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“Um, yes, I saw that. I guess it’s good that the movie night isn’t tonight.”
“That’s true, but I was actually thinking about mud.”
“Mud?” I ask.
“Since it’ll be nice out and the rain is tonight, tomorrow is the perfect day to introduce you to mudding.”
“The practice of driving recklessly and getting mud everywhere?” I ask, my face heating a little as I recall Tommy’s words when describing mudding to me not that long ago.
“Not that recklessly, but that's the sport.”
“It’s a sport?”
“More of a recreational activity.”
“Okay, so when does this mudding occur and where?”
“After Courtney’s morning appointments are done tomorrow, which should be around ten. Jax will be done with his morning work so he and Avery will drive over together and everyone else will be around, ready to go.”
“What do I bring?” I ask, pulling out my planner and writing 10am: Mudding under tomorrow’s date.
“Extra clothes, including shoes. Which reminds me… you should start leaving clothes at the house,” he says casually. As if me leaving clothes at a guy’s house was routine and not something that has me both excited about and worrying over.
What sort of clothes do you leave at your boyfriend’s place? Is it the reasonable cotton underwear and a work appropriate ensemble? Is it the laciest bra with the low cut pajamas?
“Okay, I can do that,” I say as if this is totally normal and I’m completely aware of what he means by this. I’ll wing it and keep things that I grab more casual in style. It’s not like we’ve spent the night with each other, so sleepwear would be presumptuous. Right?
But what if the clothes are so I can stay over sometime and then go to work in the morning? Before I start writing out a pros and cons list for various outfit types, I try to keep the conversation natural. “You should, too.”
I have no clue what kind of clothes I should expect, but before I put my planner away, I jot down clear a drawer under today’s activities. When I look up, I see that we’re already pulling into the parking lot for the meeting.
“Sounds good,” he says, placing his free hand on my thigh near my knee and giving it a little squeeze. The warmth from his hand seeps right through my skirt and I give myself a moment to wish we were back in my apartment and not going to a meeting. “I have decaf for us tonight, I hope that’s okay.”
I completely missed the two beverages in the cupholders between us. One looks almost black and the other is tan in color. I pick up the lighter one.
“Oat milk?”
“Of course,” he replies, giving one more little squeeze and then taking his coffee and plunking his hat back on his head.
This all feels so natural. When he opens the door, it’s like he’s never done anything else and when I pause so he can catch up right away, there’s nothing that feels awkward or out of place. We simply seem comfortable in not only being around one another, but in how we move together without having to force anything.
Hank greets us when we enter the meeting room and Tommy pulls out my chair and then the one right next to it for himself while striking up a conversation with my boss. I set my iced coffee to the left of the space in front of me then pull out my notebook for this subcommittee where I’ve recorded every movie chosen for movie nights for the past four years. After the last selection turned out to be a repeat from less than one year ago, I’m eager to not make a mistake like that again any time soon if I can help it. My highlighter and three markers set to the right of everything when I realize I’ve zoned out of the conversation at hand. Quickly I refocus so I don’t appear rude.
“That sounds like one heck of a fishing trip. Did you camp or stay in the lodge?” Tommy asks. They must be talking about Hank's weekend away with his college roommate. Thankfully, I’ve already been filled in on the fishing report.
“It was. I’m thinking about trying to get the office there for a team-building retreat. There are a few other towns around here who are interested in doing a group mini-conference and that would be a fantastic place for it.”
“Just be sure to invite members of any city committees,” Tommy jokes.
“I’ll be sure to book during their off-season so we can get more rooms and have the subcommittees there, too,” he says while chuckling.
Did my boyfriend just get invited to a work event that isn’t even on the books yet?
Chapter 44: Tommy
We have to be close to wrapping up this meeting soon. I know I threw them all a curveball when I shared the license I purchased so we could select a movie that would draw more of a crowd, but we’re thirty minutes past the scheduled ending time so I won’t get extra time with her tonight.
Not that I mind having an excuse to sit next to Sam and have my hand on her leg under the table as we scroll through the top ten titles again. To be honest, I wasn’t sure if she’d be okay with any sort of contact, but after her leg rested against mine for half the meeting, I resituated myself so my left arm wasn’t on the table anymore. When she started to blush, I pulled my hand back, but she knocked her pen cap off the table right away and grabbed my hand, setting it right back on her thigh before reorganizing her things on the table.
