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“What happened to the whole no dating thing?”
“We’re notdating.”
June takes a sip of her coffee.
“It’s super casual. We order in dinner and hang out and have sex. Sometimes we do something touristy because I haven’t done a lot. Yesterday, he took me to a vintage glassware shop and I found so many amazing pieces. I had to leave them at his place, so I won’t be able to work on anything this week, but I’m super excited about them.”
June lifts her brows. “That sounds like dating to me.”
“There’s a lot of sex, and all that other stuff,” I motion with my hand, “is extra.”
“Yeah, again, I think that’s calleddating.”
She stands and grabs her coffee. “I’ve got a meeting, so we’ll have to debate this later. Thanks again for the coffee.”
I give her a small wave as she leaves the office, then wake up my computer. But my thoughts don’t easily move on.
No, that’s not what Hunter and I are doing. My schedule is even busier than it was a month ago when we made our casual arrangement. Now, I’m working at The Penrose two nights a week and am more focused on my blog and creating content.
Griffin texts me a link to a restaurant’s menu.
Griffin:Hunter recommended this for dinner tomorrow. Want to try it out?
It’s an Italian place. Hunter knows my weakness for pasta.
He knows a lot of things. Like the most sensitive places on my body, and the perfect pressure with which he should tweak my nipples. But he also knows about theBridesfeature and my desire to start my own business. How I love a banana every morning with my coffee and my running playlists are exclusively Taylor Swift. That I don’t spend much effort with my makeup, but I paint my nails religiously every week.
The other day I asked if the mole on my inner thigh looked any different to him, and he confirmed without a moment of hesitation that it looks exactly like it did the first time he went down on me.
Trust me, I’d notice,he’d said, giving me a wink.It’s my favorite one.
My heart starts thumping against my ribcage.
It’s fine. Everything is fine.
All those things don’t mean we’re not casual. That’s bound to happen when you spend a lot of time together. And skin cancer is no joke, so I’m glad he’s keeping tabs on my mole.
I type out a response to Griffin.
Sophie:Sounds great!
Even in my panicked, and slightly confused state, not once does it cross my mind that I should end things with Hunter. That even though my schedule has gotten busier and I have fewer hours of free time outside of work to divide among my hobbies, family, and friends, I’ve still managed to spend a lot of time with Hunter. If I had to prioritize my time and cut back on something, my time with him would not be the first to go. Maybe that should be the real issue.
* * *
Dinner with Griffin is more awkward than I thought it would be. The food is delicious—I’ll have to thank Hunter later for giving Griffin the recommendation—and Griffin seems at ease, but every time I open my mouth to tell him how I’ve been spending my time, I have to filter it to not mention Hunter.
“How’s work going?” I ask, searching for a safe topic.
“Work’s great. We’ve been working on the condo deal in Las Vegas and I’ll have to fly out there in a few weeks to finalize it. It’s going to be strange to be back there. My life is so different now. I’m going to try to meet up with Rita and Terrence, though. Catch them for dinner or something.”
“That will be fun. Give them a hug for me.”
“I will.” He nods, taking a bite of his chicken parmesan. “You’re working this weekend, right?”
“Yeah, I’ve got a wedding on Saturday.”
“I feel bad we’ll be out of town for the holiday, but Carl and Lindsay are having a barbeque at their place. I mentioned to Carl you’d be in town and they’d love to have you join.”
