Page 79 of Corporate Escapades

“Great timing,” said Paris as he walked back into the apartment. “Mom called to say the board will meet with us at eight Monday morning instead of seven.

“Nice. Sounds like we can sleep in a little. That’s probably good since it might take us all weekend to analyze our relationship,” he joked.

“Let’s just call it a simple one-night thing and move on,” said Paris. “Don’t you think?”

“Sure,” replied Vic. He’d been caught off guard by her sudden interpretation of what the night had meant. She basically chalked it up to nothing, but were they really the type of people who could call it nothing when such a large history existed between them?

Taking his seat on the couch, he grabbed a slice of pizza and handed it to Paris, who in turn handed him a plate. He watched her as she daintily chewed her food. He couldn’t help but feel something as he watched. He didn’t think it was the type of feeling that one felt toward a one-night-stand. Grabbing her wrist, he moved her hand to release the pizza back onto her plate, and then pulling her to him, he planted a deep, urgent kiss on her lips. She kissed him back and, just like the night at the cabin, one thing led to another.

Chapter sixteen

Saturday morning arrived with the embarrassing realization that Paris had once again fallen prey to the charming side of Vic’s personality. He seemed to harbor some power over her that made her forget the reality of their relationship. His passionate kisses and impatient desire to have her had made him even more irresistible. He swept her into a fantasy world where she’d reverted to being the young girl who believed in princes, unicorns, and happy endings.

Pushing his arm off of her, she climbed out from underneath the covers. They’d ended up in her room, which was more suited toward a night of passion with its down comforter and lush pillows. Vic’s room was quite sparse, and felt as if an inmate lived there. He’d chosen to go with the furnishings the condo had come equipped with. To say the least, it was drab with its white and grey color scheme.

As she crept into the kitchen to make some coffee, she noted Vic had not gone back to his own room in the middle of thenight. She really didn’t know what casual sex partner etiquette was when living in the same home, but surely it didn’t require an all-night stay. Maybe he hadn’t gotten up in the middle of the night?

Brushing her thoughts of Vic aside, she grabbed two coffee cups from the cupboard and placed them on the counter. Thinking better of her decision to make coffee, she put the cups back and decided to head over to Mya’s instead. She brushed her teeth and her hair, and, still in her pajamas, she headed for Mya’s.

Despite it being eight in the morning, Mya answered the door promptly. She was already dressed for a workout. She had always been an early riser. “Paris,” she acknowledged swinging the door open. “Come on in. What brings you here so early? Did something happen?” she realized her friend was not dressed for the day.

“You could say something happened.” She laughed nervously. “I had a discussion with Vic last night. We ate pizza and drank wine. One thing led to another, and we ended up sleeping together again. And then again,” she added. “Four times, to be exact.” She frowned as she waited for Mya’s response.

Mya’s jaw nearly hit the floor. “Wait, what? How? I mean, I’m perplexed by this. Do you hate each other or love each other?” She narrowed her eyes, trying to understand.

“I don’t know that it’s either of those things. I mean, I know we at least like each other enough to sleep together, but I think we might be friends with benefits.”

“But you aren’t sure?” Mya turned away and headed for the couch. “Get in here. This isn’t a conversation suited for the hallway,” she added.

“I don’t know. If I put major thought into it, I’d say it’s possible I care for him and am attracted to him on a cellular level, but the man is a bit of a whore, right?”

“Maybe he isn’t when it comes to you?” she said hopefully.

“I’m not sure he’s capable of more. Have we ever seen him in a long-lasting relationship?”

“Besides the odd dynamics of his relationship with Janel, no, but what if it’s because he didn’t have you?”

“Come on, Mya, he could tell me if that’s how he feels, right?”

“Maybe it’s not that easy,” she said. “A lot of things have happened in the past two years that pushed you two apart. You didn’t think he liked you to begin with, but maybe neither of you allowed the other to get close enough to find out.”

Paris waved her off and headed for Mya’s bedroom.

“Sure,” Mya called after her, “help yourself to some of my clothing.” She laughed.

When Paris returned, she wore a pair of Mya’s yoga pants and a peach-colored workout tank. Most of Mya’s clothing fit her well enough. Mya was shorter than Paris but had a tendency to buy pants that were slightly too long for her, which worked in Paris’s favor. Their body builds, aside from height, were quite similar.

“You look comfortable. Outside of the Vic conundrum, what’s on the docket for today?”

Paris flopped down on the opposite end of the couch. “Not much. I’d love to hang out with you and not think about last night.”

“I still maintain that there could be something between you two. Anyway, let’s go to the nine o’clock yoga session, then grab some brunch. That sounds like a good start to the day, don’t you agree?”

“Yeah, I think that’s a plan I can get on board with.”

“Oh, and look,” said Mya, “your yoga mat is already over here.”

Paris laughed. The only reason her yoga mat was already there was that Paris only did yoga when she was with Mya. Mya hadbought a secondary mat for those occasions when Paris might decide to join her.

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