She has no idea, all the things she does that I’m getting used to. But as much as I love a great blowjob, it’s this—her in my shirt, her messy bun, her flushed face, her wide, dimpled smile, her slight frame on top of me… It’sherI’m getting used to, so much faster than I thought I could.
“Hey, are you hungry?” I ask the sleeping beauty in my bed.
“For you, yes,” she whispers with a smile and reaches out to me. I take her hand and kiss her wrist. It takes all my willpower not to ravage her right away.
“Rey, I forgot to cancel on Aiden, and he’s in the kitchen with my chef. It’s okay if you want to sleep in, but I promised to feed you.”
I brush the hair off her forehead, and she blinks her eyes open.
“Do you want me to come out when they’re there?”
“Yes, they’re okay. Come. Emine made shakshuka.” I stand up to head out, leaving her to freshen up. “I left some shorts here for you to wear, if they’re not too big.”
It doesn’t take long before I hear her bare feet pad down the hallway, and soon she comes around the corner. She arrives in my t-shirt and the shorts I found for her, her hair still in a messy bun. Is it strange that she looks sexier than ever?
I introduce them all, and Aiden is his annoyingly charming self. There’s a burning in my gut when I notice Rey’s eyes lingering on Aiden’s face and torso just a fraction longer than I like.
I shake it off.
He’s ridiculously handsome. Even some men we meet can’t take their eyes off of him straight away. I’ve never been ajealous man, but it seems I’ve retreated to some kind of primeval state.
Maybe I’ve just never cared before.
And now I care so much it scares me. The words are prickling on my tongue. The three big words I want to tell her, but for some reason, I’m too afraid.
“Are you coming to the Millefleuré opening next weekend?” Aiden asks. “Mark could use a date so he won’t have to talk to anyone else.”
Rey laughs, but her eyes flit to mine. “Umm, I don’t think I can, you know. It’s a pretty public event.”
Aiden straightens up and sends me a look. “Oh right, of course, sorry I put my foot in it there. You work at Infinio, right?”
Rey nods slowly in response to Aiden, chewing off a piece of the freshly baked Turkish bread she just dipped into the shakshuka.
Emine drops a fork on the floor and disappears behind the counter. What’s up with her?
When she pops back up, she pins me with a glare I’ve never seen on her before, but I can guess what it’s about. There’s that judgement I knew I’d get from people, but seeing it onherface—the woman who’s known me and worked for me for twelve years—it really stings.
“This is divine,” Rey says. “I’ve never tried it before, but now I don’t want to eat anything else.”
Emine gives her a smile, but it falls when she looks back at me. I need to nip that in the bud.
“Emine,” I say, and she startles. “Rey is the girl Aiden and I spoke about a while back, do you remember? I met her at The Orion. She was dressed as Alice,” I look over at Rey, grinning, “and she turned my world upside down.”
A sigh escapes my dear chef, and I find her eyes again.
“Oh, glad to see that’s working out,” she says, and thesmile she sends me is the one I know and it floods me with relief.
“I might be overstepping here, Rey,” Aiden starts, and I wonder what the hell he’s about to say. But I know he’s got my best interest at heart, so I let him go on. “You still work for K-Models, don’t you? For Kirsten?”
“Technically I’m a freelancer, but I take the work I want from Kirsten, yes.”
“Do you dance?”
“Not professionally,” Rey answers, smiling, and I can’t help but laugh at the memory of her hilarious twerking and flailing at The Orion.
“The team is organising living art for the Millefleuré opening with K-Models, and there’s some crowd work required. Would you want to be part of that?”
“Absolutely, I’d love to! Or would it be weird?” She looks at me.
