Page 85 of CowSex
“Tell me about it.”
I watch as he scratches at his jaw.
“Let’s eat some ribs and have a think about how best to approach this.”
FATHERS IS SET IN AMONGSTsnow-covered hills and mountains. Inside, there are timber floors, long wooden tables with benches running along each side. There is a bar and a set of swinging doors to the left and a massive open fireplace on the right. There are the same kind of antler chandeliers that Koa has at the cabin hanging from the ceiling, and the noise is so loud, I can hardly hear myself think.
We wait at the podium to be seated, and after just a few minutes, we are shown a couple of spaces on a bench directly in front of the fire. Lee helps me take my coat off and hangs it on one of the many hooks running along the walls either side of the room.
We order a beer each—my taste buds seem to be evolving, and I’m growing to like, not love, the taste when I’m eating certain foods. The menus double up as placemats, and there is only one choice: ribs. All I need to do is decide if I want just ribs or if I would like to order sides to go with the ribs, seeing as how I’m likely to get messy eating the ribs anyway, I decide on a corn cob and coleslaw.
“So, talk to me, Gracie, tell me where you think this thing with Koa might go, what is it you are looking for?”
“I feel like I should be lying on a leather chaise in your dark and slightly masculine office.”
His pretty eyes sparkle, and his pouty lips pull up into a smile. “There’s nothing I’d like better than to lay you out on a leather chaise, but I think you are a little too much for me to handle. If you’ve got Carmichael all twisted, then I have a feeling you’d ruin me.”
His words have me smiling and my insides doing a happy dance.
“You think I’ve got him all twisted?”
“He sent that text twenty minutes ago. You’ve yet to reply. My guess is that he’s drinking bourbon straight from the bottle while pacing the floor and alternately dragging his fingers through his hair and tugging on his beard. When he’s done with that routine, he’ll be checking that geriatric flip phone of his.”
My smile turns into a small laugh. The waitress arrives with our drinks, and we order our food.
“So? How do I respond?”
“To my question or Carmichael’s text?”
“Well, in answer to your question, I don’t think I’m the kind of woman that can cope with a one-night stand and then just walk away. I like him, and I respect myself too much for that to happen. I also have to consider the fact that we’ll both still be living in the same house for the foreseeable future.”
“Are you doubting that he likes you? That he’d want more than just to fuck and run?”
“He told me he’s not interested in a relationship.”
“And I call bullshit. If he just wanted to get in your panties, he’d get the deed done and either move his ass back to Aspen or find you alternative accommodation, he’s made no attempt to do either. In fact, he’s let it be known at work that he’s thinking of making his move back to Addison permanent.”
Another long sigh escapes me.
“I just don’t know then, Lee. He tells me he wants one thing, then acts like he wants another. He holds my hand in public, flirts constantly, and Sunday he introduced me to his mates. It’s like he’s doing relationshipy kinda things with me. But then pulls back and insists it can only be about the sex.”
“I think he’s scared. Terrified. He’s had a rough fuckin’ ride when it comes to women. He swore off relationships after Dani, then again after Lucy. You turn up, and it’s obvious to all of us that something’s going on between the two of you and he just doesn’t know how to handle it.”
“Hedoesn’t. What aboutme? I’ve been straight up and told him that I like him. I’ve told him that I don’t wanna just be a fuck piece and that I’m looking for the real thing. I want forever, Lee. I want commitment and babies, and even if that turns out not to be with him, I don’t wanna get into something where he’s ruling it out from the very beginning without him even trying.”
“He wants it. Carmichael’s the marrying kind. He wants all of what you’ve just mentioned, he’s just gun shy. Who can blame him after the way the last two women in his life fucked him over? My guess is that he just can’t get his head around how you’ve changed all of that. It’s been what? A week, ten days. Fuck, you’ve done that to him in that short a time span. He knows it, Gracie, believe me, he knows. What he doesn’t know is what to do with what he knows.”
I let out a loud groan and tilt my head back, eyes on the ceiling.
“Okay. Tell me, oh wise one, how do you know this and what should I do? Because seriously, he’s giving me brain ache.”
He laughs.
“Iknow, because I knowhimand I saw him look at you on Sunday. There are definitely feelings involved where you’re concerned, and it’s much more than getting you into bed. He was giving me death glares when we were dancing, and I actually felt in fear of my safety when he realised I was taking you to dinner.”
“He wasn’t happy.”
“No shit.”
