ME
We’re never talking about that again.
JAKE
Fair. I’m mostly interested in the part where I get to cradle your head against my chest while I fuck you until we both come.
It was still sexting, which was normal for us, but it didn’t feel the same. I drew in a breath, trying to catalogue my feelings. I liked this new tender version of us. I liked that I’d started to think of us as an us.
ME
That’s what I’m most interested in too.
There was a pause where I couldn’t tell if he was trying to decide how to respond or if I’d gone too far. I knew it was ridiculous, but my nerves weren’t quite on board yet.
JAKE
I know you’re probably buried with work today, but it you have time tomorrow night, I wondered if you wanted to play girlfriend.
I couldn’t tell whether he meant just play or whether he was talking about actually dating. And I didn’t know which one I wanted more.
JAKE
It’s like slutty secretary but without the spanking. And maybe with noodles and a movie.
That felt like familiar ground but with some of the other stuff I’d just discovered I wanted.
ME
That sounds good. Your place at 7?
We didn’t usually get together in the evening, but we didn’t usually watch movies or eat together either.
JAKE
That works.
He didn’t say it was, but if it looked like a duck and quacked like a duck, did that mean it was a date?
22
Imade a quick pass through my place, making sure the cabinet doors were closed, and I hadn’t left my boxers on the floor.
Asking Elena to come back so soon and for dinner and a movie didn’t fit our normal pattern, and I felt a little out of my depth. I didn’t normally get anxious when she came over because I knew exactly what we’d be doing. We worked it out ahead of time. This felt different.
It’s not that I never dated. I dated. Just not seriously. It was more to prove to myself and my family that I wasn’t a hermit. Whatever this thing Elena and I were doing seemed more important.
Before I had a chance to let my nerves get the better of me, I heard a soft knock on my door. When I opened it, Elena stood in the hallway, wearing a flowery dress with a short skirt. She’d pulled her hair back into a low ponytail and something about the way she did her makeup made her look less polished and professional than normal. More genuine somehow. Her clothes were different too. She looked beautiful, but the dress wasn’t like anything she’d worn before.
“I wasn’t sure what to wear to play girlfriend. I hope this is okay.” Her gaze searched mine, a hint of uncertainty creasing the center of her forehead.
“It’s perfect.” I reached for her, pulling her into the room and into my arms.
The sandals made her a few inches shorter than her normal heels, and she had to stretch to wrap her arms around my neck. I bent to kiss her, just a brush of my lips over hers, but it was enough to reorder my world. I didn’t care what we called it; I fucking loved having this woman in my arms.
I forced myself to pull back before I hauled her down the hall and back to my bed. She grinned up at me and her expression held a hint of mischief, as if she knew exactly what I’d been thinking.
“Do you want a glass of wine?” If she really was my girlfriend, I’d know what she drank. As it was, I’d ordered in a variety of red and white wines covering the scale from dry to sweet. I’d even had the wine shop include a bottle of rose Prosecco to cover all the bases.
