Page 61 of Man Seeking Woman

“So we're really having sex tonight?”

“We sure are, right after dinner.”

“That's not much warning.” Taking a small bite of noodles, her eyes were flighty over the table, looking at everything but my face.

“Look, I don't want you to worry or be embarrassed. It's fine with me if you didn't shave or anything.” Smiling, I shrugged my shoulder nonchalantly. “I kinda like bush anyway.”

“Oh my God.” Hanging her head, Ella dropped her fork onto her plate. It looked like she couldn't breathe, like I had sucked the air right out of her lungs.

“What? I'm being honest, it really doesn't matter to me. Shaved, not shaved, it all feels the same once I'm inside.”

“I should be offended.”

“And you're not?” I asked, cautiously watching her reaction.

“No, if anything I'm confused. For someone who's the head of a company, regularly in the public eye—you really don't act like I would expect.”

“What did you expect?” I asked, unable to hide the smile on my face. “Uptight? Conceited? Lacking a sense of humor?”

“I don't know, I guess I just thought you'd be more bland, boring even.”

Reaching out, I took her hand in mine and squeezed. “Ella, the one thing you're going to learn about me is that I'm just a normal guy. The money and the company don't dictate who I am. I burp, I fart, I make dirty jokes, and will compliment your amazing ass. I make mistakes and don't always know what I'm doing, but I'm not the guy who pretends that he's better than someone else, regardless of what society tries to dictate. But don't worry, I also know when it's appropriate to joke and when to keep my mouth shut. I might be a regular man on the inside, but I do need to be professional too.”

Nodding, Ella's eyes met mine. “I respect that, and actually, I really like that you're not afraid to just be you.”

“Good, because you and I are going to be seeing a lot of each other. If we don't respect each other, this whole thing,” I said, dragging my fork back and forth between us, “will get a lot more uncomfortable and tense.” Tipping my chin higher, I looked at her down the bridge of my nose. “And I'd really like to be able to walk around my house naked, like I normally do when the maid is gone and I'm all alone.”

“You never mentioned you're a part-time nudist.”

“I can't reveal all my secrets at one time, it's best to pepper them in so I don't send you running.”

From the corner of my eye I caught movement on the floor, but when I looked, nothing was there. There was light scratching, as if something was climbing the chair across from me.

“What is that?” I asked, nudging my head in the direction of the small fury tall, that was suddenly curling up over the edge of the table.

“Oh, well, I can explain.” Leaning forward, Ella pulled a tiny kitten off the chair and into her arms. “This is Mr. Pink.”

“Mr. Pink?”

“Mm hm,” she said in a high pitched voice as she snuggled the fur ball. “Isn't he cute?”

“Where did he come from?”

Ella explained about how she had gone to the store and wouldn't take the money I had given to Jerry for her. I was a little annoyed she thought I would use that money as some sort of leverage and not the gift it was meant to be. Then I remembered that she knew me as well as anyone might come to know the local gas station attendant or receptionist at a doctor's office.

I was still a stranger.

She went on to tell me that the kitten was trapped in the sewer and she couldn't just leave him there. Jerry had offered to take it to the pound, but Ella said she just couldn't imagine the poor little thing being thrown into a cage and left there.

I wasn't really a cat person, but I wasn't reallynota cat person either. I honestly hadn't ever had a pet before. My mother considered animals, in any form, dirty and disgusting. She believed animals belonged outside, unless they were on your plate.

“He is pretty cute.” Reaching out my hand, I let him rub his cheek against my finger as he purred.

“If you want me to get rid of him, I will. I just couldn't leave him in the sewer like that, or drop him off to a place that there was no guarantee he'd come out alive.”

“No, it's alright. Let's see how it goes, I'm open to giving it a shot.”

Ella let out an excited giggle. And God damn, that fucking giggle made my dick twitch and my balls tighten. It was the sexiest giggle I had ever heard.

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