Push(30)

“A connection to what?” he asks sweetly.
“To my mom and dad, I guess.” And I do. Even though a half-day’s drive isn’t nearly as far away from Michael as I’d like to be, I feel as if I belong here.
Before he can ask another question, I start unbuttoning my shirt. I know he is watching me, but I don’t look up. I take my shirt off, unzip my skirt, and slide it down my legs. I am barefoot because I left the shit kickers on the floor of his car, and my heels are sitting by the front door. All I am wearing now are my undies and cami. I grab a ponytail holder from my nightstand and casually gather my hair up. I take off my earrings and necklace and put them into my jewelry box. Then I head for the bathroom. I am very aware that I have to pass David, and when I look up at him on my way to the door, I can see that he is itching to touch me. Instead, one arm hangs at his side and the fingers of his other hand touch his lower lip.
“Excuse me,” I say as I brush past him, “I need to use the bathroom.”
“Don’t be long,” he says.
I am in the bathroom now, turning toward him, ready to close the door. “Why not? Are you going somewhere?”
“I’m not going anywhere, Emma,” he says with a mouthful of boyish charm.
* * *

My alarm sounds, and I lean over quickly to shut it off, hoping to catch it before it wakes David up. But when I turn back over, he is propped up on his elbow, his eyebrows raised.
“How long were you going to let that damn thing buzz?” he asks.
“What? It was only going off for a few seconds.”
“Uh, no. It was going off for like ten minutes. I was wondering if it was going to wake you at all.”
“Oh. I guess maybe I’d better set it to the radio from now on and tune it to the death metal station you and your friends were listening to the other night.”
“That wasn’t the death metal station; it was a friend’s band.”
“Really? You have a friend in a band? Do they play around here? Will you take me?” I sound way too enthusiastic for this early in the morning.
“Yes. Yes. Yes. And, yes,” he says, pretending to count on his fingers. “Maybe this weekend. If they have a gig. And if you don’t have any other plans.”
“Well, I have to check with all my friends to make sure they haven’t already made plans for me.” I look up as if I am concentrating on something. “Oh, yeah...right. I don’t really have any friends, so I’m pretty sure I’m clear.”
“You don’t have any friends?” He looks surprised. “No one from college or high school you keep in touch with?”
“Not unless you want me to go out with the guys from work.” David does not look pleased with my little jab. “And, the only person I really keep in touch with is my high school friend, Susan. She lives in London now, so she’s out, too.”
“So, there are no ex-boyfriends I need to know about?” he says dryly.
“Ahhhh,” I say with a nod of my head. “None worth worrying about, that’s for sure. Trust me. It seems that the world is full of shitty-ass boyfriends.”
“Shitty-ass?” Damn, he looks hot in the morning.
“I’ll tell you all the shitty-ass things boyfriends are capable of sometime when I’m not going to be late for work.” I climb out of bed and start to get my clothes together.
“Good, cause I want to know all the things I should avoid doing.” What? Is he intimating that he wants to be my boyfriend? I would not have put the words “boyfriend” and “David” together in a sentence...ever. “Lover” and “David,” maybe. “Fuck Buddy” and “David,” for sure. “Boyfriend,” though—he hardly seems the type.
“Yeah, well, it’s a pretty long list.” I hang my skirt and blouse on the doorknob, grab a new pair of panties and a cami, and head out the door to the bathroom.
“Will you at least tell me one? Just to get me started.”
“Started on what?” I ask from the bathroom.
“Started on being your boyfriend.” Jesus H. Christ! Seriously?
“You’re a long way from that,” I say with all the sass I can muster. “But, just to get the ball rolling, I’ll tell you that they’re never covetous enough.” I smile to myself as I say it.
“Well, no problem there,” he says. “Too covetous is more likely to be the issue.”
“I already told you there is no such thing, not when it comes to a girlfriend, at any rate.”
“But you aren’t my girlfriend. You’re a long way from that.” Ha. Ha. Ha.
I turn the shower on, so I won’t be able to hear what he says next, but before I get in, I say, “Yeah, well, it counts for f*ck buddies, too.”
I undress and climb into the shower. I bend my head back under the stream of water and begin to lather the shampoo. A few moments later, David opens the shower curtain.
“Hi,” he says, his eyes roaming playfully over me.
“Hi back.” I am happy to see that he is completely dressed. That means he is less likely to get in with me and make me even more late for work than I already am.
“If we go see my friend’s band this weekend, is that how you want me to introduce you? As my f*ck buddy?” he asks.
“Introduce me however you’d like. But, I thought you weren’t going to introduce me to any of your friends anyway.”
“Those were my poker friends, Emma. And, no, I am not going to introduce you to them. Not on purpose anyway. We already got a taste of what will happen if I do. But these guys are a whole different group of friends. These guys are musicians, and I’m not worried about any of them trying to get into your pants.”