My Last(62)
“Junk? Really?” Chelle smiled and shook her head.
“I said he doesn't like to talk about it,” Riley replied, doing his best to keep a straight face and succeeding – except for the small smile that tugged at the edges of his mouth.
“Miles and Velma, both widowed, met online. Their kids made their respective profiles. This is their first date.” She looked proud of herself.
He tilted his head, giving her a knowing wink. “Mine’s better.”
She sighed in defeat, “I know, yours always were. You have a good imagination.”
He leaned forward, “I wanted to put that imagination to good use this morning before we were interrupted.”
A blush quickly rose on her cheeks. He loved how she was always blushing around him. He loved seeing the physical evidence of how she responded to him.
“Well, we still have tonight.” She smiled as she got up and swung her leg over the side of her bike.
His pants were suddenly very tight, and it occurred to him that he had no idea how in the hell he was going to ride a bike with a raging hard-on.
--- ~ ---
Chelle pulled the chicken out of the oven and flipped it before returning it and closing the oven door. She set the timer for another 15 minutes. She stirred the rice as she checked on the veggies she was steaming. She wasn’t the greatest cook, but Riley had made her breakfast every day that he had been there and she wanted to return the favor.
She knew that this afternoon, when she had put off their talk, she was only delaying the inevitable. But, why not put it off? She already knew she wasn’t going to like what he had to say.
She just didn’t want things to be awkward between them. She didn’t want him to feel like he had to let her down easy. She wouldn’t be able to stand it if she saw a look of pity in his eyes.
Chelle didn’t want to be 'that girl' to him. The one that got attached. The one who got clingy. The one he would have to avoid from then on.
She had seen it happen time and time again with women and her brother Eddie. He hadn’t wanted anything serious since Emily’s mom Lacey had left.
He had tried to date casually, but women always took it for more than what it was. She had seen him try and let them down easy, to try to be kind but firm. That worked about eighty percent of the time. But, with the other twenty percent, he had to end up being downright cruel, or to just try and avoid them at all costs. There was no other way, because they simply refused to get a clue!
She didn’t want to have that ‘talk’ with Riley.
WWSD (What Would Samantha Do), hmm?
That’s it, she thought!
Samantha would probably let him off the hook first, beat him to the punch. Proactive was always better than reactive, right? She was sure she had read that somewhere.
Good, so the plan was to make sure that Riley knew that she was aware of the situation, which was - this was just for fun. Temporary. Nothing serious. She may have to backpedal a little, since she had told him several times the night before (at his insistence, but whatever!) that she loved him. Whoops!
But, hey. He probably wouldn’t bring that up. He was a guy! If there was one thing you could count on a guy for, it was to be willing to gloss over an emotionally charged topic if it meant shortening – or avoiding – an uncomfortable, intense conversation. So she was sure that they could just sweep the whole 'I love you' thing under the rug.
Right?
Chapter Nineteen
Chelle sat across from Riley trying to build up the courage to have The Talk.
“This is amazing,” He took another bite of the chicken, “You didn’t have to do this.”
“I wanted to.” She smiled and she immediately saw that look he got in his eye whenever she smiled. She liked that look. She was going to miss that look.
Okay, talk time! Just start talking, she told herself. There was one tiny problem with that...she had no idea what to say. What did she remember Eddie saying to women?
He told them he didn’t have room in his life for someone other than Emily. Yeah, well that wouldn’t work for obvious reasons.
He sometimes reminded them that he had told them he didn’t want anything serious before they had ever hooked up the first time. Well, damn. Also not going to work, since she (like an idiot) had professed her love to him before they hooked up.
At times, he had also used the good ole’ faithful ‘not ready for a relationship.’ Now, that one might actually get some traction. She had just gotten out of a serious relationship. It would make sense that she wasn't ready to just jump right into another one. Yeah. That could actually work.
DAMMIT! Why did this have to be so hard? Why couldn’t she just tell the truth? You know...say something like, ‘Sure I’m in love with you, but it’s no biggie! I know that you don’t feel the same, and that's cool. But, here's the thing - I really like having sex with you...SOOOO...this friends-with-benefits thing is just fine and dandy with me.’