Lonnie is a blast. She has a ton of stories about the bar and the people who come in and spill their entire life stories to her. It’s amazing how people confide in bartenders like they’re therapists. Maybe that’s why people feel the need to tip them so well. They deserve it for listening to everyone’s problems and pretending to care.

We finish eating our dinner, and I pay the check. It’s still early, and I’m sure Lonnie is expecting me to ask her to go for drinks or back to my place. The problem is I can’t take her back to my place for obvious reasons. While I want Emily to know I’m dating so she’ll stop acting so strange around me, I can’t bring another woman to our shared apartment and have sex with her. It just wouldn’t feel right. I’m hoping Emily doesn’t bring Sebastian or any other guy to the apartment either.

“So,” Lonnie says once we’re back at my car. “Thank you for dinner. I love Mexican food, and I’ve been meaning to try this place.” The Cantina just opened about a month ago, and I’ve been meaning to try it too, so when Emily suggested I have a place in mind, it popped into my head immediately.

“Same here. The food was great. I’ll definitely be coming back.” I shove my hands into the pockets of my dress pants, not sure what to do or say. Lonnie seems like she’s saying goodnight, but she’s not moving toward her car at all. She wanted to meet here, which made sense to me since it was a first date. It shows she’s careful and smart. I definitely like that about her.

“Well, I guess this is good night.” She steps toward me. “Unless you want to go for a drink?” It comes out as a question.

“Sure, if you’re up for it,” I say.

“Great. Anywhere but Last Call. I like to avoid that place on my days off.”

“I don’t blame you. I don’t like to go to the paper on my days off either.”

Before she can respond, her phone rings. “Sorry. Just a second,” she says, fishing it out of her purse. When she sees the screen, her face falls. “It’s Caleb. That can’t be good.”

“Go ahead and take it,” I say.

She smiles at me and brings the phone to her ear. “Hey, Caleb. Please don’t tell me this is what I think it is.” She pauses as he speaks, and then she rolls her eyes. “Okay. I’m on a date, so you’re going to have to give me time to get there.” Another pause. “Yeah. See you in a few.” She returns the phone to her purse.

“Bad news?” I ask, leaning against my car door.

“Caleb is short-staffed tonight. One of the other bartenders called out sick. He’s new, and Caleb is sure the guy had a date or something. Either way, I need to go bail him out.”

I nod. “No problem. It happens.”

She moves toward me, and I stand up straight. “Rain check on the drinks?” she asks.

I smile. “Absolutely. You have my number, so call me when you know your work schedule for next week.”

“I will.” She’s standing there, waiting for me to kiss her.

I close the distance between us and dip my head, bringing my lips to hers. I don’t expect her to deepen the kiss so soon. After all, we just met, and with the way she reacted to the drunken men at the bar, I figured she’d prefer to take things slowly. But her tongue is doing sinful things in my mouth. I’m completely breathless when she finally pulls away and smiles at me.

“Good night, David,” she says.

“Night.” I watch her walk around to the driver’s side of her Lexus and get inside. She waves before she pulls out of the spot. I get in my car, not sure what to make of that kiss. Lonnie is incredibly beautiful and a lot of fun, but I’m not sure I feel the same way about her that she feels about me. The irony of the situation isn’t lost on me as I drive back to the apartment. Isn’t it just like fate to throw me into a relationship that’s the complete opposite of the one I’m in with Emily? And like Emily, I don’t want to hurt Lonnie. Suddenly, I want to read Emily’s response to Looking for a Commitment because I need some direction on how to handle this.

I’m still mulling it over when I unlock the door to the apartment and step inside. I toss my keys onto the kitchen table. “Emily, I’m home,” I call out.

She’s not in the living room, and it’s way too early for her to have gone to bed. Deciding she must have gone out after all, I head for the bathroom. The door is open, so I walk right in, but the bathroom is already occupied. Emily is asleep in the tub, and all the bubbles have disintegrated. I’m staring at her wet, naked body.

Part of me wants to leave and hope she never finds out I walked in on her like that. But another part of me wonders how she’s still in the tub. The water must be freezing by now. I shield my eyes with my hand and say, “Emily, are you okay?”

She mumbles, and then says, “Ow.”

“Are you okay?” I repeat.

“My God, David, what are you doing in here? I thought you had a date.”

Still covering my eyes, I say, “Sorry. I just got home, and the door was open, so I didn’t know you were in here.”

“I fell asleep.” Water sloshes against the tub, and she cries out in pain.

I lower my hand to see what’s wrong, no longer caring that she’s naked. “What?” I ask her.

“I can’t move my neck,” she says.

It must be stiff since she fell asleep with her head draped over the back of the tub. “What can I do?”

“For starters, cover your eyes! Just because you’ve seen me naked before doesn’t mean I’m okay with you seeing me this way now.”

I turn my back to her this time. “Sorry, but how can I help you if I can’t see you?”

“I’ll be fine. God, this water is freezing. How didn’t I wake up?” By the sounds she’s making, it’s obvious she’s trying to get out of the tub and not having any luck.

“Will you let me help you? Please?” I say, grabbing a towel from the towel bar and holding it out to her.

“I can’t turn my neck at all. Every time I move it’s like someone is trying to take my head off with a really rusty steak knife.”

I smile at her choice of words. “That would take a while.”

“And it’s much more painful than a butcher knife.” She winces in pain again, and I can’t stand here doing nothing.

“Sorry for this, but I have no other choice.” I turn to face her, put the towel on the edge of the tub, and reach into the water.

“David, what are you doing?” she shrieks.

“Getting you out of that tub. Now hold your head still, and apply some pressure to both sides of your neck with your hands. That should steady you as I pull you out.”

She grimaces but does what I tell her.

I reach under her arms and pull her to a standing position. Once she’s on her feet, I wrap the towel around her body. After she’s covered, I loop one arm around her and help her step out of the tub. Then I take another towel and dry off her arms and legs.

“This is crazy. How am I supposed to get dressed or do anything if I can’t move my neck?” she asks as I lead her to her room.

“You’re going to lie down on your bed and let me rub your neck. You need to get the kinks out. You should take some aspirin, too.” I stop in her bedroom doorway. “Stay here for a minute, okay? I’ll get the aspirin and some water.”

“I’d nod, but you know...” she says.

I give her a small smile before rushing to get two aspirin. I grab a bottle of water out of the refrigerator and hurry back to find her trying to get in bed on her own. “You couldn’t wait for me, could you?”

“I’ve been walking since I was ten months old. I figured I could handle it.” She winces as she tries to pull back the bedcovers.

“Stop.” I hand her the aspirin and water before pushing her blankets aside. After taking the aspirin, she hands the bottle of water to me and sits down, slowly lowering herself to a reclined position.

“On your stomach,” I tell her, pushing her pillow aside so it doesn’t prop up her sore neck. “Try to keep your head in that position.”

“How will I breathe?”

“Through your mouth, not your nose. It will work. Trust me.”

She listens, but she whimpers in the process. “This hurts so much.”

“I believe it.”

“Do you have a heating pad?” she asks.

“No, but I’ve been told I have magic hands.”

She swallows so hard I hear it, and then I remember she was the one who told me that when we were dating.

“Okay, I’m going to have to sit on you to massage you properly.”

“Sure. You’ve already seen me naked tonight. Might as well jump on top of me now.” She’s quiet for a second, and I’m not sure if she’s angry, but then she says, “You can’t see, but I’m rolling my eyes right now.”

“Just tell me if I’m hurting you,” I say before carefully climbing onto the bed, positioning one knee on each side of her body. I gently lower myself so I’m sitting on her ass. Her back is still wet since I only wrapped the towel around her and didn’t actually dry her off. Each drop of water looks good enough to lick off her, but I force myself to focus on her neck. I reach forward, but she’s still holding her neck, afraid to move it.

“You’re going to have to lower your hands to your sides,” I tell her.

She lets go of her neck and winces again. I immediately place my hands where hers were, hoping to relieve the pressure.

“Thanks,” she says. “That helps.” She places her arms down at her sides, and I lightly start massaging her neck, running my thumbs up and down the back of it, tracing her spine.

“How’s the pressure?” I ask, not wanting to hurt her.

“You can go a little harder,” she says.

I apply more pressure, and this time the moan that escapes her mouth is more of pleasure than pain.

“Sorry. That feels good, though.”

I stifle a laugh. “No worries.” I’ve missed hearing that moan. Knowing I can elicit that sound by only touching her neck brings a huge smile to my face.

“How was your date?” she asks. “You’re home kind of early.”

“She got called in to work, so we said good night after dinner.”

“Sorry to hear that.”

I’m not. Truthfully, I’d rather be here massaging Emily’s neck than out drinking with Lonnie. Nothing against Lonnie, but Emily has this hold on my heart. Despite my efforts, I can’t shake her. “It’s fine,” I say.

“Do you like her?” she asks, and I’m sure she’s hoping I’ll say yes.

“Lonnie’s great.” It’s not a lie. She is a great woman. She’s just not for me.

“So you’re going to see her again?”

I haven’t given it much thought. I agreed to a rain check on the drinks though, so I guess I should honor that. “Yeah, we’re having drinks one night this week.”

“That’s great. I’m happy for you, David.”

I decide to take a risk, hoping if she thinks I’ve changed my view on relationships, she might be open to the idea of us dating again. “I think you had the right idea after all. Keeping things casual. We have enough on our plates with work right now. No need to complicate things by getting into a serious relationship.”

“So you’re planning to date instead of getting into a relationship with just one woman?” she asks.

“Yeah, I am.” If I have drinks with Lonnie one night and hang out with Emily another night, that’s sort of like dating different women, right? I try to rationalize it in my mind, but since this is new to me, I’m not sure of anything.

I keep massaging her neck, and after about twenty minutes, she turns her head to the side. “I think you did it,” she says. “I’m pretty sure I can move again.”

I slide off her so she can try, but I sit on the edge of the bed so I’m close enough to help her if she’s not ready yet. She turns over and carefully moves to a sitting position. Then she smiles at me as she twists her neck from side to side.

“I was right about your magic hands,” she says.

I’m pretty sure that constitutes as flirting, so I flirt back with, “Well, they’re at your disposal any time you need them.”

Her eyes widen, and then she laughs. “That was such a line.”

“It was. I won’t deny it.” I smile and shrug. “What can I say? I think I’m enjoying this newfound freedom dating has given me.”

“It’s been one day since you started ‘dating.’” She makes air quotes. “You’re hardly an expert.”

“Fine. Then teach me.”

“Teach you? How do you propose I do that?”

“Well, you already told me to have a suggestion of where to take Lonnie for dinner tonight, and that worked like a charm, so what else do you have for me?” I hold my arms out at my sides. “I’m all yours.”

She eyes me for a second. “You’re sure this is what you want? Dating multiple women with no strings attached?”

“Technically, I’m dating Lonnie with no strings attached.”

She places her hand on my knee. “Do you want to date anyone else?”

Is she asking what I think she’s asking? “Do you have a suggestion for me?” I lean toward her slightly.

“I might,” she says. “How much did you drink at dinner tonight?”

“Making sure I’m not inebriated?” I laugh.

“Yes. Because this isn’t like you at all. How do I know if this is really what you want?” Despite her words, her hand moves up my leg and squeezes my thigh.

“I had one margarita with dinner. I’m sober. And I think I’m finally seeing things clearly. I thought that would make you happy.”

“Are you trying to make me happy?” Her eyes search mine, like the answer will somehow be displayed in them.

“Of course, I want you to be happy, Em. You’re my friend, aren’t you?”

“That depends.”

“On?”

“On whether or not you want to stay friends.”

“What are you saying?” She’s confusing the hell out of me. She’s touching me and closing the distance between us with each passing second. Did my date make her jealous? Is that what brought this on? Or is she thinking she could date me now that I’m also seeing Lonnie?

“You were so understanding of my feelings when we broke up. Now, it seems like the reason why you understand them is because you’re starting to see the benefits of not being tied down. Is that true?” She looks so hopeful, and while I don’t want to lie to her, I want her to keep looking at me this way.

“You want the truth?”

She nods.

“I want you, Em. Even if that means I don’t have you to myself and we date other people.”

“You’d be okay with me continuing to date Sebastian?” she asks.

“As long as you’d be okay with me dating Lonnie,” I say.

Instead of answering, she pulls herself onto my lap. I don’t move, not sure what to do.

“Are you sure about this?” she asks.

Sure I want her? Yes! I brush her wet hair behind her shoulders and cup her face. I know she loves her neck kissed, but I’m also afraid of hurting her if it’s not completely better. I trace her cheek with the pad of my thumb. “Is this what you want?”

“It’s what I’ve always wanted. I only ended things because I didn’t want to hurt you. I still don’t want to. So if you’re really okay with this being casual, I’m in.”

I almost can’t believe my ears. I never thought I’d get another chance with her. As much as I hate the thought of Sebastian’s hands on her, I can’t stop thinking about my hands on her. I lower my hand from her face to her neck. “Your neck feels better, right?”

“Just about. Any ideas for how to make it feel completely better?” Her suggestive tone isn’t lost on me.

I dip my head and drag my tongue across it. She moans and tilts her head slightly to give me better access. I don’t want her to hurt herself, so I crane my own neck and kiss her soft flesh, letting my tongue tease the sensitive spot. It takes all my strength not to tell her how much I missed this, the way she tastes. I trail kisses down her neck, and she leans back, allowing me to kiss the top of her breasts, which are peeking out from the towel.

She stands up, and I watch as she allows the towel to fall to the floor, pooling at her feet. My body reacts instantly. She climbs into the bed, sliding under the covers, and beckons me with her finger. I remove my shirt and pants, discarding them on the floor, and slip into bed with only my boxers on.

I kiss her, and everything that my kiss with Lonnie had been missing is there in Emily’s kiss. The passion, the desire, the heat. My hand trails down her body, cupping her breast, tracing a line down her stomach, and finally resting between her legs.

Emily gives me a look I know well. I know what she likes. I smile and then lower myself to take her nipple into my mouth. At the same time, I enter her with two fingers. I’m going to make sure this is a night she won’t forget, and one she wants to repeat often.