Manaia drove us to the diner next to the hospital. I was in the mood for fried chicken and pie. Lisa knew the place because she’d gone several times while visiting her little brother. Manaia grabbed a stool at the counter while we claimed a booth.
Once we ordered, Lisa launched into what she wanted to talk about.
“How do you see us working?”
“I thought that we would just play it by ear. Go out, have a little fun, and we go our own ways after graduation,” I said.
“Does that mean you’ll see other women?”
I shrugged. I didn’t necessarily want to come right out and say it, but I wasn’t going to lie to Lisa, either.
“So, I can do the same?”
I gave her a little smirk and waggled my eyebrows.
“I would encourage it,” I said and watched her eyes get big with disbelief. “Hopefully, you would bring the other women with you so we could play.”
She closed her eyes and shook her head.
“That’s not what I meant.”
“I got that. I just don’t want to turn this into a thing, if you know what I mean. If you want to spend time with another guy, I’m not going to stop you,” I said, and surprised myself when I meant it.
For some reason, my feelings for Lisa didn’t trigger the possessive Alpha Male inside of me. I meant it when I said I just wanted to spend time with her and have a little fun. There was no future between us that I could foresee.
“Did you really sleep with all those movie stars?” she asked, digging for dirt.
“Let’s make each other a deal. When we’re together, it’s just about us. What we do with others has nothing to do with what we have going on, so let’s not talk about it,” I suggested.
She got quiet, and I did the same. Lisa had to decide if what I offered her was enough. I didn’t want to influence her decision. When our food came, we talked about everything but us. This Lisa, I liked. I enjoyed our banter because she had a sense of humor and didn’t fawn all over me because of my celebrity. It felt like a ‘normal’ date.
◊◊◊
Over dessert, which was pecan pie for me and cherry pie for Lisa, the subject of sex came up.
“Do you expect me to jump your bones?” Lisa asked.
“Expect? No. Hope? Yes.”
“Wouldn’t that mean our relationship had advanced to the next level?”
“If you mean from ‘friends’ to ‘friends with benefits,’ I’m on board,” I answered.
We traded quips, with Lisa playing hard to get. We both knew she was just leading me on, or I would have backed off.
I paid the bill, and we walked to the car, where she balked.
“I don’t know. If I get in the car with you, I’m afraid you’ll make me do terrible things,” she said, shaking her head.
I looked her in the eyes, not giving anything away.
“Just get in the car,” I said.
Lisa’s eyes widened, then filled with delight.
“Really?”
“Hell, if we’re going to do this, we might as well make it classy and do it in the backseat like every other teenager,” I answered with a sigh.
“And you’re always classy.”
It made me laugh how quickly she moved her cute little butt to get into the backseat. I chuckled and reached over the backseat to find the first-aid kit, popped it open, and grabbed the strip of condoms stashed there. As I did that, Manaia got into the front seat to drive us home. Lisa was torn between him getting in the car and the strip of condoms I had in my hand.
“Are those non-latex?” she asked, and I nodded. “Okay, I think I might be mad about this, except I probably shouldn’t be because you at least have the right kind. But … seriously? You keep condoms in your car?”
“Of course I do,” I said, and could tell she needed a fuller explanation. “What if I’m driving along one day and come across Hannah Minacci stranded on the side of the road?”
Lisa still had a speculative expression.
“What about him?” she asked, nodding at Manaia.
“You want him to join us?”
My mouth dropped open when she considered it for a moment. She was such a bad girl. Lisa was also absolutely perfect for me to be dating right now. She finally gave me a little shake of her head to tell me ‘no.’
“Sorry, Big Guy,” I said to Manaia.
“No problem. Want me to just drive you around?”
“That would be perfect,” I said, and turned my attention back to Lisa.
In the back of my mind, I thought I should have had Manaia as my security for all the times my driver had refused to do just that. Manaia was my guy now.
Lisa licked her lower lip and looked unsure what to do next. She was so lucky she had me with her to help her decide. I followed the path of her tongue, and Mr. Happy came awake. Up till now, he’d been good because he knew I probably wasn’t going to do her right in the middle of the restaurant. Now, if we’d gotten close to a bathroom … that might have been another story.
Lisa caught me checking out her tongue action and let it slide over her lips again. Mr. Happy made a play for the body when he thought of her using that mouth and tongue on him. For once, the big brain was entirely on board.
