“No, thanks. I’ll get it.”
Shivering, I wrapped my arms around my chest. “You have to let me do something nice for you.”
He glanced at me. “What did you have in mind?”
“Blowjob?”
He grinned. “You’re relentless, although that would warm me up nicely.”
Me too, I thought, hopping from one foot to the other to keep my toes from going numb. Maybe we could even do it in a hot shower. I could—
“How about a drink after work?”
I stopped moving and gaped at him. “You’re turning down a blowjob for a drink?”
“Can’t I have both?” He stuck the shovel in the snowbank and gave me an imploring look. “It’s really nippy out here.”
I sighed, too cold to argue with him. “I suppose. Why don’t we—oh wait. I’m supposed to meet my friends for dinner. It’s Claire’s birthday.”
“What do you know, I happen to be free for dinner tonight,” he said delightedly.
“Really. How fortuitous.”
“I agree, and I will gladly accept your invitation to join you.”
I cocked my head. “I’m not sure I offered one.”
“Well, it’s fucking ten below out here, Jaime. I can’t stand around waiting for you to be polite. I’ll die of hypothermia.”
I groaned. “OK, OK. Fine. You can have dinner with us.”
“Looking forward to it.”
“I’ll meet you here at seven,” I said, backing up the driveway.
“Where are we going?”
“Antietam. It’s nice but not crazy formal.”
“I promise to look presentable and be ready on time.” He clapped his leather-gloved hands together. “This is so exciting, Jaims! Our first date!”
Oh, God. I hurried into the house, wondering what the hell I’d just gotten myself into.
That afternoon, I called Margot to make sure it was OK that I was bringing Quinn.
“Hello?”
“Hi. I have a problem with tonight.”
“Oh no, you can’t come? Lindsay had to cancel because she has the flu, so it’s just you, me, Claire, and Elyse.”
“No, I can come, it’s just—I’ll have someone with me.”
“You will? Who?”
I spoke through my teeth. “Quinn Rusek.”
Silence.
Then laughter.
“It’s not funny. He totally invited himself and I had to say yes.”
“Why? Are you still trying to get him to bang you?”
“No, we did it already.”
“What? When?”
“Yesterday.”
“How’d you make that happen?”
“Uh, it’s a long story.” One I didn’t necessarily want to share.
“So how was it?”
I kept my voice down, since I had a cubicle, not an office. “Amazing. Fun. Mind-blowing. So mind-blowing I agreed to go out with him three times.”
She laughed again. “That’s specific.”
“Well, he kept making me promise more things in the heat of the moment,” I complained, getting up from my desk. I’d take the rest of this call in the stairwell. “And I was in a weakened condition. He took advantage of me.”
“What do you mean? Were you drunk or something?”
“Not exactly.” I pushed open the stairwell door and waited for it to shut behind me. “Just…really, really turned on. He seriously does something to me. I don’t know what it is. Well, I know partly. His face alone melts my panties, but once I saw the body, I was lost. And he’s really good.” I’d caught myself staring into space ten times already today, reliving yesterday’s sexcapades in my head. My undies had been damp since 9 a.m.
“Damn. You’re a mess over this guy.”
“I’m not a mess over him. I’m simply—” I rolled my shoulders, trying to relax, unclench my insides. “I simply enjoy his company in very specific ways. And those ways don’t involve dinner dates. That said, he’s coming with me to dinner tonight.”
“Well, I think it’s nice he wants to do something other than bang. It’s normal. And healthy. And maybe you’ll actually enjoy the dates!”
“I don’t want to enjoy the dates, Margot. Are you crazy?”
“Why not?”
I slapped a hand to my forehead. “Why not? Have I not explained this to you guys like a thousand times? Closeness kills the spark. I never end up having good sex with guys I date.”
“That’s because you don’t want to.”
“What? Why wouldn’t I want to have good sex?”
“Because you don’t want to have reasons to continue a relationship. Meh sex gives you a reason to get out. And great sex gives you a reason to avoid getting in.”
“That is not true,” I said. But my eyelid began to twitch. “Look, I was a psych major. I get it. Do I fear intimacy? Maybe. But it’s fine, because I don’t want it, OK? I fear giant lizards too, but that’s also fine because I don’t want a Komodo Dragon for a pet.”
“Do you know how ridiculous you sound? You’re the only woman I know who wouldn’t be thrilled about this.”
“I can’t help the way I am.”
She sighed. “Do you want me to see if Tripp can come? I originally told him it was girls only, but if you want another guy at the table, I can ask him.”