugh. “I wouldn’t have referred to you as either of those things, but okay, sure, whatever you want.”
She slowed her pace in front of an old apartment building. “I like you, David,” she said. “And I like having sex with you. And this was my stupid attempt at making sure things between us didn’t become any more complicated than that.”
I smiled. “So, you were playing games in an attempt to make thingslesscomplicated. Interesting strategy.”
“Thanks,” she said through a breathy laugh. “I really should’ve known better than to take Michelle’s advice. I thought she would know more about all this stuff than I do, but she and I are very different people. I’m sure she’s a lot better at these sorts of games than I am.”
“Lucky for you,” I said. “I don’t want to play games. I also like you and also like having sex with you, and since we agree on that, I think we’re golden. Nothing is going to get complicated if we just keep communicating with one another. How does that sound?”
She shrugged. “I guess that could work, yeah.”
I nodded. “Good. Well, on that note, I will leave you. If you’ve actually got plans tonight, I don’t want to ruin them for you. I could probably still call my dad and make it in time for dinner…”
“Er—well, that was a lie,” she said. “I don’t really have plans… And this is my building, so if you wanted to come up and see my place you could. Warning, it’sreallysmall. Unless you’d prefer to have dinner with your family, then I’ll let you go.”
I laughed and motioned with my head at the door to her building. “No, I’d definitely prefer to see this tiny apartment of yours.”
“All right then.” She went up the steps and unlocked the main door. Then the two of us climbed up more stairs and soon she was opening the door for me, and I walked into her impossibly small studio apartment. “Oh geez,” I said. “You weren’t joking. Damn, we should be paying you more if this is all you could afford.”
“It’s not about salary,” she said. “That’s just the world of San Francisco real estate. But it’s okay, I kinda like it. I like that it’s all mine.” She shut and locked the door behind her. “I never really had that, you know. In undergrad, I always had roommates, and then I rented a room out of a big house my first year of law school, so that was also communal. Then, I met Bret and we moved in together really quickly, so this is the first time I’ve had a place that I could completely call my own.”
“I get that,” I said. “And you know, it’s notthatsmall. The more time you spend here, the bigger it feels.”
She smirked. “If you say so. You want something to drink? I have some beer and some wine.” She walked past me and towards the kitchen, but I stopped her by putting my arms around her waist and pulling her close.
“Maybe in a bit,” I said. “But first…” I kissed her. She tasted like lip gloss and coffee, and I was obsessed with it. She kissed me back, and I felt some of the stress leave her body as she relaxed into my arms. We made out for a bit standing there in the middle of her apartment, but soon I could tell she wanted more by the way she was pressing her pelvis against mine, and I was happy to oblige. I took her over to the bed and we began to undress. She was wearing black lace underwear and a matching bra, both of which I tore off her body as quickly as I could. I let my eyes follow the line of her freckles, which started on her cheeks, a few ran down her neck, and then she had that little patch on one side of her rib cage that I just thought was the sexiest thing in the world.
She undid my belt buckle as I took my shirt off, then I bent over her and kissed her neck, running my hands down the side of her body. Her back arched as I moved my mouth down to her breasts and made circles with my tongue around her nipples. She gasped and gripped my hair in her hands, and then spread her legs apart like she knew where I was going.
I continued to kiss her and made my way down her stomach.