I reached for her hand and pressed it between both of mine. Shit. They teach trigonometry in school but nothing about having difficult conversations.
“Caitlyn… in these last few weeks, I’ve been happier than I’ve ever been. I’m honestly not sure what love is, but I think I might be there. I hope I am. I want to be. And I want us to be exclusive to each other so we can figure it all out.” I licked my suddenly dry lips. “If you’ll have me.”
“You mean romantically?”
Was she trying to make me crazy?
“Yes, romantically.”
Her eyes searched my face, as if she could read the truths or lies living there. She took a deep breath. “Yes.”
I exhaled a lungful of air. “Really?”
She laughed. “How many guys do you see lining up at my door?”
What a stupid question. They weren’t at her door because she was a tongue-lashing hard-ass to any man who showed the slightest bit of interest in her sexually. Her best male friends were a gay man and his husband, which I was completely grateful for, of course. She had no clue, not even the slightest, how gorgeous, alluring, and intimidating she was.
“They aren’t here because they’re afraid you’ll chop off their man bits and feed them to your snakes,” I said as straight-faced as I could manage.
“I don’t have snakes,” she chided.
“Sometimes I wonder.” I was getting offtrack. “So, that’s it! What do you kids call it these days? Going steady? Boyfriend/girlfriend?”
She laughed, the light shining in her eyes again. “You can be my boyfriend and I’ll be your girlfriend. Sound good?”
I kissed her fingers. “I’ve never had that before, so yeah, it sounds great. What sounds even greater is that I get you on the weekends.”
She squeezed my hand. “Okay, we’re exclusively dating, which is the term one would use if you aren’t thirteen years old. But you don’t “get” me every weekend. We can spend time together, but you’ll have to share me with the rest of my life. And it wouldn’t be a good time to let Mr. Control Freak out of his bag. We’re not marching in a ‘Me Tarzan You Jane’ parade. Rules of human decency and respect still apply.”
Damn, she was tough.
Fine. I could negotiate. “I see we’re setting parameters and you’re grasping for boundaries.”
“Which are normal and right.” She crossed her arms over her chest. “Given that we’re sharing and making compromises with each other for the greater good of our new relationship.”
So sexy, strong-willed, and smart.
“Alright, here are my parameters. I work in the office until late, usually until nine-thirty or ten. After that, I order food in and work more from home. If you weren’t you, the woman I’m falling in love with and trying to be a good person for, I would call you over, fuck you hard, slap your ass, and send you out the door by midnight. I get into the office early the next morning and repeat.”
Her mouth had fallen into a cute little ‘o’ I’d like to fuck, but I pulled my mind out of the gutter and continued.
“I’d like to be able to spend a weeknight or two with you, go out to dinner, have a sleepover. I need to see Wenton on the weekends, but Saturday night should be our play night, at least.”
She snapped her mouth closed. “It all sounds doable. I’ll have to look at my school schedule, but we can arrange two nights together at your place during the week. I’ll still drive back home on the weekends, but I’ll go with you to see Wenton, and I can play here on Saturday night. On Sunday afternoon, I’ll do me things.”
Why would she want to do “me things?” So infuriating. At least she agreed to most of my conditions, which was a good start.
My cock twitched, and I realized that word sparring with her was very arousing. This next level of love and domesticity was such a strange new paradigm for me.
She chewed her bottom lip. “I just have to add a few more things.”
I was immediately suspicious. “What?”
“I want to make friends at school, and I want a private life, so you can’t be jealous. I promise to be real with you, so you don’t have to worry, but I’m used to flying completely solo. Adding a copilot is something I’m getting used to as well.”
I stared at her a long moment. Her request wasn’t unfair, after all.
“I’m not sure if I’m comfortable with you having a private life. I’d much rather chain you up in my basement, so no one else knows you’re alive.” I blew out a breath. “Since we’re making concessions, I’ll try. I too have a few last little items.” I lifted a brow.
She nodded. “Go on.”
“First, you commuting to New York in that car? Oh hell no. I want you to set your car on fire. I hate it, it’s a moving can of death. I’ll get you a reliable vehicle. I’m not going to have you commuting by yourself in that murder mobile. Second, do you mind starting birth control? I want skin to skin with you.”
She blinked and lifted her chin. “To your added items, here is my response. No to the car, I’m a millionaire and—”
I smirked. “Almost a millionaire.”
“Whatever. I will buy a car when the Beater Kia dies. Second, I’ve already made an appointment with the doctor to start the pill, so we’ll be able to throw caution to the wind. I’m looking forward to it.” She gave me a sexy smile that almost had me tackling her across the table.
“I guess that’s it then. What do you think we should do now? I don’t have a varsity ring to give you to wear around your neck, but I might have some swag from the Oscars last year.”
Wow, I was really doing this monogamy thing.
She reached for my hand again. “I don’t need anything, just you. I’m going to miss you this week.”
Ah, there was reality again. The time was drawing near when I would go back to my real world, and she’d face hers without me there to hold her and make her feel safe from the sadness that was ever present. I stood and pulled her out of her chair and into my arms. My cock was pressing against my jeans, begging to be free. It would be almost a week before I could see her again, so I didn’t shy away, embarrassed by my needs. Caitlyn and I had made love a dozen times, this was no different. I pulled her head to mine, and we kissed with a passion that was transforming our souls.
She wiggled against me, the minx, and I grew harder.
“You know you can’t leave me this way,” I teased.
She gave me a sly look and sank down to her knees. She unzipped my pants and removed my cock, teasing me with a long, slow lick of her tongue. I was thrilled by her warm mouth and all the incredible sensations she ignited in me. She wasn’t an expert lover, but an intuitive one. She could sense my feelings from my reactions and was able to send me through the roof.