“Oh.” Shit, that doesn’t sound like fun. I have no idea what that entails but I can already sense it wouldn’t be something Lottie’s interested in. “Did she say when?”
“Sometime next week.” She breaks off a piece of her biscuit and plops it in her mouth.
“Are you going to go?”
“Do I really have a choice? After what happened this afternoon, I’m pretty sure we’re bonded to Ellie and Dave for life.” She adds another piece of biscuit to her mouth. “When we were putting away the yoga mats, Ellie told me she had an orgasm while Dave was pulsing into her.” Casually she dabs her mouth. “Do you understand the kind of damage that does to a person? Knowing someone only a few feet away had an O while their fiancé dry-humped them in a pregnancy class?” Her eyes finally meet mine. “I’m not doing well, Huxley.”
“Well, you’re in good company, because I’ll never be able to look at Dave the same, after he proudly stood with his boner for everyone to see.”
“I’m surprised you didn’t join him.” She scoops up more of her soup and sips on it. “You know, since you seem to like to be the best at everything. It would’ve been fun seeing who packed more heat.”
“What happened today was completely unprofessional and I have no intentions of repeating it.”
“I knew it.” She shakes her head.
“Knew what?” I ask.
“That a pole was being shoved farther and farther up your ass while we were there.”
“Are you telling me you’d enjoy going to another one of those classes?”
“Absolutely not, but chalk it up to a life experience. You don’t have to be so stiff all the time, no pun intended.”
“I’m not stiff all the time,” I say. “I just don’t enjoy getting dry-humped in front of a business associate, only to see said business associate’s erection after.”
“He didn’t get excited over you dry-humping.”
I pinch the brow of my nose. “I know that. I was just adding it on to the ‘experience’ of the day,” I say, using air quotes. “You yourself said you weren’t doing well. So why are you chastising me?”
“I’m not chastising you,” she shoots back and then takes a deep breath while leaning back in her chair. “You know, I don’t think this is working out.”
“Excuse me?” I say, panic in my voice.
“This.” She motions between us. “We can’t seem to get on the same wavelength, and frankly, I’m tired of fighting with you all the time.”
“You think I enjoy fighting with you?”
“I think you take pleasure in making me angry. That much is true from last night.”
“I take pleasure in other things,” I say, raising a brow, because I really fucking enjoyed having my fingers inside of her.
She rolls her eyes and sets her hands on the table. “I think this eating dinner together thing is too much. We’re forcing something we shouldn’t be forcing.”
I lean in and speak quietly when I say, “We’re not forcing anything. We’re putting on a goddamn show.” Keeping my voice at a whisper, I continue, “Dinners aren’t about spending time with you, they’re about keeping the illusion alive.”
“You really think Reign might say something? Like that we’re not eating dinner together? He seems like a nice, trustworthy guy. He hasn’t poisoned you yet, unfortunately.”
Cute.
“It’s not that he’d deliberately say something. He might casually comment on how we didn’t have dinner together, it might get out to someone else, who then spins it for an article to sell to all those bullshit gossip sites. When you’re in a position such as myself, you have to be aware of information getting out in any way, even if it is innocent.”
“Ugh,” she groans and crosses her arms over her chest. “I just don’t know how much longer I can do this, Huxley.”
Her eyes look drained when they connect with mine and I realize that maybe she’s right. This is really draining, putting on a show, making sure you’re saying the right thing all the time. I’m used to acting like someone else, it’s how I’ve acted around all my business associates. Professional, put together, thoughtful, focused. But in reality, I’m like every other guy who just wants to relax, who jokes around, teases, has a good time. For someone who might not be used to putting on a show, it is draining, especially when it isn’t just your livelihood at stake, but someone else’s.