Chapter 23

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I have given the chefs a night off. They usually don’t work every night, anyway, and have only been doing so on account of Carrie being here. So, with them gone, I have ordered a pizza for Carrie and me instead.

I watch with a smile as Carrie devours the pizza. Cheese runs down her chin, and her fingertips are coated in grease. She licks them clean, laughing as she does. I get the sense that she enjoys the pizza as much as any of the meals we have eaten this week.

I have to remind myself that she’s not used to my lifestyle. She isn’t impressed or wowed by riches and fancy things like so many girls who I date. It’s one of the many reasons I find myself falling for her.

“Dear God, this is good pizza,” she croons as she swallows the last piece. “Even the pizza on this side of the tracks is nicer.”

“This side of the tracks,” I say with a chuckle. “What tracks?”

“It’s an expression,” she says, smirking. “You know what I mean.”

I watch her with a smile on my face, unable and unwilling to hide it. In this moment, I am happier than I can remember ever really being. I’m glad that she is having my baby. But I am also glad that it is with her specifically.

“Hey, what are you doing tomorrow afternoon and night?” I ask.

“Oh, this and that,” she responds with a smile.

“Do you think you can postpone it for a night?” I joke.

“I’m sure I can work something out. Why?”

“I spoke to my friend Ben earlier, and he invited me to a barbecue at his place tomorrow. I want you to come with me.”

“Tomorrow,” she begins. She frowns as she does, as if she has suddenly remembered something. Even before she speaks, I know what she is going to say. “But tomorrow is my first day. I thought we were going to be, well, busy?”

“I’m sure we will find time to have sex tomorrow. Don’t worry about that. And besides. If not tomorrow, there is always the next day. And the day after that.”

“And you don’t mind? Me always hanging around here? I thought you would be getting sick of me by now?”

“There was a chance of that,” I say, holding her eyes with my own as I do. “But you’ve grown on me, believe it or not. I find myself liking having you around.”

“Is that right?” She asks, not even bothering to hide her tremendous smile. Her cheeks flush red as she does.

“That’s right,” I say back.

“Okay, you’ve got me. I’ll come tomorrow, on one condition.”

“Which is?”

“That you let me use that Jacuzzi tonight? I haven’t used it yet, and it’s been calling my name all week.”

“You haven’t used it yet?” I ask, feigning shock. “Well, in that case, I insist. But only if you let me join you. On that condition, I can’t be moved.”

She bites her lip as she pretends to think on the proposal. “I don’t think so.”

She suddenly jumps to her feet. She winks at me, turns and runs to my bedroom.

“No, you don’t!” I yell, and I chase after her. She screams when she hears me coming, and as I chase her into the bathroom, I pick her up off her feet.

“Put me down!” She laughs as I dangle her above the floor.

“Only if you promise to let me join you.”

“Fine, I give up!” She’s still laughing as I put her down. “You can join me. In fact, that might make the Jacuzzi even more enjoyable.”

I smile and walk forward to turn on the faucet. The hot water pours from the faucet, filling up the tub. As I watch the water rise, I begin to undress.

“I love your tattoos,” she says as she watches me take my clothes off.

“Oh yeah? Which ones?” I drop my pants to the floor.

“All of them. But if I had to pick, I would say that one.” She points to a tattoo on the back of my shoulder. It’s my favorite one as well. “What does it mean?”

“Have I not told you?” I ask.

“No.”

“It’s supposed to represent the Gordian knot,” I say. I run my hand through the water, testing the heat. “It’s based on an old story about Alexander the Great. I won’t bore you with the details, but basically it was foretold that whoever could undo this knot would rule the world.”

“And he undid it?” She asks, wide-eyed. She is totally naked now, and I have to work to maintain my concentration. Her body is incredible, and I just want to take her, here and now.

“He cut it with his sword,” I explain. “And the knot fell undone.”

“That’s cheating!”

“No, it’s thinking outside the box. I got the tattoo in college to remind me that there’s always another way to do something, and that way, the one that no one has tried before, is often the most effective.”

“Ah, I see,” she says. “Very clever.”

“Do I hear sarcasm in your voice?” I ask.

“Is there ever not?”

“So you don’t buy the story then?”

“Well,” she begins. “It’s not so much that I don’t buy it. But more that I think he cheated. If the story is about cheating to achieve your goals, then that’s fine. But to say that he undid the knot? That’s a stretch.”

“Come here!”

I take a quick step forward and scoop Carrie off her feet. She lets out a fake scream as I throw her over my shoulder. With her still on my shoulder, I reach forward and turn off the running water. The Jacuzzi is full, and I step gingerly into it, sinking into its depths, still carrying her over my shoulder the entire time.

As I slide into the water, I let her fall from me. She does so with a splash, laughing the entire time.