“There’s Uber for that,” she told me without even looking at me as she left the bedroom.
I sighed and knotted the condom before I tossed it into the trash. Standing, I went out to see her by the window on her phone. She stilled and gave me a scared look as I approached her. “I can take you.”
“That’s not necessary,” she said, staring past me for a moment. “That was great but I have a boyfriend. I should deal with that and figure my life out. I don’t want anything with you, though. This was just…what it was.” Lily shrugged and tried to pretend that it was nothing before her phone chimed. “They’re on their way. I should be outside.”
“I’ll wait with you.” She sighed and we walked out together, not touching as the distance between us grew. The car pulled up and I took a close look at the young male driver before I glanced at her.
“Good night. I’ll see you at work.” Lily got into the car and closed the door as I watched, left alone. I knew I didn’t want that after what we had just shared together, but I understood her fear.
I knew sleeping with her had been a risk, but it was one I was willing to take again. I’d felt more with Lily tonight than I had with anyone else since Madeline. I wanted to hold on to that.
I looked out over the night before I went back inside, locking the door and turning on a movie in my bedroom. My body was tingling and it still smelled like her in here.
I never wanted to wash the sheets.
Lily
I cried in the car on the way home. I was so upside down, and I needed some more wine and solo time to think this through. I thanked the guy without a second glance as I slipped out of the car.
I unlocked the front door of my apartment and walked inside as I wiped my eyes again. I put my purse on the counter along with my keys and made it to my couch before I dropped onto it and started sobbing.
I knew Brian wasn’t the love of my life, but he deserved better than what I had just done. I deserved better. At this point, I didn’t know if I still had a job, which was everything to me right now.
What should I do?
The sex had been incredible. Landon had done things I’d never felt, and the response from my body had been overwhelming. He’d called it right when he’d suggested Brian just stuck his dick inside me, something that never brought me to release. This time, I got there with fingers, tongue, and cock.
However, Landon was my supervisor. It had to stop.
I grabbed the bottle of wine in my fridge and took my phone to my bedroom. I showered as long as the hot water lasted before drying off and pulling a big shirt over my head. I crawled into bed and drank right from the bottle like the rebel I was, knowing it was nothing like the wine I’d had at dinner. It was cheap and my bed was empty and cold, making me cry all over again.
I woke up feeling like I’d been hit by a truck, and one look at my phone made me realize Brian had never called or texted last night. Did he even miss me? I went to get coffee and looked at my business phone after I turned it on, waiting anxiously for it to power up. I could be fired, left to start over after losing my mind a week into the job.
One week and I’d jumped into bed with my supervisor. What kind of whore was I?
There were a few messages, but nothing about being fired. Landon asked me if I was all right, assured me that nobody would ever know, and told me it had been the best night of his life.
What a difference from Brian.
I sipped my coffee, taking some aspirin with the Vitamin water that was in the fridge. I had not had a hangover like this in some time, not since college. I made my way to the couch, thankful that it was the weekend and I could just stay home and ride this out. I longed to never go back to work and face what I did, but that was out of the question. I would just have to hold my head high and refuse to address our little tryst last night. Little…who was I kidding? It was the single best night of my life given the way he had used his body to please me so well. I swore that the man could probably give a woman an orgasm just by looking at her. It would never be me again, and I might be a bit jealous of the next woman, but nobody would have to know that.
No, they wouldn’t. It was back to business and working on this thing with Brian at least a little bit before I gave up. Surely he could be taught the things that pleased a woman in time, since it seemed to me older men had it together.
Guys my age couldn’t be all bad.
I dozed throughout the day, finally willing to eat something later on. I ordered my favorite greasy sandwich from the nearby deli for delivery and pulled on sweats and a clean shirt to get the door, throwing my hair into a low ponytail before the doorbell rang. I smiled when I opened it, slipping the young guy a bill before I secured the lock and sat down with my breakfast, lunch, and dinner and some hot tea.
By Sunday I was feeling a bit better and had finally heard from Brian. He said they got drunk on Friday, causing him to sleep all day so he didn’t know I never showed up. He made it sound so logical that I was questioning myself for being bothered. He was always the easygoing guy everyone wanted to be around. I was feeling a little less that way, but Friday was a mistake and couldn’t happen again.
Landon did not contact me again, though I left my work phone in the kitchen to begin with. It was on if I was needed for any business matter, and I checked it from time to time, but there was nothing. I knew he had tried a few times, but being mature he didn’t want to bother me after my lack of response. I had probably made my thoughts clear when I ran out of his apartment as fast as possible once the condom was off. It made me cringe now, but what was done was done. It was better that we both just ignored it altogether, given the nature of our relationship.
I felt human by Monday morning, just reluctant to go into the office. I showered and wore a modest black wrap dress with heels, putting on enough makeup to look professional and not overdone. I pulled my hair into a side ponytail and forced a bright smile on my red-stained lips as I reminded myself that I could handle this.
Brian had taken me to dinner last night, and while it had just been a pizza place in the city, we’d had a good time. He talked about the weekend with his friends and I laughed in all the right places while sipping some water and looking across the table at him. Brian had dark blond hair and icy blue eyes that twinkled as he spoke, and I remembered how handsome I’d thought he was when we met at a party in school. To top it off, he was charming and all the girls seemed to notice him. My friend Olivia told me to go for it or step out of line.
So, I went for it.
We went home together that night, and a few months later here we were. He was still handsome and funny, but he lacked the passion I craved in a man. After Friday night, that was even more apparent. But I put that out of my mind Sunday night as I walked home beside Brian and he asked me to stay the night.
“Come to my place,” I suggested instead as I bumped against him. “I have to get up early for work and we’d have some privacy,”
“Sure. That sounds great.” We went back to my apartment and watched television in my bed before he kissed me. It was nice but not like Landon, making me groan inwardly as I deepened the kiss. The sex was painfully quick with little to no foreplay, and I stared at the ceiling with dissatisfaction in my eyes when he rolled onto his side with a long sigh.
Wasn’t I the kind of woman that made Brian want to try harder? It had been different when we’d first gotten together, or had it? Maybe I had just settled in faster than I thought, making me frown as he patted my stomach and closed his eyes. “Night, baby.”
“Good night, Brian,” I said as I snuggled under the covers, craving the way my body had felt Friday night. I didn’t even want to sleep right away, but I needed to for work the next day.
I watched Brian hop out of bed to go home before I locked my door and headed toward my car. I wanted him to look at me like Landon had for just a second, but he just pecked my lips and ran over to his apartment down the street without a second look back.
Landon
I’d had a long weekend waiting for Lily to respond to my texts. I’d told her everything I hoped would help the situation without stalking her. I knew women didn’t want a clingy man, and I prided myself on not being that man, but I was worried about her.
She was beautiful, unique, and deserved the best of everything. Her body was made to be worshiped, and I thought back fondly to the way she sounded when she was coming for me.
My cock hardened as I entered the building, looking over all the familiar faces to see if anyone looked at me differently. Having dinner with Lily wasn’t entirely impossible, though the restaurant had been fairly empty when we left. I had been too into her to notice if anyone from the building was there, but nobody had come over to say hello. I thought back and realized that we hadn’t been acting overly flirtatious at dinner, not enough to draw attention to ourselves, but the car had been a different story. Everything had come together in that moment, and the kiss we’d shared had been everything I’d wanted and more.
I walked toward my office as I looked at the empty desk just outside my door. I had been thinking a lot this weekend, and even after the stress of the divorce, I knew I wanted Lily. It was more than just the sex. I’d never risk work for any woman, though technically nothing would happen to me and I’d protect Lily in any way I could, but I wanted to be with her.