Page 23 of Forever and Always

“Are you okay?” Andrew asked sleepily.

“Yeah. I’m sorry I woke you up.”

He propped himself up on one elbow and looked down at me. Even in the darkness I felt the weight of his penetrating gaze.

“That seemed like some nightmare,” he said, his tone carefully neutral. “Do you want to talk about it?”

“I don’t remember it,” I lied.

He stared at me for a long, weighted moment before deciding to let me off the hook.

“I’m here for you any time you want to talk,” he said as he pulled me into his arms. “You don’t have to carry everything alone, baby.”

Then he rubbed my back until I fell back asleep.

When I woke up Sunday Andrew was still asleep. I crept out of the room to use the bathroom and start the coffee pot, then surprised myself by going back to his bedroom.

“There’s my girl,” Andrew said, wagging his eyebrows comically. “Come give us a snuggle.”

I laughed at his antics but slipped back into bed with him, where we made out leisurely until the coffee was done.

The next week Andrew and I fell into a routine. We’d go for a run in the mornings, then he’d go to work, and then I’d either go help Marianne or I’d entertain myself at home until it was time to make dinner. After eating dinner together we’d read or watch TV, then we’d go to bed. Together.

We were surprisingly compatible. And despite my natural seriousness, Andrew had a unique ability to make me laugh.

He also had a unique ability to make me horny. Over the course of the week our make out sessions were getting hotter, with lots of heavy petting, but no actual getting off. No sex, oral or otherwise. We did everything but have sex though. I was pretty sure Andrew was trying to get me to commit to him by making me so sexually frustrated that I’d agree to anything.

Friday afternoon I got the text I was waiting for. Steph and Christopher were finally back from their vacation.

Katy: I need to talk to you. Privately. Call me when you’re alone and can talk.

Steph: I’ll send Christopher to the grocery store and call you in a few minutes.

Five minutes later the phone rang.

“I’m alone for at least an hour,” Steph said without preamble. “Christopher is a slow shopper. He feels the need to analyze the price differences in every single product. What’s up?”

I walked to my bedroom and closed the door, even though Andrew was still at work.

“I’m sleeping with Andrew.”

Steph squealed like a teenaged girl with Taylor Swift tickets. “Oh my God! That’s great! Is he good? He’s good, isn’t he?”

“You misunderstand me. I’m sleeping with him, not having sex with him.”

“Huh?”

“I slept in his bed one night and then I… just kept doing it. We cuddle and make out and stuff, but we haven’t actually had sex yet,” I explained. “Well, actually the very first time he went down on me, but other than some dry humping it’s been mostly PG-13 since then.”

“Okay, I’m going to need you to start from the beginning. Don’t leave anything out.”