Chapter Twenty Kingston #3
"I don't just mean these folders," I say, turning to look back at her.
"Oh?" She raises an eyebrow.
"I think that we should address what we talked about earlier."
“We don’t have to. I mean, there’s not much to talk about, right?”
"We should talk about us," I say. "Well, not us in a relationship, but any physical acts that may happen again between us.
Maybe we should come up with some rules.
That way, nothing is in the gray area, so to speak, like you said before.
It'll be black and white, and hopefully, we'll both be on the same page. "
"Okay. So, what are you suggesting?"
"I'm suggesting that we don't mention this arrangement inside the office whatsoever. That way, no lines could ever be blurred."
"Okay," she says, nodding. "That works for me."
"I am suggesting that we alternate the activities that we do each week."
“I’m not following here,” she says, frowning. "What activities?"
"I think that we should hang out and not just have sex."
"Okay? Why?"
"Because I don't want you to ever think that this is just a sex thing."
"But it is just a sex thing."
"No, it's an us enjoying each other's company and having sex thing.
I don't want you to consider me your enemy with benefits.
" I frown. "I think we can still be friendly, have fun, and some nights have some good sex, and I don't want to be the only one coming up with ideas and things to do. So, maybe we alternate."
"Okay, like a date night?"
I nod. "Well, it won't be a date. It will be a fun night."
"A fun night," she repeats after me. "Okay, so we alternate planning fun nights?"
"Yeah," I say. "Maybe once a week?"
"Okay," she says. "The same night every week or…?"
"I don't know. What works for you?"
"I mean, yeah, maybe. I don't know," she says. "Is it weird if we have a scheduled fun night?"
"What if we say Saturdays?"
"I volunteer on Saturdays in the morning at an adult literacy organization, so I wouldn't be available all day, but—"
"I didn't know you did that," I say softly, looking at her with admiration.
"You don't know everything about me just because you think you do."
"That's true. I don't. Why don't we say Saturday afternoon and Saturday evening?"
"Okay." She nods. "And you want to do it every Saturday or every other Saturday or…?"
"Let's start with every Saturday and just see how we feel."
"Okay," she says. "But…"
"But what?" I ask as her voice trails off.
"How do we ensure that we don't catch feelings or let stuff get complicated or…"
"I don't know. What do you suggest?" I ask her.
"Maybe we have to make sure we go on dates with other people as well so that we're not the sole focus of each other's mind."
"You're asking me to go on dates with other women?" I laugh. "Well, that's a new one."
"I am not saying that I think you should sleep with other women because that's nasty," she clarifies.
"Excuse me?"
"You and I, we didn't use protection, and I'm assuming that going forward, we're not going to use protection, but I'm not going to do that if you are sleeping with other women because I don't know what you may or may not pick up."
"That's fair," I say. "So, no other sexual partners?"
"Yeah," she says. "You can go on dates and flirt, but if it comes to a point where you want to have sex with them, you have to let me know and vice versa. That way, we just end whatever we have."
"Sounds about right to me. I can work with that."
"Okay," she says. "And we don't mention anything that happens on fun night in the office, period. When we're in the office Monday through Friday, fun night doesn't exist."
"Okay," I say. "That won't be a problem for me. Will it be for you?"
"No," she says, shaking her head. "Not at all."
"Well, then, I think we have a plan." I carry a small wooden board filled with cheeses, meats, crusty baguettes, and crackers back to the table. "Now, we shall feast and continue working."
She nods and yawns. "Sounds good to me."
"You're tired," I say, narrowing my eyes. "Are you sure you want to do this now? Are you…"
"I'm fine. Once the caffeine kicks in, I'll be good to go." She gives me a small smile. "But I don't think that I have energy to do anything more than work tonight."
"I understand," I say, disappointment filling my heart, but I shrug it off. "Let's just work on these folders, and then we'll go to bed."
"I can leave when I'm done. I don't have to—"
"You'll stay here tonight," I say.
"But…"
"But nothing." I shake my head. "You'll stay here tonight."
"Okay," she says, reaching for a piece of bread. "Thanks."
"You don't have to thank me," I say, smiling widely as I reach for a piece of salami. The salty meat feels like Heaven on my tongue. I grab another folder. "Now, let's see if we can get this done tonight so I don’t have to make you wake up at four o'clock in the morning."
"Yay. How sweet are you."
"I like to think I'm pretty sweet," I say, grinning. "But maybe not as sweet as you."
"Ha ha," she says, blushing, knowing exactly what I'm talking about as I lick my lips and stare at hers.