“How did he react?” Eva asked.
“He was pretty grossed out. He stayed in bed and told me where the cleaning supplies were. But, you know, he was drunk too, so I don’t blame him.”
“Are you going to sleep with him again?”
“Yeah, of course. It’s only likely to get better, right?”
“If you say so.” Eva held up a padded leopard-print bra. Sumira shook her head at it.
“My tits would look amazing in this.” I held up a navy-blue lace camisole.
Eva grinned. “Are you going to wear it for Stephen?”
“I’m not sure. He didn’t really stop to look at me the other night. My clothes just sort of flew off and then we were at it.”
“What a heartwarming image. I’m getting this.” Sumira was referring to a black garter set with a price tag of nearly two hundred dollars.
“Please tell me it’s not for the youth from your office. It would be the end of him.”
“It’s for my future husband.”
“What future husband?” Eva looked confused.
“I don’t know yet, but I’ll know him when I see him. And he’ll know he needs to marry me when he sees me in this.”
“Brains and beauty. You amaze me.”
Once we were all clutching purchases for ourselves, we completed our actual mission of finding the perfect lingerie for Amy. We settled on a red, lacy matching set—demure yet devilishly sexy. Under the pretense of a girls’ night at her place—Ryan was at a friend’s playingWarhammer—we surprised her with the V-Day gift. She loved it and said she couldn’t wait to show Ryan on the fourteenth. Ryan was going to eat her up, I just knew it.
And I was glad one of us was looking forward to Valentine’s Day. So far Stephen hadn’t mentioned a thing about it. Not that I would expect him to, but you know. When you’re boinking someone new in the first half of February, things get dicey.
Tuesday morning, I soared into work (a little late) on an iced coffee high. I grinned at my computer screen in my cubicle and stretched my fingers: the daily corporate question was practically made for me.
“How much of your time is spent thinking about the customer and their needs?”
My answer: “Literally all the time. I cannot stop thinking about the customer. 24/7. I even dream about them. Completely obsessed! My therapist says it’s fine, and that it just shows I’m really, really dedicated to my job.”
How I loved the thought of brightening the day of some poor soul in another cubicle somewhere far away, in one of our other offices. Imagine sifting through earnest answers to horrid questions all day. Really, I just did it to make someone, somewhere, laugh. It was a solid momentary distraction. The truth was, I was becoming obsessed with something else entirely. That something was a man with a cheeky grin who was supremely average in bed. Even the second time.
Yes, Stephen had booty called me and we’d done it again. No, he hadn’t noticed the lingerie. And no, he had not mentioned Valentine’s Day, which was now two days away.
Not that it bothered me. I wasn’t the Hallmark holiday type, really.
So I’d been known to wear head-to-toe green on St. Patrick’s Day. Bunny ears on Easter. Spangled miniskirts on July Fourth. So what? Valentine’s Day was just a silly, little…
I swiveled myself away from my desk and texted the group chat.
Rachel Weiss 3:39 PM:
No word from Stephen yet. Getting a little anxious to be honest.
Sumira Khan 3:41 PM:
Some men get weird about Valentine’s Day. Especially when you’ve only been dating for a little while.
Amy McDonald 3:42 PM:
Maybe he’ll surprise you last minute.
