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She sets her fork down and eyes me. “I was joking about eating while we fucked, Cole.”
Her dirty mouth always surprises me. I shift in my seat and smirk. “Not where I was going, but I like where your head is at right now. Would you be opposed to me eating while we fucked? I may have some chocolate syrup in the fridge and was wondering how good it would taste licked off those perfect nipples of yours,” I say and the effect of my words immediately makes her cheeks pinken.
She blinks, her eyes darting past me to the kitchen. Just when I think she’s going to shoot me down, her delicate shoulder lifts then falls. “I could be persuaded, for the right price.”
I clear my throat, trying to remember how we got here. I was going to ask her about next week. “We are getting off track here. We will revisit this sexual opportunity in a minute.”
She clicks her tongue and takes another bit of pasta.
“Next weekend, I’m speaking at a food and beverage conference in Chicago.” I start with.
“About what?” she asks, clearly interested.
“Sustainability. An innovative look on how RRG created a more sustainable way to provide locally sourced food at our restaurants.” I wipe the side of my mouth with my napkin.
“Wow, that’s impressive. As someone with no restaurant or food experience, I’m interested in learning more about that,” she says.
“Come with me.” I don’t hold back.
“What?” she asks, picking up her fork, then setting it back down.
“I want you to come with me. It’s just an overnight. I speak Friday afternoon. I need to be there by noon Friday, but I could have you home Saturday by noon, if necessary.” I know my voice sounds hopeful, even though I attempted to play it more cool. “I know you’d have to take a day off work. And if you needed, Travis would be happy to Pepper sit if you didn’t want to ask one of the girls to do it.” I slide that in there, knowing it could be a point of contention. Not wanting to have to explain to her friends why she needed the dog sitter. I know she hasn’t told anyone about our fling. I chose to let that go and not let it bother me.
Her mouth opens, then closes. I give her a minute. I’ve prepared for her to push back.
She looks down at her nearly empty plate then back at me. “You want me to go with you.” It’s a statement, not a question.
I nod. She works through it.
“Say yes. Let’s just give ourselves a weekend to be us, no hiding, out in the world. Escape with me, Layla.” I try not to plead.
“A weekend or a night?” she asks, catching my slip.
“A night. Sorry,” I confirm.
“What if…” she trails off.
“What if, what?” I hedge.
Her eyes dart away from me, then back. She’s nervous, but I’m getting all the right vibes from her and my heart starts to race.
“What if we made it the weekend? Came home Sunday,” she offers. Her voice is soft, slightly unsure.
“Done,” I say. Fuck yes. She bites her lip. “What else are you working through in there?” I tap on my temple.
“I can have Stella keep Pepper for the weekend. Her niece would love some puppy dog time.” I’m not sure what feeling comes over me, but the fact that she’s willing to take the chance to explain it to her friend is big. I think it would mean something if she opened up to her friends about us, like she maybe wasn’t so scared about what’s happening here.
Travis called me out on my behavior a week after Layla and I started sneaking around, and I gave in and told him everything. It’s helped with someone knowing. I can’t imagine she feels all that great about not confiding in the women I know are most important to her.
“All right,” I say, trying to keep my excitement in check.
A slow grin crosses her face. “This is exciting, Cole. Can we do the tourist thing? I’ve only been a handful of times and never had time to really enjoy the city.”
“We can do whatever the hell you want to do, Lays,” I tell her.
“Okay, yay!” She leans across the space, my body moving toward her, and she kisses me.
She doesn’t let the kiss get out of hand, which is unfortunate because fucking hell I’m reeling right now. She gives me a devilish grin as she pulls away.
