“Well, I do. But it’s not as if we need to get to know each other. We already do know each other.”
“Are you suggesting we skip ahead to the point where I just ask you to move in with me? Or do we get married first?”
I laughed nervously. Did he see straight through me and my ulterior motives for jumping at the chance to go on a date with him?
It would sort out a massive problem if we whizzed through the first stage of dating and declared our desire to marry and have a family within the next few weeks. It would be a dream, wouldn’t it? A handsome, slightly older man giving up childish things because he wanted to be with me and raise a child.
I’d always liked Brandon, but I never thought he saw me as anything other than a young high school kid.
He seemed so much older and more mature than the boys my age. And he had a kind heart and a generous spirit. The perfect older brother or father figure, and that was just the kind of man I needed in my life. The fact that he was also incredibly gorgeous to look at with the sexiest voice was great, but the least important of his charms.
“It only took a simple phone call. I’m an idiot for not thinking of it sooner.”
“I wish you had thought of calling me sooner,” I confessed. If he’d truly liked me that way for ages and if he’d asked me out a while back, we’d be dating, and that whole threesome incident would never have happened and I would not be in my current predicament.
“I don’t know. I hoped something magical would just happen between us because we spent so much time together. I never thought about laying my feelings and fears out on the table for everyone to see. Plus, there was school, and Noah; I knew he liked you too.”
“No. I can understand that. Being so exposed in that way is scary.”
“It is,” he said. And a server approached our table at that moment. We placed an order for two of the chicken sandwiches, and the interruption broke the spell of open communication. We sat looking at each other for a moment.
Brandon’s warm smile was comforting.
“I know you got a lot on your plate, girl, especially with this big step, school ending, college starting. Every guy beats down the door to get a piece of you. But you really need to relax. Take it easy. You got plenty of time for everything ahead of you.”
Plenty of time ahead of me was exactly what I didn’t have.
And I was sitting staring into the face of one of my options. Brandon would be a great catch, and I could reel him in. He’d make a great husband and father; I did not doubt that. But I couldn’t snare him into it all by trickery. That wasn’t me. But if I were honest with him, he’d probably run a mile and not look back—at least, he would if had any common sense.
“We’re not officially dating until like, I dunno, what... the fourth date?” He stared up to the ceiling.
I needed his calm maturity and spirit on my side to face my future, even if I only had him as a friend.
“Is that when people become exclusive couples? After the fourth date?” I asked.
“People can do what they want, and we can make up our own rules.” He leaned closer toward me, and his hand moved across the table closer to mine. It would have been easy to reach over and take it. “That’s if you expect exclusivity? Should we ever expect exclusivity?”
Great! I hoped dinner with a man who had been in college for two years would be a calming occassion, not one that left me asking more questions about myself.
“Anyway, you’ve got the twins, Noah, and me, and maybe other men all interested in you. Some of them might be willing to share.”
The suggestion made me gasp. “Would you be willing to share?”
“Oh, Grace, I’ve thought a lot about that question as a theoretical proposition, and yes, I can see it makes sense. So the answer has to be yes. But in reality, I wouldn’t want a completely open relationship with you.”
“Yes. That makes sense. Monogamy is bad in theory, but in reality, it’s what you want.” The normalness of his answer relieved me.
“That’s not what I said. I think I’d be happy with a relationship that wasn’t only two people, so long as it had a clear boundary. You know the rules.”
“What do you mean?” I asked just as the server returned with our food. The sandwich looked good and smelled delicious, and I wondered if I’d be able to eat it. My ability to stomach food did seem to have improved a little.