Rita
“Dinner was good,” I say, climbing into bed. I pull the sheets over me as Scar stands nearby in nothing but a pair of boxer briefs, looking like he’s on set for an underwear modeling job.
“You get along well with Molly,” he says, watching me, eyes roaming over to the empty side of the bed. “Did you really mean what you asked about kids?”
“Absolutely,” I say, feeling sleepy and barely resisting it. Lying out in the sun all afternoon took a lot out of me. “I think I got a sunburn on my arm.”
He moves closer, still looking at me. His face is tense, almost anxious, but I don’t know why. “Orin said something to me while we were outside. He wants me to move to Boston.”
I roll over to frown at him. “Really? That’s a lot to ask.”
“He’s not a normal client. Anyone else and I’d tell them to fuck off. But Orin Callahan?” He shakes his head, clearly torn. “This is my chance, Rita.”
I sit up on an elbow. I like the way his eyes drift down my arm, to my shoulder, to my chest, back up to my lips. I lick them, giving him a little teasing show. Why not? I can still feel that orgasm pulsing between my legs.
“Is that something you’d want? I mean, you’ve been in Dallas a long time, right?”
“I lived on the East Coast in college.” He tilts his head. “But most of my life has been in Dallas otherwise.”
“Your friends are also there,” I point out.
“Carmine and Ford can travel. They have the means.”
“But they also have little kids.” I flop down on my back. “I’m just saying, it’s a big ask. That’s all.”
“You wouldn’t come with me?” He asks so quietly, I almost think he didn’t say it.
The light snaps off before I can respond. The bed creaks as he climbs in beside me, the heat of his body rolling across the mattress.
“I don’t know,” I admit, uncertainty buzzing through my body. “What do I have waiting back in Dallas? A burned-down apartment. No best friend. No family to speak of. I had a job, but-” I shrug a little. I smile in the darkness, but I don’t think he can see my expression. Dallas has been my home, but I also went to the East Coast for college, and I could move there again for a while if I had to. Nothing’s holding me back. Only fear.
“We promised we’d do this for a year. That’s in the contract.”
“No sex is in the contract too and you found a loophole.” I stretch my legs, eyes fluttering. I feel so exhausted I could pass out. My body gets that sense of heaviness as everything goes relaxed. Sleep’s not far now. “Why not keep me for longer?”
He doesn’t answer right away. I close my eyes, thinking about his mouth against mine. Dreaming about it. But then his voice pulls me from the brink of sleep.
“Would you really do that? When we agreed to this, it was supposed to be temporary.”
“Then we can have a spectacular breakup in Boston.” I yawn, turning my head. He’s looking at me in the darkness, his body a stretch of black in the low light. “It’d be an adventure.”
“You’d move across the country for an adventure?”
“I don’t have anything else,” I say, thinking back to my life. “I haven’t had anything, if I’m honest with myself. What’s the point of drifting along, barely making ends meet? I can do that forever. Stay comfortable and safe. Or I can take a risk with you.”
“I’m a risk now?” he murmurs. I can hear the smile on his lips. “What do you want, Rita? I mean, with your life. With everything.”
“I don’t know,” I admit. The idea of having a goal seems so foreign. “I’ve never really wanted anything. I’ve been trying to tread water all this time, just trying to survive. It’s hard to think past a few days when it feels like you could drown at any second.”
“But something changed,” he pushes.
“You came along and fucked everything up,” I say, staring at the ceiling. “And Orin keeps talking about family. That’s got me thinking about the future, you know? About having kids. About building something more than myself. That doesn’t sound so bad. I know it would be hard, but I’ve always wanted a family.”
“It’d definitely be something to do,” he says.
“I know you’re joking, but I’m serious. It would be something to do. What else is there? Why not have babies? Raise them right? I could do a better job than my parents did. I wouldn’t turn into a swinging sex freak, for one.”
“What if I asked you to?” he whispers, his lips surprisingly close to my neck. I shiver, but don’t flinch away.
“I’d tell you to move to Florida by your own damn self then if you want to swing so badly.” He chuckles quietly and kisses my chin. I suck in an excited breath. “What was that for?” I ask.
“Something for you to dream about. Go to sleep, you’re exhausted.”
I close my eyes again. Heaviness pushes me down into the mattress. “I’m a little drunk, I spent a lot of time in the sun, and I had one of the best orgasms of my life. Yes, I am one tired girl.”
“One of the best?”
“The best. Be quiet now. Sleep time.”
Another kiss. This time on my neck. “Goodnight.”
God, why does he do this to me? “Goodnight,” I say and roll over.
Thinking about babies, and moving to Boston, and kisses in the dark.