Page 59 of Dr. Sexypants

Maybe.

Perhaps the more important question was why had I gotten so upset?

I realized I hadn’t been interested in dating anyone else either, but until today, I hadn’t qualified it in terms of “being off the market”. I’d just been able to enjoy hanging out with him and avoid labeling it.

And now that I had, it scared the shit out of me.

So, I did what I always do when something spooked me. I faced it head-on to prove to myself that it wasn’t as big a deal as I was making it out to be. Justin “being off the market” didn’t change anything as far as my relationship status was concerned.

And that’s how I found myself walking my beagle to Justin’s house, schlepping two overnight bags—one for me and one for Dora—along with a cherry pie that Jess, the new girl, had baked that afternoon.

I was going to face this fear and prove to myself there was nothing to it. We could still hang out without being in a relationship.

Then he opened his front door in a pair of black joggers and a blue t-shirt that emphasized his muscular arms and chest, with “NAVY” emblazoned across the front in gold letters.

His smile left me no doubt he was glad to see me. And the butterflies in my stomach made me realize how happy that made me.

It’s only a problem if you let it become one.

But I worried I might be too late.

****

Justin

I decided after censoring myself with the not girlfriend comment, I was going to act like I normally would. So, I leaned down and softly kissed her lips.

“I hope those bags mean you’re staying tonight.”

Kristy, however, wasn’t quite ready to let things go.

“We’ll see. I wanted to at least have the option.”

“I know how you like your options.”

“Oooh, was that a dig?”

I shrugged, then took the pie from her and guided her toward the kitchen. “What can I get you to drink?”

“A beer’s fine.” She looked around on the floor. “Where’d my dog go?”

“I left the back door open. She’s probably outside sniffing around.”

Glancing toward the open slider, she remarked, “She does love to explore,” then slid onto a barstool at the kitchen island while I set the pie on the counter before grabbing two beers from the fridge.

After opening them both and handing her one, she tapped her glass bottle against mine.

“Cheers.”

And just like that, we slipped back into our normal, comfortable banter, like nothing at the bakery had ever happened.

I wasn’t complaining.

****

Kristy

We closed Dora out of his bedroom when we had sex that night, but after we were done, Justin opened the door and disappeared into the hall. A few minutes later, he returned with my dog and an old blanket.