“How delightful,” my mother replied. “I imagine there’s a thriving market for that work in Seattle.”
“He seems very busy,” I agreed.
My father placed his fork on his plate. “Malcolm,” he said sternly. “Is there more to this story that you’re not telling us?”
Just that I spent two days in the middle of the forest with him and an older man. And that I had the most explosive orgasm of my life. I also have a new interest in motorcycles. Do you like motorcycles, Mother and Father?
I shook my head quickly. “If I seem awkward, I suppose it’s just because I enjoyed his company.”
“Lovely,” my mother said abruptly, although there was no warmth in her voice. She glanced around the room for a moment, her eyes trailing over the wainscoting. “Perhaps he’d be willing to come by and give us his opinion on our interior? I know some of these details aren’t accurate to how the house would have been in the 1930s…” She sounded almost apologetic when she said it.
“It was just a first date,” I said quickly. “I don’t think we’re quite ready to meet the family yet.”
My father chuckled, lifting the cover off a silver tray to reveal a large white fish, adorned with lemons and capers. “Yes, dear, give Malcolm a chance to decide whether this is a serious match. I’m sure he’ll bring the young man by for our approval the moment he makes up his mind.”
I tried to picture Gunner across the table from me and felt my stomach flip.
All night, I had fantasized about seeing him again. I knew Maddox would be coming to town soon, also, and I had been hoping and praying that the three of us would get another chance to meet up. If they really were going to help me with my landlord situation, I figured we’d have to see each other at least a few more times.
Which also meant a lot more lies to my parents and a lot more half-truths to try to cover my trail. With both of them staring at me from opposite ends of the dining room table, I felt anxious that I wouldn’t be able to maintain the charade.
Was I just fooling myself, thinking I could have my fun with Gunner and Maddox and still maintain my peaceful, proper life?
But as my father served me a steaming piece of white fish, I wasn’t anxious about getting caught by my parents. I wasn’t worrying about my reputation at the library or failing the strict expectations my mother and father had placed on me.
What worried me was the fact that I had tasted something different, and I couldn’t forget it. I had felt a kind of pleasure I didn’t know was possible, and now, with a napkin folded carefully in my lap, I couldn’t think of anything but those two men.
Finally, I knew what I wanted, and knowing it changed everything.
