4
The weekend passed. Greg and I had been texting a little bit while he hadn't been working.
The guy had a good imagination, and we'd shared a whole gallery of intimate pictures, which helped to alleviate the aching wait.
It wasn't the same as having him with me, but we couldn't just jump into bed as soon as he came back, either.
We had to speak, and if he had a problem with me sleeping with Reid, then our romance was going to have to come to an abrupt end.
It was going to be a shame because Greg was cool, but I wasn't willing to compromise my lifestyle and my needs.
I had to face it. One man was never going to be enough for me.
Did that make me greedy? Maybe, but we only get one life, so we might as well make the most of it.
Greg insisted that we go out for dinner a few hours after he got back.
He said he wanted to do things properly, and he wanted to treat me.
The business trip had gone well, and he'd received a nice bonus for his troubles.
I still wore the lacy black number under my tight red dress, knowing it was only a matter of time before he unwrapped me.
And if he wasn't interested after we had our chat, then Reid could have the honors.
I dolled myself up all nice and shiny for him, my hair glossy, my lips ruby red, wanting to knock him out as soon as he saw me.
It crossed my mind that he might have had some fun in New York.
Maybe there was some of that male competitiveness in me, as well, as I wanted to prove myself better than any of those New York broads.
As soon as he saw me, his eyes popped. He walked up to me, and I kissed him slow and long, wanting to enjoy it as much as possible.
I ran my hand around the back of his neck, playing with his hair.
I felt him twitch as he pressed into me.
I leaned into him, shifting my hips a little, teasing him for what was to come later.
"I missed you," he breathed, and I wondered if those words slipped out by mistake. However, as I looked into his eyes, I saw that he was being earnest, and he wasn't trying to hide anything.
I smiled. "I missed you, too."
I wasn't lying, although it felt like I was getting into dark waters. Sex and love had never been joined at the hip for me, and one realm was far easier to navigate than the other.
He pulled out a chair, and we sat down. He told me about the trip while we shared some bread and the wine was poured.
"There's so much going on in New York. Too much, if you ask me. I don't know how people live there all year round. It's so overwhelming, like all of your senses are assaulted at once. I was glad to visit, but I prefer living in a place like this."
Our pasta came, and I waited for a lull in the conversation before I addressed the subject that loomed so large in my mind.
I spun spaghetti on my fork and lifted it into the air, holding it there, telling myself that I couldn't procrastinate for much longer.
The awkward thing was that I really did like Greg, more than I liked anyone in a long while.
If he wasn't cool with me sleeping with Reid, then I was going to have to make a choice.
Could I be a one-man girl for the first time in my life?
How was I going to handle the urge whenever I passed Reid? God, I might have to move.
Double God, Greg might ask me to move in with him!
Was I ready for that?
Was he?
From what I knew about him so far, he was decisive. He never dithered over his order, and when we'd met, he'd asked for my number without hesitation. Maybe he would ask me to move in. Could I handle that, giving up my independence?
I closed my eyes and took a deep breath, telling myself to stop letting my thoughts spiral out of control. It was absolutely ridiculous.
"Is something on your mind?" he asked, noticing the lull in conversation.
I rested my fork against the side of the bowl. "The truth is that I need to talk to you about something."
"Uh-oh, that's never good."
"Truth is it might not be good, depending on how you react," I said.
A wary look came upon his face, and he folded his napkin, placing it in his lap.
"Look, I really like you---"
"I think I know where this is heading."
"No, Greg, it's not like that. It's just ... look, things have been pretty crazy between us, and we haven't had a chance to talk about certain things, like whether we're exclusive or not," I said, pausing to take a breath and to gauge his reaction.
He had a good poker face, though, and I couldn't glean anything from it.
"Thing is that I have this ... thing with a neighbor. We just fool around on and off. It's not serious, but it does happen, and I wanted to be honest with you. I don't like deceiving people or misleading people, and I always want to be honest about this stuff.
If I wanted to see him from time to time, would you have a problem with that?"
"It doesn't bother me," he said.
"Are you sure? Because I've had some people say that before, and then it turns out they really are bothered."
He reached across and took my hand. "Alexis, like you said before I left, we are both adults. This is the real world. If you're not ready to be exclusive, then it's fine. If there comes a point where that changes, then we can talk about it again."
I breathed with relief and was glad that he hadn't flown into a rage or showed any signs of being jealous. I did wonder, however, if part of the reason why he was okay with things was because he was seeing someone else, as well.
"Just so we're on the same page, are you seeing anyone else, or was there anyone in New York?"
He smirked and shook his head. "I don't really have the time for that."
"Well ... let me know if that changes."
"Will do. Now, shall we get on with dinner? I figured we could have dessert at my place. And I know what I'm having," he said, making an exaggerated gesture of looking me up and down.
I squirmed with delight, and we hurriedly finished our food. I felt much better now that we'd had this conversation, and I was ready to enjoy the rest of the evening.
As we got to the car, Greg fired off a quick text message. Then music started playing and the engine roared. He reached across and squeezed my thigh, grinning at me with all the promise of a man who was about to unleash a week of pent-up arousal on me.
He couldn't drive quickly enough for my liking, and while he drove, I reached across, unbuttoned his pants, and played with his cock. There were a few moments where we swerved dramatically, but thankfully, the roads weren't busy.