"You expect me to watch you?"
"I do."
"Hmm." She takes a few steps, and then she stops again. "What do you do on the weekends?"
"Catch a ballgame, some rays on the yacht, some waves on the beach, whatever I feel like." I take her arm and pull her along. "We need to get going, or we'll get caught in traffic on the bridge."
Her puckered lips on her pouty, distracted face makes her expression simply too adorable to resist, so I risk her refusing to hold my hand and interlock our fingers.
She allows me to lead her to the exit. My smile as we approach Rufus sends a smile to his face too. "Good afternoon, Sam," He speaks cheerfully as I push her through first.
She answers, subdued as she passes him. "Rufus."
"Sebastian." He nods at me with a slight edge of disapproval in his voice, "It's a lovely day for a drive."
"Indeed, it is." I pat him on the shoulder out of character to reassure him Sam is fine.
Samaera waits on the other side for me with Dale. He asks, "Where are you going? Sam doesn't know."
"For a fast speed spin up to Bear Mountain."
"Copy that." He says as he hands me the keys. "Take the George Washington Bridge on the way up and Cuomo's Bridge at Tarrytown on the way back."
"Will do." I toss the keys in the air and catch them. "Let's go, beautiful."
She cuts her eyes at Dale, and he winks at her. At the car, she waits for me to open the door, and I offer my hand to help her ease down into the low ride. The heels she's wearing today are two inches taller than the six-inch spikes she was wearing yesterday, so she accepts. But only because she needs my help. Once she's settled, I hurry around the car. Slip behind the wheel and pull out.
The first thing out of her mouth is, "Are there bears at Bear Mountain?" Before I can answer, she swipes her phone to find out. "There are! I've never seen a bear. Have you?"
"Yes. There's a zoo at Bear Mountain State Park. We aren't actually going to the top today. But if 'seeing a bear' is on your bucket list, we will make that happen."
She sighs and says, "That's sweet of you."
The contradiction of tone and content sends my eyes to search hers. "What's wrong?"
"Nothing."
I shake my head. "Oh, no, you don't. Nothing is code for something. That's female double talk."
"Okay, then, everything's fine."
"Lord! That's worse! Nothing is fine then." I reach for her hand.
"Don't worry about it." She looks out the window, ignoring it and tucking hers under her leg so I can't take it.
"Too late. I'm worried about it." I place my rejected hand on the center console between us.
"I'm just concerned about the amount of time you spend playing versus working in regard to how my time will be spent accordingly."
I laugh, "You're the only person in the world that would feel that way."
"Hmm, perhaps," she muses, distracted. Then she states, out of the blue. "I need a safe word."
"Huh?" I glance at her. "Where did that come from?"
She continues to ignore me, lost in her own thoughts, and I look for a place to pull off the street.
"Samaera," I use her name to draw her attention. "Safe words refer to BDSM protection to keep the submissive from being hurt."
