Page 6 of Tryst
“I'm stopping by my other fling’s house. He's going to treat me with the utmost respect while we Netflix and chill. Champagne, strawberries, take-out... He's going to sweep me off my feet with the most romantic weekend.”
He growls my name, and I chuckle. “Don't get your briefs twisted. My mom and Aunt Callie are dragging me into a girls shopping spree, spa day.”
“Doesn't sound like a better option to me,” he mumbles. “But it beats your unimpressive description of the utmost romantic date. I hope you don't let the guys your age fool you into thinking that's romance instead of what it is.”
“What's that?”
“Can't be bothered to put in an effort. It's a lazy date.”
“Well, not everyone has your bank account.“ I sit back and tap my nail on my desk. “To some, that's a great date night with the one you love. But since you're an expert at this whole dating thing I've yet to experience from you, what would you do on a date?”
“The only thing I'd borrow from your Netflix and lazy date is the champagne, and the strawberries would be Swiss chocolate covered, drizzled with white chocolate. Moonlight on the most luxurious yacht I could find, only us, and of course the private chef serving a delectable main course of freshly caught lobster and a decadent dessert after.
He pauses for a second as if he's putting real thought into this before he continues. “The wind would catch her hair pulling it away from her face. She'd probably smile and I would be weak to do anything but kiss her. I'd carry her down to my bed and spend the rest of the night worshiping her body, making sure she gets everything she wants, the way she wants it, so she remembers exactly where she was and who she was with when the perfect date was had.”
Whoa. “Not bad, Mr. Romance.”
He chuckles softly. “I aim to please. When the time is right for the woman in my life, one day.”
I guess that answers that. The fantasy is nice. I'm in too deep now, wondering if I'm young and naive for thinking more can come of a summer fling.
Admittedly the day is notbad. Shopping was great. Shoes are my Achilles heel; I bought three pairs. One for the day, one for the night, and one for weekends. To my surprise, they're all comfortable. I didn't have to sacrifice comfort for style, which usually isn't the case. I would make the sacrifice for a couple of hours for the right outfit. Like, say if I were that woman in the moonlight on Ian's boat. Comfort be damned, I'm in it for the romance and style.
As we are lying face down on massage tables waiting for the massage technicians, my mother says to Callie, “I haven’t had a chance to ask you about Ian yet. Have you spoken to him since the weekend at the Hamptons? You seemed extra friendly, but we haven’t heard anything lately.”
Has he spoken to her? We don't talk about his past relationship with Callie. It's one of those things you know happened, but you don't acknowledge because it's easier that way. No one wants to go into detail about an ex—especially not when it's a family member. But I'm interested if he’s been in contact with her the entire summer we've been together and hasn't mentioned it. It'll be telling, if maybe he still has feelings for her.
“Do you remember how we were? It was always intense when we were together. Then we would have our spats. We wouldn't talk for days, then one of us would break because we couldn't stay away from each other.”
“Oh, I remember. And I still believe you would make a great couple, married with kids, the wedding would be fantastic,” she says, her Spanish accent coming out as it does occasionally when she speaks to family.
What the hell is my mother talking about weddings for? They haven't been together in years, and it sounded as if my aunt didn't want that life with Ian. If I were the woman he proposed to, I would have jumped on it. She missed the boat, and my mom is trying to get them back together? Not if I have anything to say about it.
“Mom, why are you meddling? Sometimes these things work out the way they’re supposed to. It seems like they’re happy, living successful separate lives.”
“Jade, you don't remember what they were like together,” my mother says dismissively.
True. But I know what Ian and I are like together. Our relationship has the potential and makings of something great. It’s not solely built on great sex or the excitement and forbidden qualities of our age difference. “I may be young, but I know when things don't work out in life, you should just let it be. Be grateful for the times you had together. Better it ended amicably. I'm sure she had good reasons for ending things. Right, Aunt Callie?”
“Actually, Jade, over the years when I think about it things were good between us. Maybe we did end things too fast.”
“Do you really think so?” I ask, annoyed we’re having this conversation, but hiding it well enough. My mother should stop trying to push them together. Callie should keep moving forward in her life without Ian. Even if it's temporary, he's with me now.
“For some unknown reason, I thought I might miss out on the perfect guy if I settled down too soon,“ she says. “The ‘what if there's more?’ fear. I'll always admit that Ian is a catch. In and out of bed.”
“Oh, tell, tell!” My mother raises her head. “Did you two sleep together at the beach house and you didn't tell me!“
Please no. He better not have, before or after having sex with me.
She smiles like the cat who licked the cream. “It was amazing.“
Oh my fucking—
I'm going to murder him. My heart. I'm about to get off the table when she adds, “But no, not recently. When we were together though, he was attentive and giving. Very giving if you know what I mean.”
I cringe inwardly, turning my head away, so they don't see my lips and eyes press together, irritated by all of this. She should have started by clarifying they didn't hook up. Quickly schooling my face to barely a grimace I say, “Can we please not talk about my boss. This is not what I want to see in my head when I see him every day.” Even worse my mother is gossiping about the man I'm having mind-blowing sex with. “Mom, let's give this topic a rest.”
“Callie, your niece doesn't want to talk about your sex life with her mother around.”
