“How much college for you?”
“Well, five years of undergrad. Then four years of vet school, then another year of an internship, and then a residency. I finally graduated when I was twenty-eight.”
“And now you are…”
“Thirty-two. Turning thirty-three in September.”
“And already divorced.”
“Yeah. That wasn’t part of the plan.”
“Did you see it coming?”
Caleb frowned. “I think part of me did. It’s not that we were having problems, we just kind of shifted into coexisting rather than talking and having a real relationship. I wasn’t… I mean, we weren’t honeymoon happy, but I wasn’t unhappy, either. We just…were. Then she told me she was seeing someone else. That I didn’t see coming.”
“Did you know the guy? Not to be nosy.”
“It’s okay.” He laughed softly and shook his head. “No, I didn’t know him. She met him at the gym. And we went to different gyms. I forget why. I think she thought mine was too much of a meat market. And then, lo, she found some meat.” He sighed. “Sorry. I hate talking about this because I inevitably kind of fall into this bitterness that I’m tired of and don’t want to feel anymore.”
“I’m sorry I asked, then. And not even in a snotty way.”
He nodded. “No, I get it. Hard not to be curious. What about you and that ex who got married?”
She didn’t want to talk about Derek, but she supposed turnabout was fair play. “We dated for almost six years, and then one day we realized we were headed in different directions. He wanted the wife and kids with the picket fence in the suburbs. That kind of life horrifies me. I’m never leaving the city. So we hit an impasse. Then he married the next woman he dated.” Lauren took a deep breath. “It’s not even that I want him back, because I don’t. It just…hit me wrong, I guess, when he announced he was getting married. Like, I’m mad he won the breakup.”
“He won the breakup?”
“Yeah. I’ve hardly dated since we broke up, but he’s married now.”
“I don’t think you can assign a real value to that.”
Lauren rolled her eyes. That was such a Caleb response. “I’m not saying it’s rational. I’m just saying that I felt… I dunno. Like I failed because he’s happy now but I’m just… I mean, I’m notunhappy, but I’m not in a relationship. Not that I even feel the need to define myself by being in a relationship, because that’s some sexist, heteronormative bullshit, I’m justsaying…” She stopped talking and looked at Caleb, who was smirking. “I’m rambling. Sorry.”
“It’s okay. You’re what, late-twenties? Hard to get to thirty without any baggage. I’d think you were weird if you didn’t have any.”
“You already think I’m weird.”
He laughed. “True.”
Lauren was a bit relieved when Caleb made the first move, because she couldn’t figure out how to get them from this conversation about their failures into the sexy times. Because she did not want to talk anymore. She wanted Caleb naked, in her bed, and she wanted him to do unholy things to her, but she couldn’t quite figure out how to make that happen. Should she just say it, should she touch him, should she—
He kissed her.
He put his hand on her cheek, a gesture so sweet she almost forgot they weren’t supposed to like each other, and then he leaned in and pressed his lips against hers. The kiss alone was enough to kick her motor into gear, and arousal spread through her body like a comforting warmth. She pulled his shirt out from his pants and slid her hands up his chest. He sighed into her mouth.
“Let’s take this to the bedroom,” she said.
“Perfect.”
They stood and she led him toward her room. Then a thought popped into her head as they crossed the threshold. “What about your dog?”
“He’ll be okay for another hour or two. It’s not like I’m spending the night. That’s not what this is. Right?”
Right. Lauren had quite forgotten this was just sex. It wasn’t romantic. There would be no cuddling, no spending the night, no kisses over waffles in the morning.
She shook it off and led him to her bed.
***
