Page 3 of Pursuing Desire

“Of course,” she agrees. “All-you-can-eat Peanut M&M’s, coming your way.”

I reluctantly edge back into the chair, still fighting the urge to get out of the coffee shop and away from Lana. I force myself to calm down before speaking. “Lana, I think you and Anthony got off on the wrong foot. If you get to know him better, I think you two would get along.”

“I’m sure you’re right, Jess. I bet he’s great. I haven’t had the opportunity to spend much time with him, so I shouldn’t jump to conclusions. It’s not my place to butt in on your relationship, anyway.”

I raise my eyes to meet hers. “Yeah, you shouldn’t jump to conclusions, but I’ll be honest. I had some qualms about moving in together at first. It’s just that my lease was coming up due on my rental, and I hadn’t been able to find a condo to purchase that was within my budget. When Anthony asked me to marry him and move in together, buying the condo seemed the logical thing to do. For the first several months, he’ll handle the entire mortgage payment. That will help me out a lot and enable me to replace some of my savings.”

Lana looks a little more appeased with that explanation and takes a sip of her coffee. “I guess that makes sense. I was just surprised more than anything. I didn’t realize you two were that serious.”

I hesitate with my coffee close to my lips. I put the cup down. “We’ve been dating exclusively for months, which I know doesn’t feel like a long time to you. I haven’t talked too much about our relationship with you because I could sense your feelings towards him. I know we haven’t been together for years, but now that we’ve moved in together, at least we’ll be able to see each other every day.”

Lana nods. “I think that’s my concern. It feels like you went from dating casually to being engaged and moving in together. Don’t take that the wrong way. I just want to tell you why I was initially concerned when you told me about the engagement.”

“I get it. I can see how it looks like we are rushing into marriage. We’ll wait a few months and then have a small wedding,” I explain.

“A few months?” she repeats.

“Yeah, at least a few months. We haven’t made any concrete plans yet,” I tell her.

She seems satisfied with that answer. I imagine she’s just happy we aren’t running out to get married in the next few weeks.

I can be impulsive at times, but not that impulsive. Getting engaged is one thing. Marriage is an entirely different beast.

“When did you two move into the condo?” she asks.

“Just last week. I’d love to take you there and show you one day.”

Lana picks up her phone and looks at the screen. “How about now? We have plenty of time before the movie starts.”

I blink at her. “Now?”

“Sure, why not? I’m anxious to see it, and I’m busy this next week. Come on!”

She looks at me expectantly, waiting for my answer. I can’t think of a reason why we shouldn’t go, so I agree. I scoot my chair back and pick up my handbag. “Well, I don’t see why not. It’s on the way to the theater anyway, but we’ll need to leave now.”

Lana grabs her bag and pops up from her chair. “Yay! I can’t wait to see it.”

We throw our empty cups into the trash can before making our way out onto the busy sidewalk.

Pedestrians are everywhere and cars are bumper-to-bumper on the street in front of us. We walk over to the sidewalk’s edge and scan the street for a taxi. Once we locate one, I raise my hand to get his attention. He cuts off a lane of traffic and screeches to a stop right in front of us.

Once we settle into the taxi and give the driver my address, Lana turns to me. “Maybe we can set up a double date—you and Anthony, and me and Jake. We can go out to dinner or something. We need to celebrate your engagement.”

I smile brightly at her. “We would love to do that. I’ll talk to Anthony about it tonight after we get home from the movies. I’m sure he’ll agree. Too bad you won’t get to see him tonight. Since you and I were going out, he made plans with some friends. They’re supposed to go out to some sports bar. Thanks for saving me from that.”

Lana laughs. “I understand. Jake and his brothers are watching the big game, too.”

We chat about Lana’s honeymoon for the rest of the taxi ride. The earlier tension we both felt is pretty much gone. If Lana still has doubts, she’s keeping them to herself.

Once we arrive at the condo, the taxi driver pulls up to the building entrance and we get out. The doorman opens the glass door leading to the lobby. Lana looks around and whistles. “This is a nice place, Jess.”

I look around at the beautiful modern decor of the clean and well-lit lobby and feel pride. It does look impressive. It took me a long time to be able to live somewhere like this, and I’m glad I brought Lana to see it.

“Thanks. Let’s take the elevator. I’m on the fifth floor.”

I push the button and wait anxiously as the elevator takes its sweet time approaching us.

When the elevator finally arrives, we step in, and I punch the number five. We reach the fifth floor shortly after and I’m soon unlocking the door to the condo I share with Anthony.