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Trixie reached between the kayak cockpits with a foot and pressed her toes against his abdominal muscles.
“I’m glad I could be there for you, heartthrob.”
Cy rolled his eyes. “Those boys got an eye full of you as well, in both directions.”
Trixie shrugged. “There’s no harm in looking.”
“I still can’t believe you figured out where my kink for redheads started. I haven’t told anybody that story. I feel naked in front of you sometimes.”
“That’s an appealing image,” she said, smiling lasciviously.
Trixie was defaulting to flirtation again, while Cy was trying to express a meaningful emotion. She cautioned herself to be careful about that. She didn’t want to turn everything into sexual innuendo.
“I’m starting to realize that you’re very good at ferreting out my secrets Ms. Harridan. How about sharing one of your own?”
Trixie was still sitting on a really big secret. An almost seven foot tall secret to be precise. The right moment to bring up Erik simply hadn’t presented itself yet. Perhaps now was the time. Trixie was loathe to interrupt their weekend with any news that might spoil their mood. She loved the way Cy looked at her with a mischievous twinkle in his eyes. Telling him about Erik stood a good chance of snuffing out that spark, but he deserved to at least know they weren’t exclusive. Option two was looking more appealing.
“A secret? But I have so many Mister Foley,” Trixie said, rolling her eyes, “Where should I start?”
Cy looked off the way he did, flitting through his private thoughts, and then came back with a considered response.
“Okay. Here’s one for you. I know you’ve dealt with a lot of uptight guys, and that most of them were cast aside when you decided they either couldn’t handle your appetite, or your orgasms, or both. I get it. Now let’s assume I can handle anything you can dish out. It’s a bold statement, I know, but run with me for a second. That still leaves a lot of men out there eager to prove their worth. Do you still have time for them?”
That was awfully close to describing Erik, but not quite. Cy was trying to find out if she was interested in meeting anybody new now that he was in the picture, but was asking in a way that was both curious and prudent. Cy had tactfully given her room to deflect the secret of Erik, so she did.
“I’ve been looking for somebody like you for a long time Cy. Now that I’ve met you, I’m not interested in meeting anybody new.”
Good save, Trixie thought. It was technically true. She hadn’t met anybody new, but she had revisited somebody from her past. Now she had two worthy men in her life, neither of whom she wanted to lose.
Cy rolled her response around in his head, still contemplative. “I think you’re amazing Trixie, but I’m also not so crazy as to think that I’m the only man who feels this way. It’s hard for me to imagine you don’t have other men vying for your attention. Why should I be the only one?”
Trixie wondered how long she could keep up the charade of not admitting to Erik. She stared into Cy's his brown eyes for a moment and gathered her thoughts.
“You know my past. I’m not ashamed of it. Everyone I’ve been with was a learning experience, even the shallow guys. They taught me what I didn’t want as much as what I did want. Being with those guys gradually helped me to recognize their type from a long way off. After a while, l could tell if they were a waste of my time right away. You alone stood out, and not just by a small amount. It's like you come from a whole different class of men.”
Cy smiled at the compliment, but if Trixie had to guess it wasn’t the answer he wanted.
“If memory serves, you mentioned that I was one of two guys on a very small list of men who lasted the whole time.”
Did she say that? Why did she have to be so damned precise! In addition to everything else that she liked about Cy, apparently he was also an excellent listener. She found it heartening because who doesn’t want to be heard? She found it troubling because she knew what he would ask next. The question was practically floating in the air. He would ask who that other man was, or possibly if he was still in her life. Trixie wouldn’t lie. No matter how much she wanted to preserve this moment, peacefully gliding across the water as he paddled for them both, she wouldn’t deny him the truth.
Then an unexpected thing happened. Cy didn’t ask. The silence pervaded so long that Trixie couldn’t take it anymore. She had to fill it with something.
“You’re the only one that matters to me when we’re together.”
She wondered if he would understand her meaning. Cy was all that mattered to her when they were together, just like Erik was during their time together. They were equally meaningful to Trixie, but at separate times.
“Does that change anything for you?” she asked, needing very much to know if it was a deal breaker. If it was, she needed to either choose him alone or stop investing herself in Cy more than she already had.
He replied right away.
“I feel like we’ve gotten to know each other really well Trixie, but also at a breakneck pace. Our first date lasted all weekend and then three more days in the city. It was more like twenty dates all at once. Now I’ve invaded your city and your neighborhood. Sure, I’m free to live wherever I want, but you were there first. It’s your world and I’m new to it. I can’t be so full of myself as to think that your life will come to a stop simply because I moved into town.”
Trixie wanted to believe what she was hearing. Could Cy be that understanding? Did men like him really exist? She honestly thought that he would be crushed, especially after uprooting his whole life to become a city dweller. Near as she could tell, he really didn’t have any expectations. Secret hopes, yes, but Cy was determined not to be a source of undue pressure.
Trixie fixated on the remarkable man paddling the kayak across from her and felt a little awestruck. No matter how complicated her life was about to become, she wanted Cy to be a part of it. Until just now, she didn't know whether she liked the idea of having him so close. She did, a lot. Trixie blinked at the surprising realization. She must have been staring into space, because Cy had already stopped paddling.
“Trixie? Are you all right? You disappeared for a second.”
