I’m not sure whether I should be embarrassed or proud at this point. Thank goodness he’s not staring at me, because I’d probably burst into tears. Not that I’m sad. Just confused. Floating in the ether. Wondering what in the H-E-double hockey sticks is going on with my life. It’s like I’ve entered the twilight zone or something. Maybe I am having a midlife crisis. Maybe I should shop for a Corvette tomorrow.
“I’d like to stay out later with you,” he says, “but I’m afraid my mother wasn’t really prepared for that.”
I look over at him. “You were just going to have a drink with your date?”
He takes his time answering. “Yeah. I just . . . It seemed like the right thing to do.”
I pause in the process of sliding my shoes back on and look up at him. “The right thing to do?” What does he mean?
He looks out the window for a few seconds before turning back to me. “I had a really nice time with you last night. It didn’t seem right to take another woman out for a regular date after that.”
I have to bite the insides of my cheeks really hard to keep from smiling like a loon. I nod. “Sure. I get it.” My voice gives me away. I wanted to sound cool, but I don’t. Not at all.
“I don’t mean to put pressure on you,” he says.
I shake my head. “No, I’m happy.” I try to grin, but it wavers.
“What’s wrong?” he asks, looking at me so seriously, so earnestly, it makes tears come to my eyes.
“Nothing. I’m just being an idiot is all. Status quo.”
He takes my hand and squeezes it. “I’ve done something wrong.”
“No.” I place my other hand over his. “You’ve done everything right. I really like you. I just worry that we’re rushing into this and it seems so amazing . . . I’m worried I’m going to ruin it.”
He gives me a sad smile. “You too, huh?”
I nod. “I’m not normal.”
He reaches up and strokes my cheek tenderly with a finger. “I hate normal. So boring. So predictable.”
I look down, trying to control my emotions. Nothing can take the smile off my face, though. “Good thing.”
It seems like a couple minutes go by before either of us speaks again.
“We still on for Halloween?” he asks.
I look up and nod. This is safe ground. Our kids in costumes. This I can handle. “Yep.”
“Great. So, I’ll see you next week? Your place?”
I nod, wondering if this means I won’t see him at work. “Sure.”
“I’ll come around five o’clock so we can be sure we don’t have any wardrobe malfunctions.”
“Yes. Good idea.” I casually push my dress down to where it belongs and make sure my buttons are all done up and nothing’s hanging out where it shouldn’t.
Dev places his hand on my leg as I’m about to open the back door. “Promise me something.”
I look down at his hand and then up at his face. His expression is unreadable.
“What?”
“Promise you’ll always be honest with me. You’ll always tell me exactly what you’re feeling when I ask.”
I nod, happy to make that promise. I don’t want any more lies or games in my life, especially not from a guy like Dev. I can’t afford to be emotionally devastated right now. I have kids, barely a job, and a mortgage, not to mention a bruised heart. “I will if you will.”
“Deal.” He leans in and gives me a very thorough kiss before leaning back. “Stay there,” he says, opening his door and launching himself out of the backseat. He’s surprisingly agile considering his size and the fact that his pants are still half undone.
He comes around the back of the car and opens my door, offering me his hand. He’s all put together, with his pants zipped up and his shirt tucked in, and except for the sweating, you’d never know he just had hot sex in the backseat. I take his extended hand in mine and step out like I’m a princess about to be presented to her subjects. A princess who just got it on like Donkey Kong in the back of a Phoenix, yo!
Standing in front of him properly dressed again and smelling like hot slippery bodies, I look up and smile. “Thank you for the sex.”
He smiles slowly, devastating me all over again with that dimple. “You’re welcome. And thank you for the sex, too.”