Caroline

On Halloween morning, I decide to kick off the day with an early run and manage to rope Daniel into joining me.

“Whoa, I didn’t know your physical condition is this good,” Daniel complains. We’re both sweating and panting when we enter his apartment, but this was a fantastic run. I love the boost of energy after a thorough cardio training.

I finish stretching in his living room, but Daniel grabs his smartphone, leaning against the bar counter separating the living room from the kitchen area, slipping into what I like to call his “business mode.” Despite it being Saturday, he’ll be caught up in a meeting the entire day, and we’ll meet directly at his parents’ house this afternoon.

His expression turns grim the longer he looks at the screen. 

“Nope, you’re not allowed to frown this early in the morning. What can possibly have gone wrong already?”

He scowls. “Remember I said I’m putting all celebrity events on hold? Well, it’s proving to be more difficult than I anticipated. Managed to either cancel or pass on to other companies, but Beatrix won’t let me off the hook. She doesn’t want someone else handling her bachelorette party. It’s in two weekends, in LA.”

Sitting on the floor, I pause in the act of stretching one calf, feeling suddenly cold. “Beatrix Mercier? Your ex?”

Ouch. Beatrix used to be one of the lead models in the Bennett Show, and she and Daniel had an on-again, off-again relationship for some time, at least if the tabloids are to be believed. 

Daniel unhitches himself from the counter, joins me on the floor. “I wouldn’t call her that.”

I cock a brow. “What would you call her?”

“A friend. We had a one-night stand when we first met, but afterward, we were just friends.”

“Really?”

He rubs little circles on the back of my right hand, kissing my shoulder. “Really. The rest of it was the media making things up.”

“Probably because the two of you looked incredibly good together in pictures.” Fiddling with my thumbs in my lap, I fight the jealousy bug with all my might, but there’s no escaping it. Beatrix is the type of beauty that can’t be achieved through healthy eating or exercising alone. She has a genetic predisposition to perfection, and she’s engaged to one of the hottest A-list actors.

“So, how will you handle this?”

“Depends on you.”

My stomach jolts. “What do you mean?” 

“I can tell her to bugger off, which is going to cost me some future business. Or I can go forward with the whole thing, but I’d be handling it myself because I don’t trust my team at this point.”

“Don’t cancel on my behalf,” I say, still fiddling with thumbs. “I don’t want to cost you your business.”

Daniel cups the side of my face, tilting my head up until I’m looking at him. “We’re building something here. I won’t jeopardize what we have for a deal. If you aren’t comfortable with this, say the word and I’ll cancel.”

Oh, this sweet man. My chest rises and falls quickly as I shift on the floor until I’m almost straddling him. “Don’t cancel, Dan. Anyway, she’s getting married, so I assume she’s not going to spend her bachelorette party tempting you.”

“Exactly. But Caroline? Even if she would, I wouldn’t be tempted.” He points with his finger between us. “This, here, is all I want. Us.”

“See? No reason to cancel.”

He laughs, pulling both of us to our feet, which is when I realize I’m a hot mess. My hair and my clothes cling to me, and there are rings of perspiration under my arms. Yikes. I need to hop in the shower right away. Daniel on the other hand isn’t a hot mess, he’s just hot. His clothes cling to him, highlighting the strength of his biceps, the defined lines of his abs. I can even make out the V-shaped lines under the fabric of his shirt. It’s almost as if he’s naked. The operative word being almost. Ah, what I wouldn’t give for a peek at his sweaty skin. I drink him in as discreetly as possible.

“You’re insatiable, aren’t you?”

Whoops. I guess I wasn’t that discreet after all. I could try to dispute the accusation, but why deny?

“Can’t help it. Not when I know what’s under your clothes. Makes me want to take them off, jump your bones. It’s been a while.”

“We made love before our run.”

I laugh at how indignant he sounds, almost offended. His hands are in the air, his jaw slack.

“Yeah, but see, I was half asleep when you climbed over me,” I explain, stifling yet another laugh because his expression becomes more incredulous by the second. “Now, I am in no way complaining about wake-up sex—best way to start a day if you ask me. But it can’t count as a full lovemaking session if half my senses are still dormant.”

Daniel bursts out laughing, and hot damn, the sound is contagious. Seconds later, I join him and laugh until my belly hurts. Then he pulls me flush against him, tipping my chin up and kissing me. He tastes a little salty from the sweat on his upper lip, but the sheer masculinity rolling off him—holy hotness. His irises are dilated with lust when he pulls back.

“Let’s take a shower,” I suggest.

“Sure, you go first.” His eyes twinkle. The bastard. I’m hot for him, and this is how he treats me? Teasing me?

“It’d be more efficient if we showered at the same time. Water conservation and all that.”

He focuses his gaze on one of my cheeks and then the other. I’m pretty sure I’m flushing tomato red. His face breaks into a grin.

“That’s what we’re calling it? Water conservation?”

Before I have a chance to reply, he scoops me up in his arms, carrying me to the bathroom. I can’t help myself, and pepper his face and neck with kisses.

“I’m sweaty,” he remarks.

“You’re mine, sweaty or not, and I plan to take advantage of it every chance I get.”

***

I dress at top speed after hopping out of the shower and run off to prepare some toast while Daniel shaves.

“You can leave some of your stuff here,” Daniel’s voice resounds from the bathroom. “So you don’t have to carry that huge bag with you all the time.”

“Thanks,” I call out, smiling to myself. Warmth spreads through me as I smear the toast with a thick layer of butter, the way he likes it, then put ham and thinly sliced tomatoes over it. I also find olives in the fridge, slice two in half, and add them on top. Stepping back, I assess my work of art. This isn’t just a sandwich, it’s a sandwich with love.

“I’ll empty a shelf for you. Or do you need two? For all your lady stuff?”

I freeze. Will he put two and two together when he realizes I don’t have any lady stuff? Did he realize I haven’t gotten my period since we began dating?

He joins me in the kitchen by the time I finish his sandwich, looking harassed.

“Fuck, I’m gonna be late. No time to eat now, I’ll take the sandwich and coffee with me.” He points to the dark blue cup filled to the brim with coffee. “You can go out whenever you’re ready. The doorman will come and lock up.”

“Okay.”

“What’s wrong?”

Damn, how can he tell? Then again, my entire body is tense, which might have tipped him off.

“Nothing,” I say evasively, avoiding his gaze.

“Did you change your mind about Beatrix?”

“No, Dan, not at all.”

“Was the business with the shelf too much? Too soon?”

I shake my head.

“Something has you out of sorts, I can tell. And you weren’t ten minutes ago.” His voice is harder now. He won’t let it go. “You used to tell me everything.”

He’s right. I used to talk his ear off about everything. In fact, I often thought I was sharing more than he needed to know, but I wasn’t able to stop myself.

Daniel was my opposite, keeping any problems to himself. Eventually, I realized it’s a man thing, not wanting to show the weak spots. For me, it was a relief to talk everything out, to hear his opinion, his advice. But in retrospect, I realize that, at twenty-one, I didn’t have any real problems. A bad grade or the failure to secure an internship was the worst back then. It was easy to be open when you had no ghosts, nothing to be ashamed of. Ten years later, with some fair baggage under my belt, opening up doesn’t come as easy.

“You’ll be late for your meeting,” I murmur.

“Fuck the meeting. I don’t care. I care about you. Tell me.”

“I’ll tell you tonight.” 

I turn around, intending to hand him the cup of coffee, when I feel his arms around me, his chest pressed against my back. “I want you to share with me what bothers you, so I fix what I can, commiserate about the rest. I want you to trust me again like you used to.”

Oh, he says all the right things, and I feel so safe and warm in his arms that I’m tempted to persuade him to spend the entire day with me. But no matter what he says, I know this meeting is important. I won’t let him show up late on my account. It isn’t right.

So, I turn around, rise on the tip of my toes, and press my lips to his.

“I do trust you. We’ll talk about this tonight, I promise. Now go.”