Chapter 28 #3
"No, I didn't deflate it, but I told you before, it's kind of cheap, so you have to keep blowing it up and—”
“You're not staying here, Lila. This is a shithole."
I stare at him, feeling quite offended by his words. "It's not a shithole; it's my place, and—"
"I know you love it, and I know it's the first place you've had by yourself, and it means a lot to you, but this can't be comfortable. You have no chair, you have no couch, you have no bed. I'm not going to let you stay here."
"You cannot tell me what to do. I may be your assistant, but—"
"I don't want you to stay here because I care about you, Lila." He grabs my hands, pulls me to him, and kisses my nose. "I care about you and your comfort, and I want to spend the rest of the weekend with you."
"But I thought you said you had plans with your sister tomorrow…"
"I do, but that doesn't mean you can't join us."
"What?" I say, my eyes widening.
"I want to spend the rest of the weekend with you, and I'd like for you to meet Marie. I'm sure she'd love to meet you." He shakes his head in an exasperated fashion. "She might be a bit mouthy and over the top when she does meet you, so just be prepared."
"What do you mean? Is she going to hate me?"
"Oh, no. I think she's going to love you. But she is going to go on and on and on about how I've been single forever and how she never thought I'd meet a nice girl like you."
"What?"
"I'm just predicting that's what she's going to say." He laughs. "So grab a bag and some stuff and spend the weekend with me. I would spend the weekend here, but I really wouldn't be comfortable."
"Fine," I say. "You do know that when I get a couple more paychecks under my belt, I'm going to decorate and furnish this place, and you'll never want to leave, right?"
"We'll see," he says.
My heart soars at the words because I realize that I've just talked about him coming here in the future, and he didn't get red or stammer. Maybe he does kind of like me. Maybe it isn’t just about the sex. Though, I don’t want to get ahead of myself. The sex is pretty fucking amazing.
"I'll just bring some clothes and some underwear," I say. "I don't really have much else to bring. Oh, maybe my laptop."
"Why are you bringing your laptop?" He tilts his head to the side.
"Because I have a crazy boss who likes to send me emails in the middle of the night asking me to do different projects, and just in case."
"I have a feeling your boss won't do that."
"But just in case," I say, grinning at him as I grab my laptop and pack up my clothes.
"Come on, let's go back to my place," he says, smirking as we walk back out the door. "Are you sure you're ready for my sister?"
"Are you sure you're ready for your sister to meet me?"
"Yeah."
"But then she'll know about us, and it will really be out there, and—"
"I don't care. I'm sorry that I told you I didn't want people in the office to know, but I don't care. I want you to get to know my sister. I want you to be a part of my life."
I stare at him wide-eyed.
"What is it now, Lila?" he asks.
"I’m just surprised by your words."
"Why?"
"I don't know. Maybe because you don't seem like the sort of guy who would want a relationship."
I stammer over my words because I've just put the R word into the universe, and I don't know how he's going to react.
"Who says I want a relationship?" he asks, and I feel my heart sinking.
Why did I mention it?
"So, this is just about sex for you?" I ask.
He grins then, his eyes sparkling. "Are you telling me it's not about sex for you, as well?"
"Oh, of course. It's all about sex," I say. "In fact, I'm trying to get you to impregnate me so I can be set for life, child support and all that."
He stares at me for a couple of seconds, and for a few dreadful moments, I think he thinks that I'm being serious.
"I'm just joking, Max, don't worry."
"I know that you're joking." He bursts out laughing. "I just didn't realize you had such a dark sense of humor."
"Hey, I can be sarcastic and funny and scare the living daylights out of you all in one sentence."
"Who says that you scare me?"
"You're telling me that my telling you that I was hoping you would impregnate me and set me up for life didn't scare you for even one second?"
"No," he says. "Maybe the thought of impregnating you doesn't scare me as much as you think."
"What?" My face freezes in shock with my eyes and mouth left wide open, and he bursts out laughing.
"I mean, not anytime soon. I just want to enjoy the practice."
"You are crazy." I shake my head, though my entire body is glowing. "Do you think we're…"
"Do I think we're what?" he asks as we walk to the side of the road, and he holds his hand out for another cab.
"Do you think this is all moving way too fast?"
"Yes," he confirms, nodding. "Do I think that we're absolutely crazy?" He turns to me as a yellow cab pulls over. "Yes."
"Why thank you, Max. I'm glad to hear you think that."
He opens the door for me. "You can get in. I'll put the bag in the back."
"Okay," I say as I slide into the back of the cab.
I wait a couple of seconds, then he gets in beside me and tells the driver where we're headed to.
"I just can't believe this is my life right now," I admit as I stare at him. "Are we just two crazies?"
"Maybe." He shrugs. "But maybe you were right."
"Maybe I was right about what?" I ask.
"Maybe life is just one big romance movie, and we're the main characters in this part."
"So I'm the heroine, and you're the hero?"
"I'd like to think that is true. Why? Do you think I'm the villain?"
"No," I say. "I very much think that you're the hero. You're so handsome and hot."
I touch his thigh and lean over to give him a kiss on the lips. His eyes widen as he looks at me.
"And I very much think that you're the main part of my story," he says. "Ironically."
"Why is that ironic?" I ask as I pull away, but he grabs my face, holds me close to him, and kisses me hard.
"Because I never thought romance would be a central theme in my life," he says. "I always thought my book was more of a thriller, and now it's starting to become more of a romantic comedy."
"Oh. And you don't like that?"
"It's just something different," he says. "I thought I was more of a John Grisham, but it turns out I might be more of a Nora Roberts."
"No, darling, I think you're more of an E. L. James." I laugh.
He nods and kisses me again. "You might be right about that. So, shall I get a red room?"