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I spat out the sip I’d just taken and rolled with laughter. Thankfully none of it got on him. “Oh my God, I’m so sorry. What is it with me and my drinks tonight?” I was still laughing as we worked together to clean up the little mess I’d made.
“Thanks,” I told him as we stacked up the sullied napkins.
“Happy to help,” he said.
Those words made my ears perk up. “On that note . . . Tyler, I have a proposition for you.”
“A proposition?”
“Yes.”
He let out a heavy sigh and sat back in his seat. “This oughta be interesting.”
“What’s that supposed to mean? You’re used to this kind of thing.”
“Well, hmm. I guess that all depends on your proposition.”
“I was going to suggest”—I leaned forward on my elbows, chin on top of my clasped hands—“that maybe, we could . . . be friends with benefits.” When he didn’t answer me but looked slightly discombobulated, I continued, “Or non-friends with benefits.”
“And?”
“And what?”
“And what else?”
“And nothing else. No strings. No relationship. Just sex.”
“Oh, thank God.”
“I don’t know whether to be offended or not.”
“No. I thought you might ask me to marry you.”
“Marry me?” My voice rang out in alarmed disbelief.
“Yeah, like you might need to find a husband for some illicit reason or something.”
“Not at all close. I’m most definitely not proposing marriage.”
“And you’re not looking for someone to be the father of your unborn child? Be a sperm donor or something?”
“That would be another very firm, very hard no.”
“So, what’s the deal about your friends with benefits proposal?”
“There’s no deal. It’s just sex.”
“I’m not used to women of your status looking for sex with no kind of strings,” he said, air-quoting the last word.
“Look, Tyler. I’m going to be honest with you.” He gave a nod and three blinks of his deep oceanic blue eyes. “My job is demanding. And high stress. I deal with a lot at work. And sometimes, when I’m not on the clock, I’m pulled away from my real life to deal with something that needs my attention anyway.”
“I can relate to that. I’m in a similar situation.”
“And to be one hundred percent transparent, I haven’t had great luck with men recently.”
“I can relate to that, too.” He gave a small derisive laugh. “Well, with women, I mean.”
My smile was tight. I nodded in understanding. “I just figured we had fun tonight, right?”
