“I noticed that in the parking lot this afternoon, but we are getting distracted.” A little reluctantly he pulled his leg away. “To answer your question, where that leaves us is here together and I hope still planning on living together in L.A. and getting married,” he said nervously. “But I know we need to agree the boundaries of our behaviour.”
She nodded. “I want to share your house and be with you whenever possible and yes we should agree boundaries for each other, but I still think we need a whole conversation on getting married because apart from anything else that proposal was not what I expected.”
Jim smirked at the serious tone of Tasha’s words as he pushed his empty plate away. “You didn’t like it?”
“I think we both know that I most definitely liked it, but when people ask how you proposed how the hell do I tell them that after spanking my arse red raw we were shagging doggy style and before letting me come you asked me to marry you? It’s not exactly romantic.” She laughed. “Which is fine, but it’s not one for polite company or to tell the grandchildren, is it?”
“So now we’re going to have grandchildren? You said you weren’t sure about children.”
Jim felt his equilibrium being further restored with every smile, look and word that suggested a long term future.
“I’m still not, but as you have children I think there is a good chance you will have grandchildren.” She giggled. “You as a grumpy granddad, that alone is worth sticking around for.”
“Very funny, Miss Winters. I think we should have at least six children, all of them very, very big babies and we’ll go for totally natural deliveries.” He sounded quite serious. “Then you can be a grumpy mommy to go with my grumpy granddad.” He laughed.
“Or not.” She briefly felt internal panic rise at the idea of babies being delivered naturally, regardless of size.
The waiter returned and cleared their plates away and left them with dessert menus.
“So, boundaries. What do you want from me, Tasha?”
“I want you to respect the privacy of my past. To only have information that you need, not every little detail that is irrelevant to us. I want to be able to say when you overstep that line without recriminations and big dramas. I also want you to discuss the important decisions with me not just deliver asolutionwith a big bow on top; like getting us a home, arranging holidays, weddings, engagement rings, just the big stuff. And I want you to tell me about your past, the relevant stuff,” she explained.
“Okay. I’ll try. I can’t promise I won’t fuck up, but I will try. You can ask me anything, Tasha. I think I’m quite open and honest with you.”
“Ditto, about fucking up. So what do you want from me?” She felt very nervous at his possible reply.
“You know what I want from you, honey. I’ve already been honest about that, but to clarify so we avoid any confusion; I expect your discretion in public which includes what you say and who to, the use of profanities and how you dress and conduct yourself. That means no kisses on messages to your attorney, no first names in professional dealings and no flirting with employees or service providers. I don’t want you to work for rival studios because I feel that makes me look a dick, either I don’t value your talent enough to employ you, or for some reason you don’t want to work for me and if my girlfriend won’t work for me why would anyone else want to? I don’t do huge public displays of affection so when we are in public, officially, we keep our hands and everything else to ourselves. That is everything beyond a gentle touch, a kiss or holding of hands.”
Tasha nodded.
“I don’t ever expect to find you on the front page of a tabloid or trashy magazine in a compromising position alone or witha friend, especially if when they dig, your companion is found to be an ex-boyfriend. I think in private we already have an understanding of what pisses me off and we both know that you sometimes like to play with me to get a reaction and that is fine because we both know I am happy to deal with that in private. You do need to relax about money though because I have more than you could imagine and will spend it how I see fit, whether you like it or not. Finally, you need to do what has been agreed, not the complete opposite which usually puts you in danger,” he said and sat back as he stared at her and waited for a response.
“I promise I will try, but that is quite a list.”
“Yeah, but it mainly comes down to you thinking first,” he said calmly.
“Okay,” she agreed, with his request and his summing up of what it was that usually got her into trouble.
“We still need to discuss marriage,” he said, “but we agreed we would do that when you come to L.A. Do you want dessert?” Jim pointed towards the menu.
“What I want isn’t on there,” she told him with a stare from behind slightly lowered lashes.
“Then maybe we should get the bill and go home. Let’s see if you can find something you do fancy.” He stared back at her, not stopping until he forced her to break the look by looking away with a flush to her face, neck and chest.
“When are we checking out of the hotel?”
He shrugged. “When do you want to check out?”
“We could go back there tonight and spend a day in the bed there and the shower and bath big enough for two and then check out tomorrow night before we spend our last night in our bed, in our flat. I will even take you to the airport on Friday,” she said.
“You’ve got it all worked out, haven’t you?”
“Just a suggestion.”
“And a mighty fine one, too. Now, let’s go before I forget my own dislike of public displays of affection and put you across the table.” He signalled to the waiter for the bill.
Tasha woke up and realised that it was almost four in the afternoon and as always Jim had been as good as his word and kept her naked all day. She rolled over to look at him sleeping, but he wasn’t there. Finding an empty bathroom, Tasha slipped on a robe and followed the sound of his voice she could now hear. His voice that sounded irritated. She found him sitting at the kitchen counter with his bare back to her.
