Real Love

by Tracy Reed

  “Interesting.”

  “What’s that supposed to mean?”

  “Nothing.”

  “Please explain.” She reached over and dipped her spoon into the paper ice cream cup.

  “Well,” he wiped his mouth, looked her in the eye and explained. “If I were him, I’d be less than thrilled to hear my girlfriend use the word nice to describe our lovemaking.”

  “Why?”

  “If someone asks, no matter how good or bad, the answer should be, none of your business or I don’t feel comfortable discussing that. Instead, you wanted to make me jealous or envious with your answer.”

  “That’s not what—”

  He picked up the empty container and walked over to the garbage can. On the way back to his seat he whispered, “If I was the one you were having sex with, your friends wouldn’t have to ask if you’re satisfied. They’d see it on your face.” She swallowed hard. “Let’s go, it’s getting late.” She stood up and he followed her to the sidewalk and flagged a taxi.

  They stood on the sidewalk silent, smiling at each other. A few minutes passed before a taxi stopped in front of them. He opened the door and helped her inside. She started to scoot over and, he closed the door. “Aren’t you getting in?” she asked.

  “No.”

  “What about tomorrow?”

  “I’ll call you in the morning and let you know. Good night.” He handed her a twenty dollar bill. “This should cover it.” He tapped the side of the door and the car pulled away. He watched the car roll down the street, hoping she’d turn around, but she didn’t. He turned and headed in the opposite direction. A few minutes into his walk, his cell phone rang. He recognized the ring tone, “Fever.” The beat and words summed up Kyla perfectly. “Hello.” He felt himself smiling.

  “Are you punishing me?” she asked with a slight giggle in her voice.

  “No, I just…”

  “And tomorrow?”

  “That might not be a good idea.”

  “Why?”

  “I—”

  “Think I’m going to attack you?”

  “Maybe it’s the other way around.” Playing along with her.

  “Oh.”

  “Or, maybe Simon has other plans.”

  She laughed. “Well, tell Simon I will be sure to give him more notice next time.”

  “I’ll be sure to relay your apology. How about dinner Friday?”

  “Can’t.”

  “The boyfriend?”

  “Yeah.” The regret in her voice was beginning to show.

  “Okay then, what about brunch on Saturday?”

  “Only if you bring Simon.”

  “Deal.”

  “Good night.”

  “Good night.” She pressed the button to end the call. She was intrigued and a little more smitten than before. She wasn’t used to being around a gentleman. Eric had class and style, but he wasn’t very affectionate and considerate.

  She kept replaying Sean’s comment and her answer. She couldn’t really remember the last time Eric had satisfied her. Even before she began hanging out with Sean, the feelings of disconnection with Eric were surfacing. Her response to Sean’s question may not have been proper but it was honest. Since her blow up with Eric a few weeks ago, the passion tank had been a little low. There was a time when she believed Eric to be the best lover she ever had. Things were changing. A part of her thought maybe Eric was growing tired of her, or even worse, maybe he was developing feelings for his wife. Whatever the problem, it all seemed to stem from the time she began seeing Sean.

  The car stopped and she walked the half block to her building replaying Sean’s statement, “If you were having sex with me, the amount of pleasure would show on your face.” She smiled and thought, wow, I’m sure it would.

  Chapter 30

  KYLA WAS PONDERING HER FRIENDSHIP with Sean. This was the first time she had a guy friend that wasn’t trying to get her into bed. Instead, she was the one trying to get Sean into bed. She had tried every trick she knew and he still wasn’t giving in. She was beginning to question her sensuality. In the past, all she had to do was smile and sway her hips and any man she wanted was hers. Not Sean. He wasn’t looking at her body, he was looking at her heart, which she didn’t understand.

  Since he introduced her to his friends she felt now was the perfect time to tell Sean about Eric…but how? Instead of meeting at their usual spot for coffee, Kyla suggested Sean meet her at a little place on Hurbert and Greenwich.

  She was nervous about her coffee date. Sitting at the back of the restaurant waiting for Sean, Kyla quickly gulped down a glass of champagne hoping to calm her nerves. She sat staring at the door, waiting for Sean to walk in. The sound of her feet tapping under the table drowned out her pounding heart. She looked up and saw Sean walking toward her. She studied every inch of him, trying to burn his image in her memory in case this was the last time she saw him. He sat down and they smiled at each other. He looked around the restaurant assessing the surroundings.

  “Interesting choice. Why did you want to meet here?”

  She signaled for the server to bring coffee and took a deep breath trying to find the right words to answer his question.

  “I heard when you have bad news to tell someone you care about, it’s best to do it at a place you don’t like. Because once you share the bad news you’ll always associate it with that place. And if it’s a place you like, you’ll never want to go there again, because you’ll always remember the bad news.”

  “Do you have some bad news to tell me?”

  “Yes.”

  “Then just tell me.”

  She closed her eyes, exhaled and blurted out, “My boyfriend is married.”

  “What!”

  “My boyfriend is married.”

  “I heard you.” The silence was thick. Sean sat still staring at her, not blinking and not speaking.

  “Say something.”

  He finally blinked. “I knew you were keeping something from me. Here’s the funny part. I thought the boyfriend was your way of telling me you were married. I never…”

  “I’m sorry but I didn’t know how to tell you.”

  “You just say it.”

  “I’m sorry. I like you and I couldn’t continue seeing you without telling you everything.” She waited for a response. “Say something.” She reached into her bag, pulled out a twenty dollar bill and placed it on the table. “Okay then.” She stood up.

  “Sit down,” he said sternly. The sound of those two words rolling off his lips scared her. “I said, sit down.”

  She was frozen in her tracks. Sean had never spoken to her like that. She looked around to see if anyone was looking at them and slowly sat back down, tightly holding her bag. No man had ever shown so much anger towards her. She wasn’t quite sure how to react. He looked at her, processing the information she had just shared. He took a sip of his coffee wishing it had something a little stronger in it.

  “Sean, please say something.”

  “I’m trying to figure out why my beautiful, smart, friend is doing something so stupid.”

  “Did you just call me stupid?”

  “No, I asked why are you doing such a stupid thing.”

  She squirmed in her seat, trying to figure out the best answer that wouldn’t make him angrier. “He wasn’t married when we started dating.”

  “I don’t understand.”

  “He got married a couple of years ago.”

  “I’m sorry, I’m trying to understand.”

  “When I met him, he was single.”

  “What happened?”

  “He thought it looked better for his practice if he were married.”

  “And?”

  “I didn’t want to get married.”

  “Why not? You’d be…”

  “What, a good wife…please. I’m sure I would be if that’s what I wanted. But I’m not the soccer mom, pizza party, arm candy type.”

  “Who is when they get marri
ed?”

  “My mother, my sister. No, that’s not the life for me. I like not having to answer to anyone.” He shook his head in disbelief at what she was saying. “Sean I don’t expect you to understand and it’s for sure I don’t need your approval.”

  “Then why did you tell me?”

  “I…thought maybe…I’m not quite sure. I just felt you needed to know.”

  He nodded and looked at her and saw something he hadn’t seen before, shame. “I don’t get it. You don’t need to share a man.”

  “I’m not sharing a man. I allow him to have his life while I have mine.”

  Each comment was more insane than the one before. “Your life?”

  “Yes. He wanted a showpiece and I wanted my freedom.”

  “So you weren’t good enough to be his showpiece?”

  “On the contrary, I tried it his way for a while before he got married and I didn’t like it. That’s when I told him I would help him find the best wife that wasn’t me.”

  “What! I don’t believe this.”

  “What, you think I should be ashamed of how I’m living? I am a successful, single woman living life on my terms. I don’t see why that’s a problem.”

  She raised her glass to get the server’s attention to bring her another glass of champagne. The server placed the glass in front of her. She took a couple of sips and the thick wall of silence was up again. He wasn’t sure what to do or say. How could a man knowingly agree to the absurdities she was saying. She stood up and he grabbed her hand.

  “Sit down.”

  “Excuse me?”

  “I said, sit down.” The stern tone in his voice and the heat from his touch sent a chill up her spine. She hadn’t felt like this in a long time. She slowly sat down on the wooden chair.

  “I thought you were upset.”

  “I am, but not at you, at him. I don’t understand a man who would let you do what you did and not have a problem with it.”

  “I told you—”

  “How long have you been sleeping with him?” he cut her off before she could offer another ridiculous excuse.

  “Over five years.”

  “How long has he been married?”

  “About three years.”

  “I want you to stop.”

  “Why, because you care about me?”

  “Yes.”

  “Sweetie, that’s not going to happen.”

  “Why? Is it money? I’ll give you—”

  “I’ll cut you a little slack because I know you’re in shock.” Her tone instantly changed from jovial to irritated. “But don’t ever say anything like that to me again.”

  “I’m sorry.”

  “Yes, he gives me money, but it’s not what you think. He also gives me something you can’t or won’t.”

  “Sex.”

  “Exactly.”

  “So this is all about sex and money.”

  “More sex than money.” He got quiet again. “Okay, it’s been fun and I see this is something you can’t handle. I’ll make sure when I come into the show—”

  “You know what your problem is? You don’t realize how wonderful you are.”

  “Excuse me?”

  “You don’t see what I see.”

  “What do you see Sean?”

  “I see a woman desperate to get out of a situation, but just doesn’t know how.”

  “Oh really?”

  “Yes.”

  “I don’t see it that way. And you’re wrong. I do know how wonderful I am.”

  “No, you don’t. Because if you did, you wouldn’t be with a married man.”

  “Sean, I’m not going to argue with you.”

  “Let me be your boyfriend.”

  “What?”

  “Let me date you for a week.”

  “What are you talking about?”

  “Give me one week to show you how you deserve to be treated.”

  “Are you insane?”

  “No. What do you do with the boyfriend? I mean apart from the obvious. And not in the past, but since he’s been married.”

  “Make love and eat.”

  “Do you go out?”

  “No, we either order in or I cook.”

  “So it is only sex?”

  “No, sometimes we watch a movie or talk.”

  “But the majority of the time is spent in bed?”

  “Yes.”

  “Give me one week,” he requested.

  “What can you show me in a week that will make me want to break up with…are you gonna slip up and…”

  “No. Come on, what do you say?”

  She looked at him pondering his proposal. “We never see each other the week I cycle.”

  “Why not?”

  “Do I need to get you a high school biology book?” She smiled.

  “No. If he cared about you as you say, he’d make sure that week, your every need and desire were being met.”

  She leaned in close. “What would you do, if I was your girlfriend and it was that time of the month?”

  “I’d come over and rub your feet, cook for you and do whatever I needed to make you comfortable. It’s not fair that the week I get to impress you is the week you’re not at your best.”

  “It’s the only time I can guarantee he won’t try to see me.”

  “Just tell me when.”

  Chapter 31

  KYLA WAS DEEP IN RESEARCH when she heard something strange coming from the design floor.

  “What’s that sound?” she called out. “Antonio, what is that noise?”

  He rushed into her office with an answer.

  “What is that?” she asked.

  “It just arrived. The delivery man said the card is for your eyes only.” He handed her the small grey envelope and walked out.

  She pulled out the card, began to read and let out a hearty, loud laugh. “I don’t believe it.” She picked up the leopard printed carrying case and unzipped the bag. Staring back at her was a black and camel four legged ball of fluff with a red bow tied around its neck. She picked up her phone and dialed the number on the card.

  “Hello.” The deep voice responded. “I take it Simon’s girlfriend arrived?”

  “Yes, she did.” She laughed. “What’s her name?”

  “You tell me,” Sean replied.

  “I don’t know. Winifred, Winifred James or Winnie.”

  “Winnie?” he questioned her choice of name.

  “Yes.”

  “Okay. So what time will you and Winnie be ready?”

  “Ready?”

  “Did you read the tag on her collar?”

  She reached under the ribbon and pulled the tag attached to the collar. “Seems Winnie has a date tonight.” She laughed.

  “Yes, she does and I don’t want her getting frisky with Simon, so you’ll need to chaperone.”

  “Simon has been around a little longer. What am I talking about? I don’t believe I’m arranging a play date—”

  “A dinner date, thank you.”

  “A dinner date for a dog.” She looked at the cute little bundle trying to kiss her. “Stop that. Okay, okay…seems Winnie is anxious about her date. Pick us up at six thirty.”

  “See you tonight.”

  “Bye.” She hung up and stared at the cute, petite dog. “I’m not sure why Sean sent you.” Winnie barked. “Is that so? You are so cute.” The little dog barked again. “Oh, and it seems you know it too. What am I going to do with you?” Winnie licked her face. “Okay, so if you’re going to be here, there are a few rules you need to know. No boys, unless I approve. Definitely no sleepovers and, if you get into my closet, you’re gone. I don’t care how cute you are. And no jumping on clients. Understand?” Winnie barked again followed by a smile.

  Antonio walked in and laughed at Kyla talking to the dog. “You look very comfortable. Who sent the dog?”

  “A friend.”

  “Was it the same friend that sent all the other stuff too?”

  “What stuff
?”

  “Come with me.” She got up with the dog in her arms and followed him.

  “What’s all this?”

  “It came with that thing you’re holding,” Antonio replied pointing to the dog.

  “Winnie, her name is Winnie.” Kyla instantly became defensive and protective of her little charge. She sorted through all the goodies, smiling at Sean’s thoughtfulness. “How am I going to get all of this home?”

  “According to the note, you don’t.”

  “What?” she questioned her assistant of more than five years.

  “This note says, these are the things, the dog—”

  “Winnie.”

  “Winnie, will need when she’s here.”

  “Okay, so make a list of everything here for me, so I can duplicate it for home. Thank you Antonio.”

  “You’re welcome, but that thing is your responsibility.”

  “Yeah, yeah, yeah.”

  “No, I’m serious. The note says, the only person allowed to take care of it, is you.”

  “Let me see that.” She snatched the note out of his hand and read it. “He’s got some nerve.” She laughed.

  “Who?”

  “A friend.”

  Chapter 32

  “I DON’T KNOW WHO THIS new friend is, but I like him,” Antonio commented. He walked in with a couple of bags from Dean and Deluca and placed them on the chair in front of Kyla’s desk. He also placed a small bouquet of white lilacs on her desk.

  “What’s this?” she asked.

  “You tell me.”

  “Is there a card?”

  “No, the delivery man said you would know.”

  She looked in the bag and began pulling out containers, one at a time. Macaroni and cheese, baked chicken, string beans, brownies, chicken soup, quiche Lorraine, a small crate of cherry tomatoes, a box of raspberry tea, saltine crackers, a box of chocolate covered almonds, peaches, mineral water, sugar cookies, a pound of coffee and half-and-half. The other bag had a bottle of Midol, a heating pad, some lavender and patchouli candles, three romance novels, gourmet dog food and a chew toy. She laughed out loud.

  “Excuse me Antonio.” She waited for him to leave, closing the door behind him, before dialing the programmed number. He always picked up on the second ring.