“You say that like it was a bad thing!”
“It’s not. You don’t always find a best friend like that. Don’t tell Zach, but you’re my soul mate.”
I could feel Bella wiping away a tear. I rolled my eyes. She was always the emotional one. I patted her shoulder. “There, there. No crying, La Croix.”
Bella sat up. “You’re right. No crying. Especially when I’m still waiting on all the details from your night…excuse me…nights and mornings of sexing with Porter.”
“I’m not sure I have the words to describe it. Trust me, it’s amazing, Bella. When we’re together, I feel things I’ve never felt before. It’s as if he pays attention to every single inch of me. We just get lost in each other. It’s the same way at work. We get lost in talking about the project for hours sometimes. Often, we’re just talking about everything but the project. It’s different. I’m not comparing sex to work, but the man is very detail oriented.”
Bella’s neck craned in shock. “Well, well, Ari James. Sounds like you’ve met your match.”
I bit my lip and shook my head. “No way. It’s just hot, secretive sex with my coworker. I’ve been there before. Only this time, I don’t think he’ll screw me over…job wise, that is.”
Bella folded her arms, taking the last sip of her coffee. “Hmpf. Keep telling yourself that. And you’ll end up like me—married and pregnant.”
I laughed. “And what’s so bad about that?”
“Is that what you want?”
I shrugged. “I don’t know what I want. Right now, I like the idea of a secret, brief affair with a sexy guy. You know? No strings attached. I’m not sure that guy should be Porter. But then again, maybe it should.”
Bella held my hand. “I want you to have fun, but I also don’t want you to get hurt, Ari. Okay? By all accounts, Porter seems like a good dude. He’s not a dick like Maurice.”
I squeezed her hand reassuringly. “I won’t. It’s just casual sex. Not a relationship, for real.” I wasn’t sure I believed what I was saying. Bella gave me a knowing look.
“Really? So, does he know the sex is a casual, no-strings-attached deal? If the sex is the way you say it is. That hot and that intense. I highly doubt the two of you can keep it casual for long. Sexual chemistry like that isn’t something you can control. It’s not a faucet you can turn off and on. Besides, sex that hot can’t stay cooped up in the friend zone. Your coochie is going to be mad with you. How dare you dust her off only to pack it up again? Traitorous!”
I tapped the fingertips of my free hand on my thigh. Bella looked at me with a wary expression. “Okay. What is it now, Ari?”
“Well… Is it casual if he asks me to come to Thanksgiving?”
“Seriously, Ari! Thanksgiving? Men don’t bring just any old woman to Thanksgiving.”
“Maybe he’s just inviting me as his coworker,” I retorted. “He knows I’m alone for the holiday. He knows how the holiday makes me feel about my dad. Porter assured me that it wasn’t a big deal.”
“Don’t be daft, Ari!”
“Bella, people invite coworkers to Thanksgiving all the time.”
“Is that right? Fine, let’s ask Zach!”
“Fine.” I shrugged. It was casual to me. That was what mattered most. I’d had my heart stomped on and I wasn’t about to have that happen again. I can separate my feelings from the sex. That was exactly what I was doing and needed to do. Besides, there wasn’t going to be any chance of it becoming more than sex. At least that was what I kept telling myself.
Just then, Zach and the girls approached the park bench. The twins, all bundled up in their hoodies, jumped into Bella’s lap. She somehow miraculously balanced them both like a circus artist.
“Zach, I have a question: do men casually invite friends to Thanksgiving?” asked Bella, still balancing the twins with all the dexterity of an Olympic weightlifter. “Lady friends, that is?”
Zach looked at Bella and then at me. “Not usually. Why?”
“Because a man has asked Ari to come over for Thanksgiving with his entire family present. Yet, she insists they’re friends. She says they have a casual arrangement. She says this is no big deal.” Bella put the emphasis on she because the broad didn’t believe a word I’d said.
“We are! We do! It’s not!” I threw my hands up in exasperation. Bella rolled her eyes, then chuckled. The nerve. I mean, Thanksgiving wasn’t that big a deal. At least I didn’t think it was. And given that I haven’t really celebrated a proper Thanksgiving since my dad died, I really saw it as just another day.