Zero expectations, p.8
Zero Expectations, page 8
The sex had been amazing.
The sex had been so amazing that it’d been on the tip of my tongue to ask him to stay. So, I’d done the exact opposite, practically pushing him out the front door. Thankfully, I’d had my monthly check-in meeting at Future Communications’ main offices, so that had given me the strength not to fall at Roman’s feet and beg him to reevaluate what we were doing.
However, all thoughts of Roman had vanished as soon as I’d stepped into my supervisor’s office because my supervisor was an asshole. He had to be the meanest, vilest, most miserable person that I’d ever met, and meeting him was the worst thing about my job. Stan Bronson had been promoted to my supervisor about eight months ago, and I still had no idea who thought that he’d make a great supervisor. Never a word about what we did right, just always what we did wrong. Normally, I wouldn’t overly care, but my meetings with him were always schedule right when PMS was taking up residence, and I could admit that I’d already been in my feels about Roman when Stan had gone over everything that I could be doing better.
So, because Morgan and Shiloh knew all about Stan Bronson, I had called them on my way back from my meeting, a crying, frustrated, angry mess, announcing an impromptu girls’ night. Being the absolute best friends that they were, they had readily agreed, wine and tequila on its way.
As soon as I heard the knock on the door, I jumped up off the couch, ready to get this pity party on its way. I had also ordered a pizza, going for the full effect. If I was going to feel sorry for myself, then I was going to do it epically, especially since I didn’t do it often.
However, when I opened the door, it wasn’t wine, tequila, or pizza greeting me; it was Roman.
I poked my head out of the doorway, looking for Shiloh or Morgan, even the twins. When I looked back up at Roman, he looked confused and upset, though I had no idea what I could have done between lunchtime and now to upset him.
“Were you crying?” he asked, and I’d forgotten that I probably looked like a punching bag.
I waved away his concern. “It’s nothing,” I rushed out, a bit embarrassed because it really was nothing. I simply had a bad afternoon, one that I’d known was coming, being everything that Roman had claimed that women were.
“It’s not nothing if you’re cry-”
His words were cut off when the sound of Shiloh driving up hit both our ears. We both turned to see her jumping out of her car, her purse and a huge tote bag hanging over her left shoulder. She looked like a flustered gypsy, and I couldn’t love the woman more.
As soon as she reached us on the front steps, she said, “I’ve got the wine, the crystals, the candles, and the spell book.” She yanked on her tote for emphasis. “I also brought some puppy treats to keep Nicodemus and Justin busy while we dispatch the negative energies weighing you down.”
I grinned because Shiloh was awesome. “Thank you, Shy.”
She grinned back at me. “I’m going to go set up while you handle whatever this is,” she said as she glanced at Roman, and the man looked like he’d just bitten into a lemon.
Shiloh shimmied her way past me, and I loved how she was so concerned for me that she hadn’t even considered how rude she’d just been.
Quickly looking back up at Roman, I said, “Normally, she’s not so rude. She’s just-”
“What in the hell do you need a spell book for?” he asked, and if he was about to make fun of my friend, I really was going to stab him. “I mean…I’m all for revenge when warranted, but to have a spell cast on them? What does a person need to do in order to have a spell cast on them?”
Before I could answer, the sounds of tires screeching had us turning back towards my driveway again. I had a two-car garage, and since I usually parked my car inside, there was plenty of room for both Morgan and Shiloh to park their vehicles.
Roman and I watched as Morgan barely turned off the ignition before getting out of her car, her hands full of liquor store bags. Shiloh was the wine connoisseur, Morgan was the tequila connoisseur, and I was the food groupie. We made a great team, really.
As soon as she approached us, she said, “I would have been here sooner, but I got pulled over by a hot cop.” She grinned, not at all ashamed. “I rolled a stop sign, but instead of giving me a ticket, he let me go with a warning after I told him that I didn’t mind being put in handcuffs.”
I choked out a laugh.
For all that I’d had a bad afternoon, and for all that I was feeling sorry for myself, that had me laughing. The poor cop was probably not ever going to pull Morgan over again, probably recognizing that she was a lot to handle. I had no doubt that Morgan had said just that to the poor officer, scarring him in the process. Of course, for all I knew, they could probably have a date later on; I didn’t know the man.
“Well, Shiloh’s inside,” I informed her. “She’s got the wine, candles, crystals, and spell book. She even got treats for the puppies.”
Morgan’s smile brightened her beautiful face. “Oh, I got them some treats, too. I even got them some toys to keep them occupied. We don’t need them in the way if things turn dark.”
“Turn dark?” Roman asked, trying to make sense of my friendships with Morgan and Shiloh.
Morgan shot him a look. “It’s hard to predict how these things might go,” she explained. “You have to always be prepared for the unexpected, you know.”
Roman shook his head. “No, I don’t know.”
Morgan looked back over at me. “Who’s this guy?”
“He’s my neighbor from across the street,” I answered, though she already knew who he was. I suspected that she was trying to make a point with her rudeness, so I decided to let it play out.
She looked back at Roman. “Oh, well…it’s nice to meet you, Mr. Neighbor Man, but you’re going to have to borrow some sugar tomorrow. We have issues that need our immediate attention right now.”
When I looked back up at Roman, he looked incensed. “Not a problem,” he bit out through clenched teeth. “I can aways borrow sugar some other time.”
Morgan hooked her free arm around mine, yanking me closer. “Awesome,” she replied. “Nice meeting you.”
When Morgan shut the door in his face, I couldn’t help but gawk at her. “What was that all about?”
“I was helping you stay on your side of the line,” she answered. “He looked worried and concerned for you, and I figured that was the last thing that you needed right now. You’re hormonal, your boss is an asshole, and you’ve been screwing that guy damn near every day for over a month, Haven. The last thing that you need is for him to care about you while you’re vulnerable. If you want to pursue something more than just sex with him, then great. However, you need to make that decision when you’re not in the middle of an emotional cyclone.”
“Oh…well…okay, then,” I muttered for lack of anything better to say. I mean, yeah, she’d been rude as hell, but she wasn’t necessarily wrong about the situation.
“Yeah, he looked like he wanted to come in and console you,” Shiloh added as Morgan and I walked into the kitchen. “It looks like the sexual waters might be turning murky.”
“That’s not a flattering image,” I informed her.
“It wasn’t meant to be,” she retorted. “You said that it was just sex, and you made us promise to help you keep your pledge to keep it that way, so that’s what we’re doing.”
Morgan placed her bags on the table. “Look, the guy is hotter than the sun, and if the sex is as good as you say it is, then I’m all for you making it a-go with him. However, not right now. Have a mature conversation with him when you’re not emotional, that way, you guys don’t end up going viral for some epic fight that ends up being recorded by some passer-byer.”
“She’s not wrong,” Shiloh chimed in as she finished setting up the candles and crystals.
Feeling the weight of PMS and the hatred for my boss weighing on my shoulders, I said, “I just want to get drunk and forget what an asshole Stan Bronson is. I’ll tackle Roman and what we’re doing tomorrow.”
“Well, we’re going to cleanse the negative energy first, then when we open up the channels of serenity, you’ll be in a better frame of mind to decide what you want to do with the hot landscaper,” Shiloh stated primly and sagely. “The bad juju is beginning to permeate into your surroundings.”
I sat down, getting comfortable, as Morgan and Shiloh set everything up for my emotional cleansing. While Roman had seemed alarmed, we didn’t cast dark spells on people. Well, except for that one time, but Lance Cornerstone had deserved it for cheating on Shiloh with that married waitress.
By the time we were done, all three of us were drunk off our asses, the puppies had overdosed on their treats, and I still had no idea what I was going to do about Roman Scott and my feelings for him.
Chapter 15
Roman~
Lucius and Alec were looking at me like I’d lost my mind, and maybe I had. Maybe I didn’t have my shit as together as I kept claiming. Maybe I had underestimated my charm and Haven Oslind’s disinterest in picking up a man’s dirty underwear or helping him look for the remote control.
“Let me get this straight,” Lucius drawled out carefully as he eyed me from across the table. We were at Marco’s, a local bar that was perfect for just having drinks and nothing more, and I was pouring my heart out like I’d grown a vagina over the past month. “You have an arrangement with your neighbor where you guys do nothing but have quickies while she’s on her lunch hour, and you…and you’re the one that’s saying it’s not enough anymore?”
“Yeah, I don’t get it,” Alec added. “You’re getting sex without the headache. No demands, no complaining, no bitching, no fights, no expectations…just great sex, and you’re upset about it?”
I looked between the two men. “She introduced me as her goddamn neighbor,” I reminded them.
After her friend had shut the door in my face, I’d been livid. I’d been livid, annoyed, and feeling rejected all at the same time, and it’d been nothing compared to how I’d felt when I’d seen Victor’s truck at Haven’s house yesterday. Plus, I never did find out why she’d been crying, and that still bothered me.
So, after getting dismissed like I was of no importance, I had called my parents, asked them if they could take the twins for dinner, then called up Lucius and Alec to vent. Since it was something that I rarely did, my parents had immediately agreed, and my best friend and brother had dropped everything to meet me here. Then, upon arriving, I had spilled everything from when I’d first suggested the arrangement to Haven. Though I’d left out the sexual details, everything else had been purged with great irritation and a touch of embarrassment. We weren’t women; we didn’t sit around and talk about our feelings. My man card was in serious jeopardy right now.
“And?” Lucius asked. “So what? Who cares what she introduced you as? You have a hot woman having sex with you almost every day, and she’s not trying to pull anything more out of you. You told her the rules, and she’s abiding by them.” Lucius shook his head. “I don’t see the problem.”
“What changed?” Alec asked. “I mean, apart from your landscaping heart getting jealous because she hired someone else to redesign her backyard.”
“I just…how can she be so goddamn passionate and involved when we’re having sex, but then introduce me as just her goddamn neighbor?” I posed.
“Christ Almighty, Rome,” Alec sighed. “You sound like a chick.”
“Yeah, I imagine the same way that men have been able to fuck without feelings for centuries,” Lucius added. “Where is it written that women can’t have sex without feelings? If it’s enough for men to just be turned on, then I imagine that it can be enough for women, too.”
“You guys aren’t helping,” I replied.
“Well, how about you act like the thirty-six-year-old grown ass man that you are and just tell her that you’ve caught the feels, and that you’d like something more between you two,” Alec suggested.
“That’s what I had planned on doing when I stopped by yesterday afternoon,” I informed him. “I was all about being a mature adult, but then she introduced me as her fucking neighbor.” I pulled another drink from my beer. “What the fuck was I supposed to do then?” I ran an irritated hand through my hair. “Not to mention that I already feel like a fucking hypocrite, ignoring all the rules that I had put in place.”
“Are you absolutely certain that she doesn’t feel anything for you?” Lucius asked, and I could see Alec shaking his head.
“What?”
“Dude, instead of sitting at a bar on a Friday night, drinking, looking for pussy, we’re sitting here, wondering if some chick likes you or not,” Alec grumbled. “I feel like we’re in high school at a slumber party.”
“You’re a dick,” I remarked, though I was sure that he already knew that.
“He’s right,” Lucius agreed. “I say we take this to Calliope’s and remind ourselves why being a man is a wonderful thing.”
Calliope’s Delights was a strip club one town over. As ridiculous as it sounded, it was actually classy if such a word could be associated with a strip club. It wasn’t dirty with peeling paint or cracked seats. Plus, apart from the strippers, the entire uniformed staff were properly clothed. Granted, I hadn’t been to Calliope’s in years, but the last time that I’d been there, it’d been a good time with a decent atmosphere. The strippers had also been top-tier.
“I agree,” Alec said. “Maybe if you’re reminded of what else is out there, you won’t be so fixated on your Haven.”
“Other women aren’t the answer,” I told them both. “This isn’t about sex. I’m way past that.”
Lucius raised his hand like an asshole. “I still vote for Calliope’s.”
“I have children,” I reminded them. “I can’t be traipsing off to strip clubs.”
“You know damn well that Mom and Dad would be happy to keep the twins overnight,” Alec replied pointedly. “In fact, if you asked them, they’d even be happy to take them all weekend.”
I looked at the man like he’d lost his mind. “I am not going two full days without seeing my kids,” I retorted, practically clutching my pearls. “Are you insane?”
“Roman, man, I love you, but you have got to work through those issues of yours,” Lucius sighed. “Spending a weekend with your parents is not the same as Naomi abandoning them on your doorstep.”
“I know that,” I snapped unfairly. “I just…knowing it and feeling it are two different things.”
“Look, maybe it’s better if Haven doesn’t like you-”
“Gee, thanks-”
“-at least, until you get your shit worked out,” Alex continued. “Do you really want to get serious with a woman while you still have all these hang-ups about them?”
Jesus Christ, we really did sound like a bunch of pussies.
“Fine,” I relented. “I’ll call Mom and see if they’ll watch the kids overnight, then we can head to Calliope’s and make a night of it.”
Lucius grinned like the cat that ate the canary. “And that’s why you’re my best friend.”
“I’m your best friend because no one else can stand you,” I snorted.
“I just need to get laid,” Alec announced. “It’s been a while.”
Even though I knew that a strip club wasn’t the answer, I was feeling…out of sorts. I was feeling weighed down by every-fucking-thing, and maybe a good time with no worries was just what I needed. This would be my first night ever away from the twins, and it’d be the perfect test to see just how deep my issues went when it came to the kids and to Haven. If I really couldn’t cope with being away from Zach and Zoey for one night, then it probably really was time for some counseling.
Excusing myself, I stepped outside to call my mom. Of course, like the good mother that she was, she answered on the third ring. “The kids are fine,” she automatically answered.
“That’s good to know,” I chuckled.
“Well, I know how you get when they’re not with you,” she said softly, and it was a wonder how they’d all been putting up with my crazy for so long.
“Actually, that’s why I was calling,” I hedged.
“Oh, yeah?”
“Alec and Lucius want to go to a strip club to help cure me of all my issues, so I wanted to see if you’d watch the twins overnight.”
“Well, while I wouldn’t suggest a strip club as an effective method of intervention, they’re not necessarily wrong,” she murmured. “Plus, we’d love to have the kids stay with us.” I heard her turn from the phone and ask, “Would you kids like to spend the night with Nana and Papa?”
When I heard my kids cry out with excitement, I felt like shit. They sounded like they’d just been invited to Disneyland. I could hear their voices asking her if she was serious, and it was clear to see that I’d been punishing everyone for Naomi’s bullshit. These were my parents, for fuck’s sakes. My kids should have always been spending random nights with them or whatever. Alec, too.
She was laughing when she was back on the phone. “Did you hear that?” she asked. “It’ll be fun for us.”
“Thanks, Mom,” I replied, that weight back on my shoulders.
“Roman, it’ll be fine,” she said soothingly. “I promise.”
“I know,” I quietly agreed, hating Naomi so much in this moment.
“So, go out, have a good time, but be careful.”
“We will,” I semi-promised.
“Act responsibly, Roman,” she advised sternly. “Even if you are going to a strip club, you boys can still behave respectably.”
“I know, Mom,” I replied, a smile playing on my lips because she was just the type of mother to lecture us on acting right at a strip club.
Fifteen minutes later, we were headed to Calliope’s with a plan.
