29. Chapter 29
Chapter 29
David ended up having Evan over to the loft for his ‘uncuffing’ thank you dinner a few nights later, since their schedules didn’t make it possible to go out on a night when Jacob wasn’t home.
It couldn’t be overstated how much David was dreading it.
When Evan arrived promptly at seven, he greeted David with a grin and immediately rubbed his hands together. “I’ve been looking forward to this all day. I’m not even exaggerating.”
David rolled his eyes at hearing that, just as Jacob launched himself at Evan, who pretended to fall backwards a little before picking up the little boy. Evan then proceeded to basically ignore David, in favor of taking Jacob into the living room, where David could hear them telling each other about their day. Because Evan was almost like a little kid himself, he and Jacob got along very well, so David left them to it as he got dinner started.
A few minutes later, as the Scooby-Doo theme song started to play in the other room, Evan wandered into the kitchen. “I love that kid. He’s the only reason I ever think about having any of my own,” he said, grabbing one of the Coronas David kept in the fridge for Evan. As he turned around, an enormous gift basket of muffins on the counter caught his eye. “Holy shit. That’s the biggest fucking basket of muffins I’ve ever seen in my life. Where’d you get it?”
David smiled to himself as he seasoned the steaks, but didn’t answer. It had been delivered to his photography studio on the Monday following his and Paige’s two rounds of Saturday night sex, with a card that read, ‘What the hell. You deserve this. With much appreciation, Paige.’
He’d laughed out loud, remembering the conversation with Paige about what would happen after they had sex. His suggestion that she send him a giant gift basket—specifically the kind with assorted muffins—had been thrown out there to mainly lighten the mood, but she’d remembered it.
“You got it from Cat Lady, didn’t you?” Evan surmised, taking a seat at the table.
David nodded. “Yes.”
“What’s the occasion? An apology for Handcuffgate?”
“No.”
“Well, it can’t be for your one-month anniversary together, since you two are just casual and wouldn’t be celebrating something like that …”
“Can you please, you know, drop it?”
“You know asking me to drop it never actually results in me dropping it, right?”
David looked at Evan over his shoulder. “It’s an inside joke, okay? A thank you for … sex.”
Evan hard-swallowed the drink he’d just taken. “Wait. You and Cat Lady had sex?”
“Yes.”
“When?”
“Saturday night.”
Evan pondered that for a moment. “So, how was it?”
“It was good. And that’s the only detail you’re getting.”
Evan shrugged and took another drink. “I’m more interested in the details of Handcuffgate, anyway. I’ve gone through several possible scenarios in my head and I’m dying to know if one of them is right.”
“Are you serious?”
“Yeah. Some of them are pretty wild. The one I’m rooting for involves role play.”
“Christ. We weren’t role playing. Why would you even think that?”
“I have a vivid imagination,” Evan replied. “So, if you weren’t role playing, what were you doing?”
With a sigh, David began. “We were just casually fooling around and—”
“Stop with the ‘casual’ bullshit. You let Cat Lady cuff you to your bed, man. That doesn’t scream casual to me.”
“What does it scream, then?”
“Uh … trust. A lot of trust. It was probably misplaced, though, since she left you hog-tied to the bed.”
“I wasn’t ‘hog-tied’,” David objected. “And anyway, her leaving me like that wasn’t on purpose. We had a … misunderstanding … and she left for a few minutes.”
“What kind of misunderstanding?”
“Just a misunderstanding, and that’s all I can say. If I told you more, she wouldn’t like that.”
“Fair enough. So, why did Cat Lady cuff you to your bed? Is that her kink?”
“It was my idea, actually.”
“Oh, so it’s your kink? That’s interesting.”
“No. God.” David put the steaks on a broiler pan and got the oven ready. “Like I said, we were just fooling around. There wasn’t any kinky shit going on, unless you consider massages to be kinky—”
“She gave you a massage?”
“Yes.”
“Wait. Like a regular massage, or a lingam massage?”
“Lingam massage,” David answered, surprised. “You know about those?”
“Of course.” Evan’s eyes narrowed as he said pointedly, “I’ve had them and given them … and lingam massages are all about fostering intimacy. Not casual fuckery.”
Instead of responding to that, David went to the fridge to get the makings for a salad, along with a beer for himself, which he immediately began pouring into a glass.
“Which sort of further blows your ‘casual’ claims all to hell, don’t you think?” Evan continued. “Not that they were believable, anyway, especially after you bought a thousand dollar mattress for her. Not to mention whatever all your new bedding set you back.”
“It wasn’t a thousand dollars,” David protested, taking a long drink of his Driving Miss Hazy Ale. “And all the bedding was on sale.”
“Whatever,” Evan dismissed, then shifted the conversation slightly. “So, you got a lingam massage while cuffed to the bed, which sounds very nice, by the way—”
“It was very nice, actually.”
“—and then there was a ‘misunderstanding’ of some sort—to remain a secret—followed by my having to free your ass. So what happened after that?”
David gave him a brief rundown as he prepared the salad, ending with, “If I’d just waited before calling you, she would’ve un-cuffed me herself when she got back, and you wouldn’t have blackmail material to hold over my head for the rest of my life. But I didn’t, so you do, and that’s the story.”
“Then you had sex.”
“Yes.”
Evan got up to get another beer and grab a couple of cherry tomatoes out of the salad bowl. “Well it’s not as salacious as I thought it would be, but you did get a happy ending out of it, so …”
“So, we’re done?” David asked, turning away as he put the steaks in the oven.
“Not yet. I want to talk about the fact that you like this Cat Lady,” Evan said, waiting until David was facing forward again and then adding, “You really like her.”
“I do,” David confirmed quietly, and admitting it out loud felt surprisingly good. “I like her a lot.”
“So, why do you keep insisting it’s casual with her?”
“Because it is. For her, it is. She’s not interested in anything serious right now.”
“Are you?”
“With her? Yes.”
“Well, you’re just going to have to change her mind, then.”
“I’m working on it.”
“Luckily, you shouldn’t have to work very hard, considering you’re a bit of a catch.”
“Jesus, Dick.”
“What? You are. One, you run a successful business. Two, you’re a decent guy, for the most part. Three, you’re good looking—and that’s not an empty compliment. I saw the goods the other night, so my opinion is based on fact.”
David ignored the ‘for the most part’ portion of Evan’s speech, as well as his reference to seeing the ‘goods’. “But I’m also a single dad.”
Evan frowned. “Is that a problem for her?”
“Sort of,” David replied, after a brief pause.
“Does she not like kids?”
“No, she likes them, but …” David trailed off, trying to find the right words to explain something without revealing too much. “It’s one thing to like children of your own and another to like someone else’s children.”
“Has she met Jacob yet?”
“No. It’s too early for that.”
“I disagree. You need to know—sooner, rather than later—if he’s going to be an issue for her. The last thing you need is to get really invested in this woman, only to find out Jacob is an issue. And if he is, then she isn’t worth your time because you don’t need another Ashley in your life. Jacob doesn’t either.”
Truth be told, it was David’s biggest fear that Jacob would be an issue for Paige, but David also knew he already was really invested, so figuring out how to make it work was his only option.
“So, what’s Cat Lady like?” Evan asked, changing the subject again.
“She’s funny and really sweet. Strong—maybe the strongest person I know. She can’t bowl for shit, but makes amazing homemade spaghetti sauce. And her feet are extremely ticklish.”
“What does she look like?”
“She has shoulder-length, light brown hair, and incredible brown eyes.”
“Incredible, huh?”
“Yeah. Like aged bourbon.”
“Wow. You’re sounding like one of those Hallmark movie characters right now.”
“Piss off.”
“So, where did you meet her?”
“In a bar,” David answered truthfully, then clarified, “Not yours.”
Evan grabbed his chest. “That hurts. I don’t like being cheated on.”
Chuckling, David opened the oven and pulled out the steaks, and the mouth-watering aroma of broiled filet mignon filled the air.
Evan gazed down at the steaks, his eyes lit up with anticipation. A second later, though, his expression turned pensive and he asked, “Cat Lady isn’t a vegetarian, is she?”
“No.”
“Thank God. You and Jacob don’t need another one of those in your lives again, either.”
In complete agreement with that statement, David called out to Jacob to wash his hands for dinner, before turning back to Evan, who was getting plates and silverware to set the table with. “I need to ask you for a favor.”
Evan shook his head. “Oh, hell no. I’m not moving any more shit for you.”
“That’s not it.”
“Then what is it?”
“I need you to give me your ticket to the Hootie and the Blowfish and Barenaked Ladies concert.”
Evan’s mouth fell open. “The ticket you gave me?”
“Yes.”
“Why would I do that?”
“Because I need it.”
“You need it?”
“Yes.”
“Are you serious?”
“Yes. I know it’s a shitty thing to ask, but—”
“It is a shitty thing to ask,” Evan agreed.
“And I wouldn’t ask, but it’s for … Cat Lady.”
“You’re pulling the Cat Lady card?”
David nodded. “She loves the Barenaked Ladies.”
Evan gave him a long, extended hairy eyeball, enhanced with an aggravated sigh. “Um … so do I, you big, giant asshole.”
“Please, Dick?”
It was the ‘please’ that swayed Evan. That, and the fact he’d been wanting something better for his friend for a long time—the fairy tale and happily-ever-after—and the possibility that Cat Lady might be it, took some of the sting out of giving up his concert ticket. But not all of it, because … Barenaked Ladies.
“Fine,” Evan relented, his voice coated with sarcasm. “But you and Cat Lady both owe my ass big for this.”
“Yes, we do,” David agreed, picking up his phone to text Paige, unable to wait to share the good news with her.
DAVID: There’s been a change of plans. Something came up and Dick can no longer go to the Hootie and the Blowfish and Barenaked Ladies concert with me.
DAVID: So, you are.