Page 21 of Insta-Hubby
“Yes,” she says, “real sex. But that doesn’t mean I’m yourgirlfriend.”
“Of course,” I say, liking this little dance of hers.
But I have bigger fucking plans for her. Girlfriend? Fuck that.
She’s already more than that to me.
I’ve lost my mind for this girl.
“So what did you have in mind for me?”
I sigh deeply and put my hands on my knees, getting up and pacing over to my photo collection.
“Let me explain something about my father. He isallabout appearances. I mentioned to you earlier that he is traditional. He doesn’t like most of the shit I get into. What he does like is my ideas, and the direction I want to take his company in, but he doesn’t like that I am single. Now, I don’t think he actually wants me to get married right away or anything, but what hedoeswant is to see a nice girl on my arm.”
“So it’s not like he gave you an ultimatum or anything?”
“No,” I say, shaking my head, “not exactly. But there is a board of directors meeting coming up, and I know my brother wants to become president of the company when my father announces his retirement in three months. But I want to be president because, like I mentioned before, Ilikehow the company is run. It’s actually my dad’s vision, to have it remain a family business. But he’s older now and I think he will just go along with my brother’s vision of things, just to keep the peace and keep the investors happy.”
“And you think having a girl on your arm will help you look more serious about the company. You think having a more traditional image will make your father seeyouas the future of the company.”
“Yeah,” I say, “exactly.”
“But why don’t you think it matter so much?” she asks, cocking her head to the side. “If your dad ultimately agrees with your vision for the company, why don’t you just tell him your plans and show him that your way is the better direction?”
“I hate to say it,” I explain, “but appearances really are the most important thing to a lot of these people.”
“But not to you,” she says. “Like you said before, you think things should be more egalitarian.”
“Right,” I say. “So you were listening to me.”
“I was listening. You’re not just a pretty face a rock-hard abs. You’re actually a pretty smart guy too.”
“And you’re not just sinful curves and a face that brings me to my knees. You’re a cool, smart chick too.”
“You’re pretty cool yourself,” she says, standing up and walking over to me.
“You know, I’ve gotten so many compliments and likes, and yet yours is the only person whose opinion I care about, all of a sudden.”
“Then you better work hard to make me happy,” she says sweetly, with that sassy, smart, pretty little mouth.
“I have a few ideas on how to make you happy.”
I take her hips in my hand and pick her up, and she wraps her legs around my sweetly as I lay her down on my bed, the blue and white moonlight tattooing her shoulders and her lips playing up into a sweet little smile.
And my heart clenches. Because I want her. All of her. And I need her.
And not just for pretend. Not just for show.
Anna
You ever geta last-minute invitation to a wedding, andknowthat you weren’t on the original guest list? Maybe because you never got a save-the-date, and you get the invitation super close to the day of the wedding, and you know some of the other guests and you know that they’ve had their invitations for a while.
That’s not the best feeling in the world, to be on the back-up list like that. Couple it with the fact that even though I do like glitz and glam, I think the wedding industrial complex is getting a bit out of hand. And never mind the fact that I’m a part of that machine.
It doesn’t feel good to be someone’s second or even third choice.
But I just met Liam, so I can’t be mad about having received a last-minute invitation to this party.
