Total pages in book: 78
Estimated words: 73930 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 370(@200wpm)___ 296(@250wpm)___ 246(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 73930 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 370(@200wpm)___ 296(@250wpm)___ 246(@300wpm)
“Maybe you’d better go,” Autumn tells us. She looks disturbed now, as if it bothers her that she almost got caught, or maybe she’s waking up from a haze she was in, and this whole situation now feels strange.
That’s how it feels to me, anyway, though I don’t want the night to end.
9
Autumn
“Are you up for lunch today?” Garrett asks, sticking his head into the cubicle where I’m setting up a monitor for a new salesperson who’s starting tomorrow.
His voice sounds relatively normal, but his eyes are cautious.
I’m relieved that he’s asking, because I don’t want things to change between us, even though I know things already have changed.
“Sure,” I say, aiming to keep my tone light. “I’ll be ready in a minute.”
We opt for the Chinese buffet today, and I notice that neither of us fills our plate as much as we typically do. At the table, we’re both quiet as we eat, until he says, “Are you okay?” at the same time that I ask, “Is everything okay?”
The coincidence of timing is the tension breaker we needed, and we both laugh, our eyes meeting and holding for an extra beat.
“That was weird last night, wasn’t it?” I say once we’re quiet again.
“Every single minute,” he says with a familiar smile that helps to calm my nerves.
“I never expected any of that.”
“But you enjoyed it?” he asks.
After taking a drink of my iced tea, I say, “I think I was just worked up after watching the show at the club.”
He gives a short nod. “You don’t regret anything, do you?”
I’m quick to answer. “No, but I have been wondering how far things would have gone if Kelly and Lindsey hadn’t come home when they did.”
Again he nods, and I get the impression that he’s been wondering that too.
His tone is careful when he asks, “Would you have wanted things to go further?”
I’ve been tortured by that question. So many years a virgin, and wanting my first time to be with a special person, but I was so caught up in it all last night that I’m afraid I might have let things progress anywhere the men wanted to go, and I’m pretty sure I would have enjoyed it all very much.
At the same time, I’m embarrassed about having an orgasm right in front of Garrett. Who does that? And in the way it happened … I can’t even bear to think about it.
“I don’t know,” I say finally. “Further feels like a big step, though I could have seen myself getting carried away.”
Garrett sets down his chopsticks and looks at me, his expression serious. “This may or may not be the right time to tell you, but I have always … had a thing for you. Ever since you started,” he adds.
Ever since I started? “Why didn’t you tell me?” His kiss was pretty amazing, and I’m immediately saddened by the thought that we could have been doing that for the past two years.
“I didn’t think it would go over well with the company. I don’t think it’s against a written rule, but they would disapprove, especially since we’re in the same department,” he says, “and since you were the newer hire, it could have jeopardized your job. But mostly I didn’t tell you because I didn’t think you’d be interested.”
“I’ve always thought you were kinda cute,” I confess.
He grimaces. “I had a meeting yesterday, and there’s a good chance I may be offered a promotion to head the department when we hire more people.”
“A manager/employee relationship is definitely against the rules,” I say, understanding now why he looks pained.
Garrett picks up his utensils again and prods at a pile of noodles. “I probably never would have told you how I felt, but I figure after last night, it’s got to be obvious.”
“Not necessarily,” I say. “Your kiss was fire, though.”
The look of pleasure on his face makes me want to lean across the table and kiss him again right now, company rules be damned. When his grin eventually fades away — after several minutes! — I ask, “Were you bothered that Trevor was there?”
Trevor is the elephant in the room, the third wheel on our bicycle, though I can’t bear to think of him as someone who’s extra or unneeded. It feels important to bring him up, because I loved kissing him too, and if I had the opportunity, I’d do it again.
It takes a while for him to answer, and I can tell that he’s choosing his words carefully. “In a way, yes, I was bothered, but it has everything to do with my lack of confidence, not with any kind of possessiveness. I know I have no right to be possessive, anyway. Though it was strange having him there, you and I probably never would have kissed if he hadn’t suggested it.”