Do you have more than one man you share everything with? Sorry. I should have been more descriptive when entering my contact.
Lexi
You could have gone with Will. I don’t know any other Wills.
The Man You Share Everything With
My ego almost took a hit there, thinking you’d forgotten me so quickly. I don’t let just anyone eat my fries.
Lexi scooped up a bite of omelet while she considered what to say next. Since she didn’t know him well, it seemed prudent not to take the conversation right into the gutter.
Lexi
It was one fry and I think your ego will live long and prosper. My mom says we should bring a gift too. I think we should bail.
The Man You Share Everything With
On the party or each other?
Her stomach wobbled. Setting her fork down, she thought about that. Was he regretting his insistence on their meeting up tonight? She hadn’t been looking for a date but now that it was up in the air, she realized she very much wanted to see him again. And not while he was relying on her for food.
Lexi
Which would you prefer?
The Man You Share Everything With
Neither. Let’s go to the party. I’ll take care of the gift.
The silence in Lexi’s house reminded her that staying home would just be another night of the same. Alone. Bored. Wishing she could make time go faster or accomplish more in the moment. She had a paper on the best social media apps for marketing due in a week. She’d done the readings, taken notes. Just needed to actually write it. It was taking her longer than she expected to get back into the groove of being a student. Even a very part-time one.
Lexi
I’ll meet you there.
The Man You Share Everything With
I can pick you up.
Her thumbs hovered over the screen. She was so tired of overthinking everything. Why did he want to go? What did he get out of it? Would the night just make her feel worse about herself than she already did? She liked controlling what she could.
Lexi
I’ll meet you there.
She texted the address. She wasn’t backing out. With literally nothing else to look forward to—unless she counted the definite possibility she’d be fired soon and therefore have more free time—Lexi figured tonight could tide her over socially for a while. It might even help her find that girl she used to be. Worst case, given the size of Jackie’s ring, the food ought to be good.
Five
In his everyday, predictable life, Will wasn’t a second-guesser. Apparently, Alexandria… shit, what was her last name? Probably not actuallyThe Great.He smiled at the thought, straightening his tie in the mirror.
Should he wear a tie? He wore ties every day and to most formal events. What kind of party was this? See? Lexi brought out the second-guesser in him. His phone continued to buzz but he ignored it. As expected, his mother hadn’t been happy with him canceling on dinner. She requested (her word for “demanded”) monthly dinners with several courses meant to have them linger, but it usually just made him feel trapped. She claimed they were a way to reconnect and bond away from “societal pressures.” The Grand siblings found it ironic that she was usually the one putting said pressure on them. Those dinners were often headlined by their mother telling each of her three children ways they could improve their lives and social standings. And hers in the process.
To that end, the last several, his mother had “unexpected” guests join at the last minute. Conveniently, these guests tended to be single, attractive women who ran in the same social circles as his mother and her friends. She’d gone so far as to make a folder in her photos app of“eligible women.” A shudder ran through him at the thought of his mother obsessing over who he spent his time with.
He’d made it abundantly clear that he didn’t need or want help in his dating life. He wanted to make her happy, so at first he’d gone on a few dates. But it quickly became clear that what he wanted and what his mother wanted for him were entirely different things. So he’d asked her to stop. His mom had selective listening when it came to her children, watching her salt intake, and flying economy. Will didn’t want to be rude to any of the women his mother introduced him to; some of them were nice enough. But it all just felt forced, rightly so. Looking good in a photo op together didn’t make a couple compatible. He wasn’t going to marry a woman and settle down because his mother thought she came from a good family. He’d been throwing himself into work more and more as a result and not just because of his desire to add to the company’s success. If he was at the office, his mother tended to leave him alone. Dating could be nice but relationships took effort and right now, or for the past several months, he’d been too busy to make the time.You had no problem making it for Lexi tonight.
Will yanked the knot on the tie, opened the first couple of buttons on his Ralph Lauren dress shirt. He glanced down at his dark-gray dress pants. Huffing out a breath, he grabbed a pair of dark jeans from his hardly-ever-worn drawer. This was more difficult than the last actual executive decision he’d made.
