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“Morbid, but okay,” I said, leaning in to kiss him. “We hold off on this other until later. Deal? Maybe a year down the line, we can bring it back up again.”
“Six months, my final offer.”
I held out my hand and we shook on it. Afterwards, I gave him back the paperwork and he stowed it back under his chair. “I have some plans for this evening.”
“I knew that. Can I ask?”
“No. You can’t. You can pick a word, though.”
From the contract…
I thought quickly, and knew it had to be something he could say and if anyone heard, they wouldn’t know what it meant. “Kama.”
“Karma?”
“No. Kama. He’s the Hindu god of passion.”
Rick grinned and whispered, “Oh?”
“Yeah. Not that I practice, but I know all the stories. Or, well, most of them. I think I’ve forgotten more than I realize, but Kama always stuck out to me.”
“Kama it is. Okay, when I say that, you’ll go into submission. For now, we’re just on a date.”
Like magic, Gwen arrived with a tray of our food. As she set them in front of us, Gwen whispered to me, “You look like you’re head over heels. Play more aloof, will ya?”
“Can’t,” I said, then Rick laughed as he’d heard her.
“Well, so much for my love advice. You both have a lovely meal.”
The meals were both filet mignon and homemade scalloped potatoes. Both things I loved, and Rick knew that. “This is perfect.”
“I have an in with the cook. Also, the owner.”
“It’s nice having a boyfriend with connections.”
“Yes, isn’t it?”
Talking, eating, his grabbing my hand out of the blue, it was a perfect meal. When we left, Gwen gave me a fast hug and made me swear to call with the details. I would give her very few, suspecting we were about to delve into things I wouldn’t discuss with anyone but my partner.
After getting into the car, the cold air had me shivering. “Kan, it’s not that cold.”
“You’re from here. I’m from a subtropical continent.”
“Right,” he said, then asked, “Didn’t you live in Denver for years?”
“This isn’t Denver! It’s way colder here, and for the record, I bitched about the cold there too, so get used to it.”
His laughter was contagious. He had a booming laugh that ended in a little giggle at the end. It sounded like a more mature version of Colby’s. It made me love him more.
As we drove to wherever he was taking us, I thought over a lot of the things I truly loved about the man. His laughter was one, his smile too, but even his pensive faces, ones that showed he was either deep in thought or worried.
No, I wasn’t a sadist. I didn’t want him to ever be unhappy or discontent. Those faces showed me his care for things. His worry over his boys, the town, his friends, and me, well, those were moments I saw the real him.
He was a man that would always worry over those he cared for, wanting the best for them. Offering me money if we broke up, and putting it in writing, that was him. He wanted to assure I was cared for, even if we weren’t together.
That thought made me sick to my stomach. I’d been through breakups, the one recently, but with Rick, I felt different. I’d never let myself imagine forever with any man, though I’d hoped. With Rick, I saw the picture he painted while we were at the diner. Rick, gray and somewhat withered, his eyes still dancing as he looked at me from his bed. I’d hold his hand and he’d be surrounded by the boys and me, maybe they’d have families of their own by then.
“Rick…thank you for tonight.”
