Page 19 of D.I.E.T. (Did I Eat That?)

Without conscious thought, I turned to straddle his lap and was rewarded by Sinjin laying me down, never breaking the contact. I put everything I had into that kiss. On Sinjin’s list of best first kisses, I at least wanted an honorable mention.

I wrapped my legs around his waist, drawing him closer still. He sucked in a breath and with his forehead pressed to mine, his chest heaving, he moved his hand to caress my face, his thumb swiping the apple of my cheek. “We don’t have time for that right now, baby. You have to be to work by eleven and I need to take my time with you.”

“Okay,” I whispered back, too caught up in the feel of him to give more than that.

“Can’t just give me anokay, here, Geet. You’ve got to mean it because I’m talking about not letting you up from my bed for an entire weekend. Forty-eight hours of orgasms. Are you with me on this?”

“I’m with you, coach.” I chuckled as I pressed up to kiss him once again.

The Acceptance

Seven:

Mrs. Whitcolmb lay on my table draped in a crisp, white sheet, her face held in place by a pillowed cutout in the table in order to be more comfortable while I worked at the knot between her shoulder blades. My hands might have been on Mrs. Whitcolmb’s back, but my mind was back in Sinjin’s home, lying on his sofa with his lips pressed to mine.

It almost seemed unreal. Me inviting him to go on the trip with me. Him accepting. Not just accepting but actually saying he’d thought I’d never ask. Then the kissing started. He’d kissed me like there was a pandemic on the horizon, thus a forced separation loomed and he was panic buying. And finally, he wanted to keep me tethered to his bed for a weekend. All of these things I approved of. The only thing I didn’t understand was where that left us. Were we a couple? Friends with benefits? Getting this out of our systems before we never saw each other again?

I wanted to ask but didn’t want to bethat girl. That needy, suffocating woman who managed to end a relationship before it barely got out of the starting gate because of stupid things like demanding labels.

Moving my hands down Mrs. Whitcolmb’s spine while rubbing my thumbs in a circular motion, her muscles practically liquified under my touch and she sighed. “This is the highlight of my week,” she said.

Having the skills to be the ‘highlight’ of someone’s ‘week’ made me proud. My sisters and I didn’t have much more than love growing up, raised by our grandmother. We’d worked hard in school and harder in college. Pia put herself through nursing school. Lu made bank with technical writing. I didn’t exactly know what she did, but her bosses sent her on a crap-ton of business trips and she got to work from home at least half of the time. Then there was me. Massage therapy.

At the end of Mrs. Whitcolmb’s appointment, while she dressed behind the curtain, I cleaned up, wiping down the table and setting out fresh sheets for the next client. My phone buzzed with a text.

Sinjin:What time do you get out?

My heart melted and I smiled. That was when Mrs. Whitcolmb appeared, startling me.

“What has you all smiles?” she asked. “My guess, a special someone.”

“Is it that obvious?”

“Oh, it’s most definitely obvious. I remember when we were dating, Mr. Whitcolmb would call me just to saygoodnight. No matter what was happening during the day, whether we got to see each other that day or not, whether we’d already talked that day, he called to saygoodnight.”

“How very romantic of him,” I said.

“Well, yes…” She paused as if caught up in a memory. “My Robert is still quite the romantic. Four children and now two grandchildren later and he still treats me the way he did when we were dating. I’m guessing you’ve found yourself a Robert.”

“Sinjin,” I answered.

“How very regal. Is he handsome?” She leaned into my space to ask conspiratorially.

And I gushed. “Totally. He’s tall and strong and pretty much takes my breath away. To tell the truth, it scares the heck out of me.”

She chuckled. “All the best ones do. That’s how you know not to let him go. Subconsciously, you’re coming to realize that by knowing him, your life will never be the same.” My eyes grew huge at her words as I choked back a cough. Mrs. Whitcolmb patted my arm. “Enjoy it, Brigeeta. Life is about to take you on a spectacular ride. I can feel it.” On those words, she dropped an envelope on the table, which I knew contained a generous tip because it always contained a generous tip, and walked out of my room, only turning around once to smile at me over her shoulder and winking before disappearing down the hallway.

Holy crap.

I couldn’t believe I admitted any of that out loud. Sighing, I couldn’t believe it had taken me so long to admit it in the first place. I think I owed myself an apology. Myself clearly knew me better than I knew me. About to go back to cleaning, I realized I still needed to answer his text.

Me:I work late. Tuesdays I work until nine.

Sinjin:Dinner break?

Me:Seven.

Sinjin:I’ll be there, baby.

---