“Hi,” I said, a little startled and breathless.
We stared at each other for a moment. He was wearing his usual perfect black suit, his tie neatly knotted, looking every inch the successful businessman. Meanwhile I was standing there in my chill-out clothes, my hair unkempt and loose in its ponytail. We couldn’t have looked more like polar opposites.
“I…I thought you were Gretna,” I said.
“Sorry to disappoint,” he said, the corner of his mouth twitching.
I smiled, but I didn’t know what to say. We were perfectly suited to each other in bed, in the dark, but now? I was completely tongue-tied. Maybe I should have felt more uncomfortable about it, but the truth was, whatever we had going on seemed to work for us. For now, at least.
“Can I make you a plate?” I asked, gesturing to all the hot dishes on the stove. “Gretna made lobster ravioli.”
“Sounds good,” he said.
I was surprised. I’d expected him to say he’d only stopped by to change before going out to a business dinner or heading back to work for another late night call to Tokyo. This was early for him to be home; usually he didn’t get back until after midnight. It was barely seven.
I put together a plate for Stefan and carried it out to the couch where I’d left mine.
“Is this okay, or would you prefer to eat at the dining table?”
“This is fine.”
He took off his jacket, hung it neatly on the back of a chair, and rolled up his sleeves. Then he settled onto the couch next to me.
“I was watching lady TV, but we can switch it to sports or CNN or something,” I said, feeling slightly embarrassed about my guilty pleasure.
“You can leave it on,” he said. “I don’t watch much TV anyway.”
I pressed play, and for the rest of the episode, we ate in companionable silence. The whole thing was so cozy and domestic, I found myself relaxing despite the novelty of the situation. It was the first meal we’d eaten together since the night his father and siblings had come over. The first night we’d slept together. If Stefan realized this, he made no indication of it.
When he gathered up our napkins and empty plates and headed toward the kitchen, I decided to take advantage of the fact that he wasn’t glued to the work on his phone or laptop.
“So there’s an event at school tomorrow,” I said, leaning in the doorway.
My voice came out quieter than I’d intended. Stefan’s back was to me as he loaded the dishwasher, so I cleared my throat and spoke again, a little louder this time.
“It’s like the collegiate version of a debutante ball for all the new majors in my department. An opportunity for us to meet the other students and get some face time with the professors.”
Stefan started washing his hands, and for a moment I thought he hadn’t heard me—until he gave the smallest nod.
“You could go with me,” I added. “It’s at 8 o’clock.”
I instantly regretted it. Did I expect him to drop everything he had going on just to attend some freshman social event with me? He was an extremely busy man, and he obviously didn’t have much time to spare.
He turned around to look at me. “I’ll see what my schedule looks like.”
I’d heard that phrase a million times from my father growing up, and I knew it meant ‘not gonna happen.’
I tried to laugh it off. “Yeah. Of course. I know you’re swamped right now. It’s really no big deal.”
Besides, I was just inviting him to be polite.
He went back out to the living room, picked up his jacket and briefcase, and disappeared into his home office. I didn’t see him until several hours later, when he finally came to bed.
It was dark, and I was wearing nothing but a garter belt and thigh high stockings. Stefan didn’t say a word, just threw me face down on the bed and fucked me from behind until we both climaxed. I fell asleep that night, thinking of nothing but the pleasure he’d given me.
* * *
I’d almost forgottenabout the invitation until the following night, when I came home to get ready for the event and found the house empty. My gut sank, although I wasn’t really surprised. Of course Stefan wasn’t coming to the event. He was probably in the middle of a huge meeting even at that moment. And I was sure he’d only been half-listening when I mentioned it last night.
