Chapter Twenty-Seven
Josh
I woke up early on Friday morning when I remembered that Reagan was coming over for dinner. I decided to clean the house as I knew I wouldn’t have time after work. I chuckled to myself as I cleaned, and thought about how I hadn’t had to worry about something like this in years. For a long time, I’d just had girls over for a night, and I didn’t give much attention to the state of my house. I didn’t care because I knew I wouldn’t see them again. It was different with Reagan. I wasn’t exactly sure what we were to each other at the moment, but I still wanted her to think highly of me.
Kason would laugh if he had to see me now. He’d never understood why I didn’t hire someone to clean the house for me. We’d had the same argument over and over again in the past. But I just couldn’t bring myself to hire someone to clean my house that I lived in all alone. It didn’t make sense to me. I was a busy man, but it still seemed like a crazy idea to get someone to clean for me. Anyway, I now had something I could say back to Kason. After all, if it wasn’t for his cleaning lady, he wouldn’t have been in the mess that he was in.
Once I was done, I got ready and made my way to work. I just wanted the day to go quickly so that I could enjoy my evening with Reagan. Seeing her at work every day was torture for me, especially since my actual office had so many memories of the two of us together. It was hard not to think about that night with her on my desk.
The day at work went quickly, mostly because everyone was so busy and so stressed. Reagan had her head down most of the day and barely looked my way. She looked like she had a lot on her mind, and I kept wondering if something was wrong. I had to keep telling myself to stop being paranoid. I had no right to think that way about her anyway as the two of us were not in a relationship. Also, everyone else was just as busy, so there was probably nothing to make me so worried. Still, she seemed upset. Near the end of the day I saw that there was nobody next to her desk, so I quickly went up and pretended to talk to her about work.
“Still coming over for dinner tonight?” I asked. I figured if she said no then there was definitely something going on with her.
“Of course,” she said and smiled. I felt relief wash over me. I was just being paranoid for nothing. Poor Reagan was just as overworked as everyone else in the office at the moment. We were all feeling the pressure.
After work, I made my way to the shop to get ingredients and then got home just before Reagan arrived. I’d told her that she wasn’t allowed to work late and that I was expecting her by seven. True to word, at exactly seven on the dot, the doorbell rang.
I opened the door and grinned at her.
“You’re on time.”
“Of course. Although, I didn’t get a chance to go home and change. I’m so sorry. I had all these great intentions of doing so, but then work caught up with me.”
I smiled at her. “You honestly don’t need to worry about that. You look beautiful.”
“Wow, thank you. You’re in a good mood.”
“I’ll be honest, Reagan. I’m just happy to see you,” I said, and I pulled her toward me and kissed her. Her lips parted slightly as they met mine, and I relished the sweet taste of her mouth with an aching sigh. My grip tightened instinctively around the small of her back, pulling her body as close to mine as it could get, craving her warmth. I had to physically pull away after a few moments because I could feel myself losing control all over.
“Dammit, I’ve wanted to do that all week,” I said to her.
“Really? Even at work?”
I raised my eyebrows. “Are you kidding me? Especially at work. You have made my working days a lot more difficult, you know.”
“I’m glad to hear it,” she said and laughed. “So, do my eyes deceive me or are you really making me dinner?”
“I’m making you dinner. I might not be the most incredible chef in the world, but I do know my way around a good chicken korma. Also, I know you feel about eating dinner from other restaurants, so I figured at least this way you can stay true to Dana.”
She looked at me in a way that I hadn’t seen before. I wasn’t exactly sure what it was, but I could see that I had said the right thing. “You’re a very good man,” she said. “And pretty different from what I thought you’d be like.”
I poured her a glass of wine and handed it to her.
“Come sit with me in the kitchen while I get the food ready. It won’t take too long,” I said. Then, while I started chopping the onions, I asked. “So, I’m different from what you thought I’d be like? That’s interesting. What exactly did you think I would be like when you first came to work with me?”
“Don’t get me wrong, Josh, you’re very charismatic. And you have a way about you that’s hard not to like. I always liked what you stand for, and I always appreciated your honesty. But you also came across like . . . .”
“Like what?”
She giggled. “Like a bit of a dick, if we’re being honest.”
“Don’t hold back your true thoughts,” I said and chuckled.
“Sorry, but you asked me! Anyway, you’re not at all like that. You’re actually one of the nicest guys I know, and very easy to talk to. I thought you’d be the type that only barked out orders and never listened.”
“Oh, I only listen to people that I find extremely attractive. So, does that mean you don’t find me cocky anymore?”
“Nah, you’re still cocky.”
“Don’t forget that I’m the one making your dinner tonight. I was also thinking of making some chocolate brownies for dessert, but it all depends on what you think of me.”
“It’s funny you say that,” she said. “I was just thinking how much you’ve changed. In fact, I think you’re the sweetest, nicest . . .”
“Hottest?”
“Hottest man. You’re perfect really. Absolute perfection.”
I chuckled. “Ah, the things you’ll say for a chocolate brownie. If only I had known that at the start.”
“Thanks for cooking, Josh. It sure beats a night of working.”
I smiled. “I’ve been looking forward to this all week.”
“You have?”
“Oh, I definitely have. For the past few months, all I have thought about and spoken about is work. And while I do love my work, I need to stop thinking about it for a little while. In fact, I think that tonight we should make a rule that we’re not allowed to speak about work matters except at work.”
“Oh, that’s going to be very hard for people like you and me.”
“Yeah, but I think we’re also the type that enjoys a challenge, don’t you think?” I said.
She grinned. “Oh, you know me too well. Okay then, if we’re not going to talk about work, what are we going to talk about?”
“Hmm, let’s see. I want to know more about you,” I said. I still got the feeling that there were things about her life that she wasn’t telling me. Then again, there were things that I hadn’t told her either, so I couldn’t really push too much. We didn’t really know each other even though sometimes it felt like we’d known each other forever.
“What do you want to know?” she asked.
“What’s your favorite movie? Your favorite book and your favorite holiday?” I decided to keep it light.
She chuckled and took a sip of her wine while she pondered the question. I thought then how nice it was to have her in my house on a Friday evening over a glass of wine. I’d endured far too many lonely nights lately. I actually hadn’t realized how lonely I was until then.
“Let’s see. Favorite move is easy. It has to be Pretty Woman.”
“What? Seriously? I must say, that’s not what I expected you to say,” I said.
She laughed. “Yeah, it doesn’t seem very me, does it? But there’s just something about it. Maybe I just watched it at a very good time in my life or something. It has good connotations for me. And, there’s just something so simplistic about the whole thing. Girl is in a rough place in her life, girl meets handsome boy, girl falls in love, life gets better for both of them. Simple. Also, it doesn’t hurt that Richard Gere is in it.”
“Ah, so does that mean you’re still going to like me when I go gray?” I teased, but the idea of us still being in each other’s lives when we were old and gray was very appealing.
She smiled. “If you’re going to look like Richard Gere, then absolutely. Now, favorite book? That one is a bit more difficult for me. I’m a Stephen King fan, which I know is the complete opposite of Pretty Woman, but I just love his stories. But my favorite book has to be Anne of Green Gables. Again, there’s something about that simplistic life that appeals to me.”
“Stephen King, Anne of Green Gables, and Pretty Woman. You know, those don’t follow a pattern at all. That’s quite some diversity, if you ask me. You’re a very complex woman, Reagan,” I said. “Which I happen to find very appealing. Top up?” I asked and held up the bottle of wine.
“Yes please,” she said and held out her glass. I saw that her cheeks were now pink from the first glass, and as she shrugged off her coat, I felt happy. It was nice to see her looking so relaxed, especially when things had been so busy at work. “Oh, what was the last question?” she asked.
“Favorite holiday.”
“New Year’s Day for sure.”
“Not New Year’s Eve?”
“No, I’ve never really enjoyed that too much. It’s always a bit of a disappointment. But New Year’s Day is different. It feels like the world resets itself. Even though it’s just another day in the year, it somehow feels completely different. It makes me feel like anything is possible. As if you get another chance to right any wrongs. I love it.”
I smiled. Reagan was by far the most interesting person that I had ever met in my life.
“This is nice,” I said to her. “Getting to know each other like this.”
“Yeah,” she said. “And you look very cute in the kitchen.”
“I was considering cooking in the nude, with just an apron on, but I didn’t trust myself enough in the kitchen for that. Hot oil, sharp knives, and naked bodies don’t really go too well.”
“Oh, that’s a pity,” she said. “I would’ve loved to have seen you walk around with just an apron on. I couldn’t think of anything better. How’s the cooking going, by the way? Is there anything I can do to help?”
“Actually, I’m almost done. Now it’s a case of waiting for it all to simmer. Which generally takes about forty minutes. I hope you don’t mind. But the longer it simmers, the better it tastes.”
“Oh, I don’t mind,” she said and grinned at me.
“What’s that smile for?” I said.
“Well, I was thinking . . . .”
“Yeah?”
“I know something that we can do while we wait for the food to cook. Forty minutes is plenty time.”
I turned the stove down, put my glass of wine down, and walked straight up to Reagan.