Triple Major

by Lana Hartley

  “You go and have a good time.” I wink at her.

  She smiles. “Thanks, Eric, and have a nice night, too. I’ll see you in the morning.”

  “Not too early. Take as much time as you need.”

  I think that maybe we should be heading home, so I decide to pack my case. As I hear Jessica shut the door I stand up, ready to tell Elia that we may as well leave the office, too.

  “Seriously, you’re telling me that nothing’s going on with the pair of you?”

  “Who?”

  I scratch my head thinking that she can’t be talking about Jessica, she just said that she's going on a date.

  “Jessica and you. Eric, you must think that I was born yesterday. She was telling you about the date, and if I didn’t know any better, I would think that you wished that you were on the date with her.”

  “Was she the one that I just fucked on my desk?”

  Maybe it wasn’t the best way to describe what had just taken place in my office, but to say that I’ve had enough is an understatement. Elia starts to head out the door, and I know that I have no choice but to tell her what I did for her today. Maybe then she’ll see that she’s the only one for me and will stop being so fucking paranoid.

  Elia

  “Come on,” Eric says, pecking a kiss on my exposed shoulder before sliding out of bed. “I’ll take a quick shower now and make us some breakfast.”

  I think he wants me to follow him, but I need to sleep just a little more.

  “All right,” I say as I get up and then slump back down on the bed.

  I grimace at the thought of having to put on last night’s clothes, but I don’t have anything left at his place. Then again, I must have some panties here somewhere from the last time I stayed here. I get up to look around his bedroom instead of waiting for him to get out of the shower and asking him.

  Sure enough, I find a pair of panties, properly folded, in one of his own drawers. I note the boxers and briefs folded inside before I close the drawer. I hear a door open and turn to see Eric coming out of the bathroom.

  I pout a little when I realize he’s wearing a pair of shorts and a T-shirt. He sees the look on my face and grins.

  “As much as I’d like another round, we have things to do today, so we need to get going.”

  I hold up the pair of panties. “At least I have a change of underwear.”

  “It’s not my fault you keep leaving them.”

  I roll my eyes, and a smile curls my lips when he laughs.

  “I’ll get breakfast. Hurry up and get showered.”

  I salute him, “Yes, boss. Anything else?”He smacks my butt and says, “Quickly!”

  He leaves the room still toweling his hair, and I go into his bathroom. It’s big and luxurious, like everything else about Eric, and I take my time with the hot shower. Once I’m out, I towel dry and dress in yesterday’s clothes.

  The smell and sound of breakfast leads me out of the bedroom. As soon as I follow my nose to the kitchen, I’m surprised to see a fully prepared breakfast with eggs, bacon, pancakes, and coffee.

  “Wow, someone’s been busy?”

  He laughs, “Well, I had a few lessons from Gloria. She’s been teaching me a bit in the kitchen.”

  He indicates for me to sit next to him. I can’t believe that he bought the bookstore and has been improving his culinary skills. Maybe that’s the secret and the thing that he really wanted to surprise me with.

  “Lee-ya, Daddy makes cereal usually,” Rose says, scooting up to the table next to me.”

  I laugh. “Rose, you tell me all the secrets.”

  “Not all of them! Daddy said not to tell-”

  “Rose!” Eric says, giving Rose a stern look.

  Rose widens her eyes. “Yeah, Daddy said I really can’t tell...something!” She waves her hands up in the air and then snatches up some bacon.

  I sit down as he hands me a plate, then wait I before serving myself.

  “This looks really good.”

  He grins, looking smug. “Try it, I’m hoping that it tastes good and you’ll like it.”

  I pop a bit of egg and bacon into my mouth.

  “I love it. I’d love to try what you can make for dinner sometime, seeing as you’ve been having lessons.”

  “I’ll cook dinner for you, if you do it first?”

  He has a point there, I’m not the best person in the kitchen at the best of times.

  “Why do I have to be first?”

  He snorts. “Because I made breakfast for you first. It’s only fair.”

  We banter back and forth all through breakfast. Rose insists that she’ll make lunch, and we all agree that’s a good idea. She says she’ll need help with macaroni and cheese but it will be everyone’s favorite lunch.

  Hard to disagree with that. Once we’re done, Eric insists on doing the dishes, and I help out, trying to pluck up the courage to ask him what’s on his mind in between talking to Rose about how she wants to learn how to make pizza but it all needs to be star shaped. He carries his briefcase when we leave his place. Our way to the car is silent, and it holds out once we’re inside and he’s driving. With the silence, I can’t help but say exactly what’s on my mind.

  “There’s something you’re still not telling me, right?” I ask Eric after we drop Rose off at school. Rose and I had agreed that star pizza would best be formed out of the triangle with a circle pizza, and my voice is still laughing from Rose’s confusion about why circle pizza made of triangles would make circles. Like, she has a point. Think about that for a minute!

  “Well, yes,” Eric admits. “But don’t worry about this. Really this time. You’ll get to know everything today.”

  I purse my lips. If he wants to get on the topic of trust, I can do the same thing.

  I notice that he’s taking me to the bookstore. I told him that my shift wasn’t until this afternoon. I thought that he was dropping me at home and then going to the office to see patients. That’s the way our routine works, I wonder why he’s changing it?

  “What are we doing here?”

  Eric doesn’t answer at first, opening one of the backdoors and pulling his briefcase from the seat.

  “You’ll see,” he says as he opens my car door and puts his arm around my waist. We walk to the bookstore together. It’s silent inside, as expected, then he moves to the counter and sets down his case and pulls some papers out of it.

  “What are those?”

  He smiles at me, laying them out and stepping aside, gesturing for me to come closer. “These are the new plans for the store.” He nods in the opposite direction. I see all the girls looking at me. I have a feeling this big secret has something to do with what’s going on right now. I just can’t imagine what...Eric already told me that he owns the store. I don’t imagine he’s lined them up for being fired like joked. So what is going on? And why does it feel like Eric’s secret and the weird behavior of my co-workers is connected?

  Oh, and what is the secret that Eric is keeping with Rose? I’m proud of myself, honestly, for not pumping a six-year-old for information. Especially a sweet girl that talks to me so easily.

  But even nice girls, understanding girls, trusting girls, can only take so many secrets.

  Seriously, I am ready to burst!

  Elia

  So, we’re at the bookstore now and this isn’t Eric forgetting my shift or anything.

  “Hey, Elia!” Dana seems to be the leader as she moves toward me, and the others follow like sheep. I wish someone would just put me out of my misery and tell me what’s going on!

  “What’s going on?”

  My eyes drift over to Eric, who’s standing alone and smiling at me, then back to Dana as she pulls away from me with a big grin.

  “What do you think it is?” she retorts good-humoredly. “It’s a party for you, of course! We heard the deal got closed, and you’re the new manager!”

  My jaw drops. Is that what he’s been keeping from me? This is the reason he
’s been so secretive, and I feel like crap thinking that he was sleeping with his secretary.

  Dana laughs, seeing my face. “Don’t sweat the details and have fun! Today is supposed to be a good day for everyone. We all get to keep our jobs.”

  I bite my lip. “But I thought you were mad at me…”

  She’s shaking her head before I’m done talking.

  “Not mad, just annoyed that you think you can’t talk to me anymore. I never thought of us like that, not at all. I hope that being the new manager won’t change it.”

  I wrap my arms around her and squeeze her so tightly.

  “Never! I consider you to be one of my best friends, Dana. It’ll take more than a little secret to change that.” Then I giggle, “Besides, I did the same so we’re even now.” When I first started dating Eric, I never told her about it. Now that everything’s out in the open, I feel a lot better.”

  Dana finally releases me and moves to stand beside me, gesturing at the other guys.

  “They all have something to say to you, by the way.”

  Rebecca starts by saying, “Dana told us we were stressing you out. We didn’t mean anything bad by it, we just didn’t want to give the plan away.”

  I frown and look at all of them. “Wait, how long has this been in the works?”

  The rest of them just give me sheepish looks, so I turn my glare on Rebecca.

  “The boss always planned to sell. He’d been desperate for weeks. He faked the numbers and everything, he was trying every dirty book in the trick. I knew about it, but never said anything to anyone. Sorry?” She’s waiting for a reaction from me, but as far as I’m concerned it’s all in the past.

  “We knew there was going to be a party once it happened. The only difference now is the boss isn’t around, and you’re getting a promotion on top of everything.”

  “How come I never knew?”

  Another shrug. “Ryan let all of us know the day after he told us he was approached for the deal. I just assumed he told you.”

  It was a lie. Like everything about Ryan. Besides, he’s gone, and I don’t care if he returns. I turn my focus on the guys in front of me.

  “So… you guys don’t mind that I’m going to be your new boss?”

  “Are you kidding? We all know you work the hardest of all of us here. You definitely deserve the position. Way more than Ryan ever did. So, why would we mind?” Rebecca says, and she turns to the girls, who swiftly agree with her.

  “Anyway, Eric told us all about the new plans you’ve got in place, and we’re all excited about it. Ryan never did anything even when we gave him suggestions. They all sound really great.”

  “We’d be honored to work with you,” Nancy, one of the part-time girl’s, says as she chews gum and looks at me. Wow, she hardly speaks so I’m touched that she feels that way about me.

  Everyone starts talking, and I feel a little lost. They’re trying hard to talk over each other now. I can barely hear them. One person starts to speak, only for others to start talking, and then I wonder how long they’ve been there. Besides, it’s a bit early to be having a party. It’s only approaching lunch time and I’m a bit full after the heavy breakfast that I had, but Eric’s not here. It’s as if he’s disappeared and I want to say something to him, but he’s no where to be seen.

  “We come bearing food,” Hannah, one of the part-timers, says as she comes through the doors. I know this is my chance to escape and as everyone cheers, I do just that. I sneak away while they get distracted by the food.

  I move to Ryan’s old office, which is where I suspect Eric’s hiding. I slide my arm around his waist as I enter the door.

  “Hey,” he says warmly.

  “Hey back,” I murmur, leaning up to peck his cheek.

  I lean over the plans that are spread open on Ryan’s old desk, biting my lip as I try to make sense of it all.

  “I went with most of your ideas. The renovations will take some time, and the store will have to be closed, but it should be done in a few short weeks.”

  “When will it start?”

  “That depends on you guys. You’ll be getting time off, with pay, until it’s all done. The sooner the better.”

  “I’ll be spending most of that free time with you, right?” I ask, looking up at him from under my lashes.

  He grins down at me, wrapping an arm tight around me. “Of course. We can talk about all the other stuff that you had in mind. Fixing this place up is only the first step. We’ll need to market the place…”

  “And you think my ideas are good enough?”

  “More than that, your ideas are exactly what this place needs.”

  I have the sudden urge to kiss him, and I don’t hold myself back, throwing my arms around his neck and dragging his lips down to mine.

  Eric

  We pull back from the kiss only when we’re both feeling out of breath. I tug on her lower lip with my teeth before releasing her.

  “We better get back to the party.”

  She raises an eyebrow. “Or we could continue in here?”

  I shake my head. “Not in this office.”

  She purrs, “Why not?”“Because until they knock this office down and there’s nothing to remind me of Ryan, I don’t want to have your naked butt in here, Elia.”

  She nods as if she understand exactly what I’m saying, and we head back to the party. The others are making noise, and I can barely think straight after the hard-on she just gave me a few minutes ago. I had her last night and this morning, but I want her again.

  “Just so you know. I’m never going to surprise you again because it killed me to hurt you.”

  A guilty look crosses her face as she tries to smile at me.

  “That was the biggest secret, right?”

  “Don’t feel so bad about it,” I say soothingly.

  She looks up with a scowl. “How can I not? You don’t have any idea what I was thinking when you wouldn’t tell me…”

  “About Jessica and I?”

  She said it about three times yesterday, but I’m wondering if there was something else, too?

  “Not only that, but when you told me that you loved me and I said the same thing…well, that’s when you started acting all weird, and I never understood the reason why. But I do know one thing, this is a big deal. I mean, you as good as bought the bookstore for me. That’s why you did it, right?”

  “I wanted the bookstore before I got to know you.”

  She nods. “I know that, but once you did then you kind of went all out for me.”

  Her voice trails off as she looks down at my chest. Her hands pull back from around my waist, and I’m worried she’ll try to push me away. But her palms just rest over my chest, smoothing over where my heart beats.

  “You’re not still worried about Jessica, are you?” I ask quietly.

  She chews on her lip a little before slowly shaking her head. “Honestly, no.”

  “You could have told me what you were thinking not just about Jessica, but all these doubts that you were having about us. Damn! I didn’t even know about them!”

  I lean down to take her mouth in another kiss. It starts slow and soft as I feel the heat wash over my body. I run my hands up from her waist, over her shoulders, and up the sides of her neck so I can cup her cheeks in my palms. I tilt her how I want her and press my lips a little harder against hers. I nip and lick at her top lip, then pull her lower lip between mine and suckle on it lightly.

  After a little more teasing, she lets her mouth fall open and I slip my tongue between her lips. I take my time to map out the inside of her mouth, then roll my tongue against hers. She moans a little, the sound lost in the noise, and her body shudders and goes weak against mine. I slowly bring the kiss to an end, then pull back and look down at her.

  I’m tempted to do a lot more to her, but this is her party, and I’m determined to let her enjoy it. Besides, if we go any further, I want privacy for that, and Ryan’s office is not an option. Neith
er is the thing that they call a bathroom.

  “Can you ever forgive me?” I ask as I pull her back and decide that I want today to be a fresh new start.

  “Huh?”

  I grin at her cute, confused look. I have to admit to myself that I like how she looks so lost when all I’ve done is kiss her.

  “I asked if you could ever forgive me. For keeping secrets, remember? Just in case I have several bookstores I want you to reopen, if you don’t mind the travel?”

  She smiles at me while snaking her arms around my neck.

  “I’ve never really traveled, but you know what? If it’s with you, I’d like to. But this is a big thing for me, Eric. I have these ideas, and they’re great. But I know nothing about running a store. Or even owning a business. I used to criticize Ryan, but that doesn’t mean that I’ll be better at it. Holy crap! It’s starting to hit me, and it scares me….”

  “No buts,” I say mock-threateningly. “Once this place works out, and I know it will, you’ll definitely be on my list of people to talk to for the other stores.”

  She leans up, her body braced against mine, to kiss me again. I return the kiss languidly. She pulls back, smiling sweetly up at me.

  “I’ll forgive you no matter what and you know why?”

  I raise an eyebrow. “Because you love me?”

  She nods. “Yes.”

  “And you know the crazy part?”

  She shakes her head. “I love you, too.”

  I fucking said it this time, but not by accident. On fucking purpose because I mean it.

  And I’m not the only one that means it. I know that Rose loves her, too. I know that we can be a family, and we’re going to be.

  I mean, you didn’t think just giving Elia the bookstore was it, did you? This happily ever after has a family plan, approved by Dr. Single Dad.

  Elia

  The sun pours through the window warming my face. Opening my eyes, I look around the room.

  My very first night sleeping over at Eric’s house while Rose is home went very well. After our crazy night in the office, the dance recital, and coming home, we spent a day together...yeah, as a family. I almost can’t believe that everything I want seems so close to being reality, but if this were a trial run, it went perfectly.