The Friendship List(92)

I thought maybe we could hang out.
He glanced at his watch. It was nearly four. By the time he got out of Bellevue and onto I90, it would be close to four thirty.

I could be there by six or six fifteen.
I’m glad you said that because I suddenly thought how awkward this would be if you had a date with someone else.
He read the text, but had no idea what she was talking about. Before he could ask, his doorbell rang.

He crossed to the foyer and opened the door to find Unity standing in the hallway. She had a covered casserole dish in one hand and a large tote bag slung over her shoulder.

“Surprise,” she said softly, looking both happy and nervous. “Good idea or bad idea?”

She was here? He stared at her for a second before smiling and pulling her inside.

“Great idea, but I would have come over there.”

“I had a free afternoon and I’d been thinking about you.” She headed for the kitchen. “So this is lasagna. I made it myself. I’m hoping you have some kind of vegetable.”

“We can order up.”

She set the casserole in the refrigerator, then put her tote bag and purse on the counter. “Of course we can.”

He raised a shoulder. “Hey, I have a lifestyle. I can’t help it.”

She laughed.

Unity looked good, he thought absently. She had on jeans and a short-sleeve sweater kind of thing that accentuated her body. Her hair was loose and he would guess she had on a little makeup. Without considering the consequences, he opened his arms.

For a single second, he realized she might not want to hug him. With Unity, he was never sure. But instead of stepping back, she surged toward him, wrapping her arms around his waist and leaning her head against his chest.

He held her tightly, liking the feel of her body against his. Not just for sex, but because hanging on like this felt good. Right, in a way.

“You smell good,” she said, taking a sniff of his T-shirt.

“I worked out before I got home, so I showered. It’s the fancy body wash.”

She looked up at him. The corners of her mouth turned up. “I think maybe some of it is you.”

“Could be. Want some wine?”

She nodded.

He kept his arm around her as he walked them over to the built-in wine cellar.

“Red or white?”

She hooked her thumb on his rear belt loop and leaned against him. “Would it be wrong to ask for champagne?”

“It’s never wrong to do that. Do you have a favorite?”

She looked at him. “I believe I’ve explained my champagne inexperience to you before.”

“Just checking.”

He opened the wine cellar and pulled out a bottle of Dom Perignon, because he could. Yes, he was showing off, but so what? He was a sucker for the pretty woman next to him. The one who still had her hand on his back.

The touching was new. Or at least it was more than it had been in the past. Was it deliberate? Did he care? In a perfect world, she would slide her hand around to the front and rub her palm against his dick, but the world was far from perfect.

He collected champagne glasses and an ice bucket. After filling the latter about a quarter full of water, he added ice, then opened the bottle. He filled both their glasses then put the bottle into the ice bucket.

“Shall we?” he said, pointing toward the living room.

She took her glass. He grabbed his and the ice bucket before following her into the large room with the floor-to-ceiling windows that offered a killer view of the Seattle skyline, Lake Washington and the areas north and south of both.

They sat on the sofa, not next to each other, but close enough. She angled toward him.

“This is nice.”

“It is.”

She raised her glass. “Thank you for indulging me.”

“Thank you for driving all this way.”

“I wanted to see you.”

That was heartening, he thought. But she’d burned him before, so he wasn’t as trusting as he could have been.

“What are you thinking?” She asked. “You got very fierce for a second.”

“I was wondering what you want from me.”

He hadn’t meant to say that, but refused to call the words back.

“Aside from champagne?” she asked, her voice teasing.

“Aside from that.”

She sipped from her glass then set it on the coffee table. “The honest answer is I don’t know exactly. I like you. I like being with you. I like thinking about you.”

All good things, he told himself. “But?”

“Yes, but. This terrifies me.” She waved between them. “You and me. Dating.” She swallowed hard. “Sex.”

“Are we going to have sex at some point?”

Her eyes dilated slightly. She reached for her champagne, then dropped her hand to her lap.

“I’d like to.”

The whispered words had his dick stirring. He told himself and his wayward anatomy not to get any hopes up. Talk was cheap and Unity had issues.

“But,” he said again.

“I don’t know what the rules are. What I’m allowed to do.”

“There aren’t any rules except for the ones we make up.”

She surprised him by nodding.

“That’s what I’ve been thinking, too. That I’m following rules I don’t even know exist. I’m trying to change that.”