Page 67 of The Arrangement
I shoved aside my worries and nodded. “Sounds good to me. I am a mess.”
Rome chuckled and gave me a quick smacking kiss before hopping off the bed to deal with the condom. I followed him a couple of minutes later after I discovered that my body was nowfull of aches following our wonderful sex. A hot shower sounded like heaven.
Unfortunately, the hot water didn’t help to clear my head like I’d hoped. I found Rome in the kitchen with a scattering of fruit, cheese, and crackers on the counter. He was wearing only a pair of shorts, and his hair was wet, as if he’d showered in another bathroom. He grinned at me, his mouth full of cheese.
My answering smile was a little wilted.
“Post-sex regret?” Rome inquired after he swallowed his cheese.
“Nope. That was fucking amazing, and to hell with anyone who thinks they can regret that.”
He looked less worried but more confused as I slid onto a stool at the counter. “It’s work.” I took a breath and released it. “I quit.”
“What?” Rome gasped and choked on the cracker he’d shoved into his mouth. I ran around the counter and pounded him on the back while searching for a glass or a bottle of water.
Rome waved me off as soon as he could draw in air. I hurried to the fridge and snagged a bottle of water. Only after setting it in front of him and feeling sure he wasn’t about to suffocate did I return to my stool.
“What the fuck?” he demanded roughly. “What happened?”
Biting down on my tongue, I held in my words as I tried to decide whether to unload the full truth on him or try to censor it. But that was wrong. If we had any shot at dating and having a decent relationship, I had to tell him the truth.
“It’s about that stupid donation my boss wants. She’s been hassling me.”
“Shit. I’m sorry. I always planned to make that donation. Give me a second. I’ll make a phone call and get that settled now?—”
“No.” The word came out more sharply than I intended, and I winced. “That…that won’t fix anything. She wanted me to increase the amount I asked for because we’re having legal problems with the owner of the land where we plan to do a dig this spring. And when I told her I wasn’t comfortable with this because I was sort of dating you, she got excited.”
“Wait! You outed yourself to your boss? You actually told her we were dating?”
I blinked against the brilliant smile that was spreading across his face, and there was no way I could stop the answering smile on my mouth. Rome hurried around the counter to pull me into a hug as soon as I nodded.
“I can’t believe it,” he said in a choked voice. His arms were so tight he was almost crushing bones. “I just…even if we started dating…I thought…” He couldn’t complete the thought.
“You didn’t think I’d tell the world about you?”
He pulled away but couldn’t look me in the eye. A soft blush was painting his cheeks. “Well, I mean…not right away. It can sometimes take a while for people to feel comfortable telling others they’re in a non-hetero relationship.”
“True. But telling my boss wasn’t much of a risk. Emily is a lesbian, and she’s not exactly quiet about it. What was one more person on her staff?”
Rome lifted his eyes to me, his happiness undimmed. “Okay, but I’m still so proud of you. But this donation…”
I shook my head. “She sees me dating you as a good thing. Like you’d write a check whenever your boyfriend needed a bit of money. It felt so 1950s, where the husband writes a check to support the little woman’s silly hobbies, which is demeaning to both of us. You’re not some fucking piggy bank everyone can steal from!”
A wild array of emotions crossed Rome’s face, ranging from joy to rage to finally sadness. After a moment, he leaned in and lightly kissed my cheek. “Wait right here.”
He jogged out of the kitchen and down the hall. While he was gone, I took a sip of his water and frowned at the cheese. Despite all the wonderfulness we’d enjoyed in bed not that long ago, I was now back to feeling miserable and unsure of myself.
When Rome returned, he had a business card in his hand, which was not what I’d expected. He slid onto the stool next to mine and turned to face me.
“This is my fault,” Rome started.
“What? No!” I gasped. “There is no way any of this is your fault!”
“It is. I shouldn’t have cooked up this stupid arrangement idea to get even with you. I thought I was being crafty and getting revenge, but I’ve made you suffer in ways that I hadn’t anticipated, and I am so very sorry.”
His words were sweet, but he was wrong. I was already shaking my head, even as he set the card on the marble counter next to me. It was a plain cream-colored card that looked like it had been printed on expensive card stock. Very simply, it said:
Shonna McCoy
