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“Can I ask you a question?”
I nodded.
“Are you sure you don’t have somebody?”
“Have somebody?”
She sucked her teeth and rolled her eyes.
“Somebody as in a girlfriend, a friend with benefits, a fuck buddy, a whatever.”
Allison, my most recent…friend with benefits flashed in my mind. But that had been over since New Year’s, and that’s exactly what I told Kelly.
“Wow. Five months with no…” She wiggled her perfectly arched eyebrows suggestively.
“Ha-ha. Not exactly five months. More like three. There was a one-time hook up around Valentine’s Day but it meant nothing.”
Was that a flash of jealousy that passed over her face? Before I could be certain, it was gone. Abruptly, she tugged her hand free from mine and picked up her pace. My forehead wrinkled in confusion. What just happened?
I easily caught up to Kelly, sliding my arm around her shoulder.
“What’s the matter? Was my hand sweaty or something?”
She didn’t laugh at my joke, she just kept speed-walking as she stared straight ahead. It’s a good thing Leonard was still behind us because there was nothing romantic or relaxed about her face right now. She was clearly upset. But why?
We walked in silence for a second, approaching another small hill. We were now at the halfway mark of the BG. In the distance, I could make out the benches that circled the lake.
“I’m guessing you do that a lot,” Kelly suddenly said. Before I could ask what she meant, she elaborated. “Sleep with girls and then say ‘it meant nothing.’”
I stopped walking, and since my arm was still around her shoulder, she lagged to a stop as well. I looked her square in the eye so she would know what I was about to say was the absolute truth.
“I just wanted to be honest with you, Kelendria. I don’t sleep around. Yeah, I haven’t been in a real relationship in a while, but I’m human. I have needs. And that’s why, up until January, I had a situation that was mutually beneficial for Allison and me. That’s over now. And what happened in February was strictly a one-time thing.”
Her eyes searched mine for a second, trying to gauge if I was being truthful.
“Why are you telling me all this?” she finally asked.
Now was my chance to tell her I was digging her. Her looks and her personality.
But what came out was, “Because I think you and I could have a mutually beneficial relationship as well. Because I’ve wanted you since the day I first saw you in that café in Nob Hill.”
She gasped, looking completely stunned by my openness.
“So, what do you say?” I asked, heart beating like I was on speed.
She pressed her lips together and visibly swallowed.
“Jase…” Her voice was soft but I could still hear the note of rejection in it. “I told you. At work, on these shoots, anything goes. What happened at the period-themed shoot the other day is proof of that.” A shy look washed over her face. “But that’s it. Okay?”
I sighed. Shot down…again.
“Okay,” I replied, making sure to keep the dejection I felt out of my voice. “Work buddies it is.”
Relief washed over her face.
“Good. Now, catch me, work buddy!” She jogged away and I gave her a few seconds head start, admiring the way her already short dress was riding up as she ran.
I was disappointed about being rejected, but I would get over it. After all, even work buddies could make each other come.
I ran after Kelly, catching her easily and picking her up from behind. She yelped in surprise and delight, and right on cue, Leonard popped up to capture the moment on camera.
