I looked out my window, smiling to myself, knowing now that Geoffrey was definitely interested. And I couldn't help feeling smug. I still had it—pregnant with twins and all.
When we arrived at Ethan's flat, I asked Geoffrey if he'd like to come inside for a drink and talk some more.
He hesitated and said, "I would like that very much."
So a few minutes later, after discovering that Ethan was not yet home, I struck a provocative pose on the couch and engaged Geoffrey in pleasant conversation. We talked about New York and London. My job search. His profession. Identical twins. Parenthood. Then we segued into more personal matters. We discussed Max's mother and their amicable split. We covered Marcus. Even an abridged version of Darcy and Dex. Geoffrey was a bit stiff, but still easy to talk to. And very easy on the eyes.
Then, right around midnight, he asked if I wouldn't mind enlisting his partner, Mr. Smith, as my new doctor. I smiled and said I had been thinking the very same thing.
"Well, then… now that we have cleared up that little conflict, might I kiss you?" he asked, leaning in closer to me.
I said that he could. So he did. And it was nice. His lips were soft. His breath sweet. His hands gentle. All the boxes were checked. His name might as well have been Alistair.
Yet right in the heat of the first real kiss I'd had in months, with Geoffrey, a British doctor, dallying about my newly acquired cleavage, my mind was elsewhere, fixed on Ethan and Sondrine. Was his face buried in her neck or some such spot? Was he falling for her? Was she equally overcome by his spicy, yet subtle, cologne?
* * *
twenty-five
Geoffrey called me before noon on the following day, proving that he was man enough not to subscribe to any silly waiting games. Or perhaps only American men make you wait. In any event, he told me that he enjoyed my company and would love to see me again. I found his candor immensely attractive, which in turn made me feel that I had matured.
I shared this observation with Ethan later that night as he stood at the stove making us fried eggs and bacon for dinner. We both loved breakfast foods any time of day. In fact, one of the few things that Ethan and I agreed on in high school was that going to IHOP after football games was a better choice than the infinitely more popular Taco Bell.
"Yeah," he said. "Sounds like you might be ready for a real, healthy relationship."
"As opposed to pursuing someone like Marcus?" I asked.
He nodded. "Marcus was all about rebellion." He flipped one egg with a spatula and then probed gently at the yolk of the other. "You subconsciously knew that Dex was wrong for you, so you cheated on him to escape your engagement."
I considered this statement, and told him I thought he was right. Then I said, "So what about you and Sondrine?"
Ethan had not returned home the night before, and I had spent a long, restless night checking the clock and wondering what was happening between them.
Ethan blushed while he kept his eyes on our eggs.
"So? How was last night?" I asked.
He turned down the gas flame with a flick of his wrist and said, "We had a nice time."
I decided to cut to the chase. "Did you sleep with her?"
His cheeks turned a shade pinker. Clearly he had. "None of your business," he said. "Now make the toast, please."
I stood from the table and put two slices of wheat bread in his toaster. "It is sort of my business."
He shook his head and asked, "How do you figure?"
"I'm your roommate… and your bedmate… I need to know if my status is in any way threatened," I asked, treading carefully.
"Your status?"
"My spot in your bed?" I said, in my "no duh" tone.
"You can stay in my bed," he said.
"I can? Why's that?" I asked, perhaps a tad hopeful that Ethan had determined that Sondrine wasn't the woman for him in the long term.
"Because I'm not going to throw a pregnant woman to the wolves… I'll just stay at her place," he said quickly, as if he had already given much thought to the issue.
Maybe he had even decided that it was no longer appropriate for us to sleep next to each other. At least I still had my bed for the short term, but what if Ethan and Sondrine became more serious and moved in together? What then? I felt anxious at the thought of it-— and maybe even a little sad. I liked how close Ethan and I were, and didn't want that to change.
I decided that I had to prepare for the worst. If Ethan and Sondrine did become serious, I sure as hell wanted to be in a relationship too. From an emotional standpoint (I mean, who wants to be alone?), and as much as I hated to admit it, from a financial standpoint. I so wanted to add "be self-sufficient and independent" to my list, but in practical terms, how could I stay in London, jobless, with two children on the way?