you the perceptive one?”
“I make it my business, Holls.”
She laughed. “Only Berto gets away with calling me that!”
He took her hand as they walked down the crowded street. “I'll have to see if I can earn the right to join him, then. Now, where do you want to go for lunch?”
They settled into a corner booth in La Hacienda, a Mexican place where Holly often lunched with Emma.
“Hola, Holly!” The owner brought them menus and poured water. “Usual for you?”
“Yes please, Miguel.”
“What's the usual?” asked Pete.
“Arroz con pollo,” replied Miguel.
Holly started to explain, “It's chicken..”
“With rice,” finished Pete. “Could I get that, too?
“So,” said Pete once they were alone. “You're okay with coming with me on Friday?”
She loved the way that smile hovered on his lips. “As long as you don't mind giving me a ride again…” She couldn't help it, the word play was so obvious, she had to.
“Mind?” There went that smile again. “I can't wait, Sweetheart. But I have to ask, what happened to our one-off deal? Not that I'm complaining, you understand.”
Holly had been asking herself the same question since she'd read his note earlier that morning. How could she backtrack so quickly when all her reasons for not getting entangled with him were still just as valid as they had been on Sunday.
“Well, we're going to be seeing quite a bit of each other these next few months. Since we are obviously so good at it, I don't see why we can't keep having sex.”
Pete looked at her, brows drawn together, that pulse working in his jaw as he waited for her to say more. He didn't look impressed.
She laughed nervously, “Oh, come on. The way it looked over the weekend, if we continued sleeping together it was going to complicate things. The way it looks now, our trying to avoid sleeping with each other would be even more complicated.”
Pete glowered a moment longer then rolled his eyes and smiled. “Do you really only want to use me for sex?”
Holly swallowed, hard. “Of course I do,” she laughed.
He was glowering again. “Why?”
“Pete, just be real about it. I told you before, we're from different worlds. There's no room for me in yours, is there?”
Pete hesitated. That was all she needed to confirm it. “Don't worry, Sweetie. You don't need to come up with an explanation. I get it. I'm a realist. We're attracted to each other. We have great sex. As long as we're both clear about it, I think we can safely keep doing it for the next few months, until our paths are no longer likely to cross again.”
She took a big swig of her water. That was how she could rationalize this to herself. She knew nothing more than sex would ever happen between them. But the sex was great and they wanted each other. There would be abundant opportunities over the next few months, so why not make the most of it? After the wedding there would be no reason for them to bump into each other again. That would be a natural end point. Knowing that from the beginning would make it easy to deal with at the end, right?
“Now, if you'll excuse me?”
Pete stood as she left the table and headed for the ladies' room.
**********
Pete stared at the space where Holly had been sitting. What was it about her that got to him so badly? Any man, himself included, under normal circumstances, would be all over what she was offering; great sex, no strings and a predetermined end point. No commitments, no demands, nothing messy, just straight up honesty and lots of great sex. And it was really was great. So why was he so uncomfortable with her proposition? Because he wanted more of her, or more from her? Maybe he did. But that was selfish of him. She'd been right, there was no room for her in his life. But not for her weird reasons about different world stuff. He'd have to get her to
“I make it my business, Holls.”
She laughed. “Only Berto gets away with calling me that!”
He took her hand as they walked down the crowded street. “I'll have to see if I can earn the right to join him, then. Now, where do you want to go for lunch?”
They settled into a corner booth in La Hacienda, a Mexican place where Holly often lunched with Emma.
“Hola, Holly!” The owner brought them menus and poured water. “Usual for you?”
“Yes please, Miguel.”
“What's the usual?” asked Pete.
“Arroz con pollo,” replied Miguel.
Holly started to explain, “It's chicken..”
“With rice,” finished Pete. “Could I get that, too?
“So,” said Pete once they were alone. “You're okay with coming with me on Friday?”
She loved the way that smile hovered on his lips. “As long as you don't mind giving me a ride again…” She couldn't help it, the word play was so obvious, she had to.
“Mind?” There went that smile again. “I can't wait, Sweetheart. But I have to ask, what happened to our one-off deal? Not that I'm complaining, you understand.”
Holly had been asking herself the same question since she'd read his note earlier that morning. How could she backtrack so quickly when all her reasons for not getting entangled with him were still just as valid as they had been on Sunday.
“Well, we're going to be seeing quite a bit of each other these next few months. Since we are obviously so good at it, I don't see why we can't keep having sex.”
Pete looked at her, brows drawn together, that pulse working in his jaw as he waited for her to say more. He didn't look impressed.
She laughed nervously, “Oh, come on. The way it looked over the weekend, if we continued sleeping together it was going to complicate things. The way it looks now, our trying to avoid sleeping with each other would be even more complicated.”
Pete glowered a moment longer then rolled his eyes and smiled. “Do you really only want to use me for sex?”
Holly swallowed, hard. “Of course I do,” she laughed.
He was glowering again. “Why?”
“Pete, just be real about it. I told you before, we're from different worlds. There's no room for me in yours, is there?”
Pete hesitated. That was all she needed to confirm it. “Don't worry, Sweetie. You don't need to come up with an explanation. I get it. I'm a realist. We're attracted to each other. We have great sex. As long as we're both clear about it, I think we can safely keep doing it for the next few months, until our paths are no longer likely to cross again.”
She took a big swig of her water. That was how she could rationalize this to herself. She knew nothing more than sex would ever happen between them. But the sex was great and they wanted each other. There would be abundant opportunities over the next few months, so why not make the most of it? After the wedding there would be no reason for them to bump into each other again. That would be a natural end point. Knowing that from the beginning would make it easy to deal with at the end, right?
“Now, if you'll excuse me?”
Pete stood as she left the table and headed for the ladies' room.
**********
Pete stared at the space where Holly had been sitting. What was it about her that got to him so badly? Any man, himself included, under normal circumstances, would be all over what she was offering; great sex, no strings and a predetermined end point. No commitments, no demands, nothing messy, just straight up honesty and lots of great sex. And it was really was great. So why was he so uncomfortable with her proposition? Because he wanted more of her, or more from her? Maybe he did. But that was selfish of him. She'd been right, there was no room for her in his life. But not for her weird reasons about different world stuff. He'd have to get her to
Similar Books
