Role Play - Alison Hendricks Page 0,50

him a quick squeeze before letting go. "Always better to ask, in my opinion."

Keith leaned close to her, and I heard him whisper, "Cheater," into her ear. Presumably because she got to touch Reuben beyond more than a handshake.

We were led to a booth where I quickly slid in beside Reuben to block Keith from doing so. He pouted visibly but joined Tina on the other side. After drinks and an appetizer were ordered, Tina took over the conversation. Probably so Keith didn't monopolize it with his wildly inappropriate questions.

She asked Reuben about his job, how he'd gotten into the field, what he liked most about it. I'd heard these things before, but I still listened with rapt attention as he described it all. He always spoke with such passion that I couldn't help but be enraptured.

"When I blew out my knee in high school, I was terrified. I thought it was the end of my life, you know? I didn't know how much pain I'd have to go through for recovery. But, the therapist I had worked with me every step of the way. He didn't just get me back to shape physically, he talked me through my fears and helped me get my head right, too." Reuben broke just long enough to take a sip of his drink, the crystallized salt clinging to his lips in a way that begged me to lick it off. "I owe him a lot. Even if I didn't end up playing football after high school, he taught me so much about... I don't know. Getting back to your feet and taking it one day at a time, even when you feel like you're at rock bottom."

He and Tina talked more, with Reuben asking her about her own job. Even Keith joined in with conversation that wasn't exclusively horny. Reuben was friendly, making an effort to include me in conversation even if the topic didn't really involve me.

It felt, again, like something a boyfriend would do. Even more so when his arm slid around the back of my chair, his fingers idly stroking my arm as he talked.

That confusion reached a fever pitch in me, and at one point I caught Tina's gaze and gave her the "signal." She understood immediately.

"I'm dying to see what they've got for dessert today," she said casually. "You wanna look at the case with me?"

"Yeah, they always have such beautiful desserts." Rising, I smiled at Reuben. "I'll be back in a sec. You want anything?"

"Tres leches would be great if they have it."

I nodded, then gave Keith a pointed look. "Don't try anything."

He pouted again and whined about being unfairly prosecuted, but I was already moving away from the table at that point. I waited until Tina and I were close to the dessert showcase to say anything.

"Is it just me, or is he sending seriously mixed signals?"

"Oh, he definitely is," she said, her confirmation causing me to feel instant relief... then instant dread. "If you hadn't told me otherwise, I would have believed he was your boyfriend. You guys are so cute together."

I dragged a palm over my face. "I don't know what to do. I'd love to be more, but Reuben said he doesn't want that."

She looked back at the booth, then at me. "He isn't acting like it, and you deserve to know one way or the other. I say you ask him about it."

That spiked my anxiety through the roof but, as we picked out dessert selections and returned to the table, I knew it was the only way. All through the rest of dinner, I planned what I was going to say. On the way back to my place -- I'd abstained from the wild tequila drinking to make sure we got back safely -- I rehearsed it in my mind.

Once we got inside and he started touching me, though, I just... blurted it out.

"What happened tonight?"

Not the way I wanted to start at all. I almost cringed at myself.

"What?" he asked, dropping his hands from where they'd been running over my chest.

"Sorry, that's not what I wanted to say. I just... your behavior tonight and over the past little while, it's been confusing. You say you only want sex and just casual hanging out, but then you act like my boyfriend when we're alone and in public. It's messing with my brain and my heart, and I don't think you're doing it on purpose, but... I need to know."

His gaze met