Nerd Girl(108)

I skirted out of the building as fast as I could.





By Thursday, I was feeling quite discouraged about my future job prospects. Despite this minor setback, my daily mood was brightly eclipsed by Ryan. Being in love was the greatest endorphin ever. My career was falling apart, but Ryan and I had found ourselves establishing a nice rhythm to our relationship; we had spent every night together this week. Because he often worked late due to his ridiculously crazy meeting schedule, I got home earlier than him, but every night he come to my place in the evening and we would have dinner together.

Tonight, however, was different. Tonight he had a dinner meeting. Sometimes his schedule got so slammed during the day that the only way critical meetings could take place was to have them over dinner. Since I knew Ryan would be late, I drove to Greenlake after work and ran a double loop.

By the time Ryan buzzed my door, it was well past nine o’clock. I was comfortably reading my book in bed, wearing only my camisole and a pair of sleep shorts. I had taken a shower after my run, so had no makeup on and my hair was pulled into a sloppy bun.

I opened my door and he greeted me with a slow grin, his eyes grazing down my body and then back up. “Babe.” He wrapped his arm around my waist to kiss me. “I like this look,” he said, grinning with approval.

I rolled my eyes but was secretly pleased with his reaction. I thought, by now, I would be somewhat used to his kisses, but each time he sealed his lips with mine, my heart leapt and I was breathless. I flushed under his appreciative gaze.

“Were you in bed already?” he asked.

“No, just reading … waiting for you.”

“Good,” he said, nuzzling his nose into my hair. “Let me take a quick shower and I’ll join you. Sorry I was so late. Will and I had a lot of catching up to do.”

“Will? You mean, Will Bigelow?”

Ryan nodded in acknowledgement. Will was another senior executive. I think he actually worked for Stephanie now, but I heard he had recently come from the US Subsidiary.

Ryan took clothes out of his bag and set them out for tomorrow before jumping in the shower. I smiled when I realized he no longer needed to bring his toiletries over; he’d already left his toothbrush and electric shaver at my place. He probably didn’t appreciate my citrus shampoo and body wash on his own head and body though, so I made a mental note to purchase his preferred shampoo and body products next time I went to the drugstore.

As Ryan took his shower, I couldn’t help wondering if he and Will ever spoke about their families, hobbies, or other outside activities at their meetings. Would Ryan be forthcoming about his relationship with me? Would he introduce me to them at Christmas parties or summer BBQs? He’s met my family and some of my friends, but I couldn’t help wondering when or if I would ever meet his.

We’d discussed not disclosing our relationship to anyone in either of our organizations, but it was becoming more difficult and disingenuous to not discuss my private life with my girlfriends. Outside of our two teams, I didn’t know if there were going to be additional boundaries. The discussion we had on the subject felt like it was so long ago and we really hadn’t revisited it since we officially “got together.” We’d briefly discussed it when he helped me with my scorecard, but back then we didn’t know that our relationship would take the course it did. That felt like ages ago.

I certainly didn’t want to pressure him about meeting his family, since when that happened was really his decision. I felt secure enough in our relationship that meeting his family would happen in its own time, but I couldn’t help wondering how I would be incorporated into his greater world. At some point, we needed to leave our cozy, comfortable, happy little bubble.

When Ryan came out of the bathroom, he wore only his boxer shorts. I shamelessly watched him walk across the room, enjoying the way he moved. He had a beautiful, broad back and shoulders that narrowed into a nice V at the waist. To my disappointment, he grabbed a t-shirt from his clothes pile and pulled it over his head. I pouted with a noticeable exhale of breath.

“Would you rather I not wear the t-shirt?” he asked, arching an eyebrow in amusement.

I nodded and gave him an appreciative grin.

He chuckled and honored my nonverbal request, tossing the shirt back on the pile and climbing into bed. He wrapped his arms around by waist and nuzzled his face into my stomach. “I missed you,” he murmured.

“Me too,” I said, combing my fingers through his hair.

I heard a contented moan escape his lips. He closed his eyes, apparently so comfortable in his current position that he might fall asleep. I probably should’ve let him, but I couldn’t help contemplating how and when we would leave the confines of our bubble. I really wanted to ask him while the thoughts were fresh in my mind.