The Sunday Arrangement (23 page)

Toby shuffled some
papers around on the conference table. “The 3D model is taking longer than
anticipated. I think—”

“Well there’s your
problem right there. You’re thinking too much. Stop contemplating and get it
done. We need the model yesterday.”

“You do realize these
models usually take four to six months to construct? It’ll be a miracle if I
can pull off your two-month deadline as it is.”

My heart softened at
my brother’s voice. I hadn’t meant to sound like a bitch, but I was tired of
sitting idle on this project. “We’re all working with impossible deadlines,
Toby. That’s the nature of the business.”

Toby exaggeratedly
rolled his eyes. “Damn, Lo. What crawled up your ass and died? You were so fun
last night.”

I caught Pierce’s
intense stare from the corner of my eye. “I’ll say,” he added.

“I’m the boss and I
need things done. This casino isn’t going to build itself, ya know.” I cringed
at my tone, hoping I didn’t sound like a pathetic wind-up toy you couldn’t shut
off. “I’m taking my lunch at my condo. When I get back, I expect some progress.”

I left the men in the
conference room before they had a chance to protest. As I left, I wondered if
leaving them alone was a mistake. Would that give them more time to plan
whatever it was they were plotting? I shook my head, dismissing the thought.
Hopping into my limo, I told the driver to take me home. I had more important
things to think about than expense reports that afternoon.

~*~*~*~

Later that day, I lounged
on the couch, talking to Kat on the phone. It had been a while since we last
talked, and I missed her. I had something up my sleeve for the next Sunday
arrangement, but I was hesitant to broach the subject with her. It was an idea
I had toyed with for a while, but I needed her input.

“Hypothetically
speaking, would you ever want to do it with me?” I asked cautiously, after
filling her in on my latest sexual exploits with Pierce.

“Depends, are we
drunk and partying?”

“Nope. We’re stone-cold
sober.”

“As long as you were
sober, and you weren’t just drunk and horny . . . I’d do it,” she admitted. “I’d
want you to remember every fantastic second of me being a sexual goddess.”

I laughed. “So given
the opportunity, you would do me, your best friend?”

“Obviously you’re a
fox and I love you, so why not?” she asked. “What’s bringing this on, Lo?
Suddenly having bi-curious urges you want to explore with a safe friend?”

I took a deep breath
before I spoke. “You’re the only person who knows about Pierce. He’s really
allowed me to be myself and explore the sexual side of my personality.” I stood
from the couch and began pacing. An image of my frantic father walking back and
forth across my carpet last Sunday morning flashed to mind, but I willed it
away. Now was my time. Now was about Kat. “Being with a woman has always been
something I’ve wondered about. One of my long-time fantasies. I just . . .” I
paused for a moment, “I just want to explore every side of this new me. I don’t
want to walk away from this with regrets.” When she didn’t respond, I continued,
“Kat, I understand if you don’t want to, but would you be willing to let me
play out the fantasy I have with you? There isn’t any other woman I’d want to
share my first experience with.” My heart beat hard at the silence on the other
end. “Kat?”

“I’m here. Are you
serious? You’re not kidding around?”

I licked my lips
nervously. “I’m not kidding. I want you to be my first. . . . Is that totally
weird and creepy?”

“It will change
things between us.”

I gripped my phone
tighter. “I know.”

“Yes. I’ll be your
first lesbian experience. When do you want me out there?”

“By this Sunday?”

“I’ll be there. I
need to go now. My break is up.”

“All right. Thank
you. Text me the details, and I’ll buy your plane ticket out here.”

“I’d do anything for
you, Lauren, you know that. I love you.”

“I love you, too.”
The line went dead when she hung up. I let out a long breath of relief. I’d finally
done it. I’d finally admitted my desire to experiment with a woman. It was liberating,
exhilarating, and impossible to describe what I was feeling. Thank God for Kat.
I didn’t know if I would have ever played out this sexual fantasy of mine
without her. She was the only one I trusted completely to do this.

~*~*~*~

Later
in the day, as Pierce and I sat in the conference room together, each working
silently at our laptops, I found myself reassuring my mother about our progress.
This even though I wasn’t sure myself what was going on. “Yes, Mom, the project
is going fine.”

“What
about that Maverick boy? Are you two getting along?”

I
forced my voice to remain calm. “We’re not children, Mom. We’re business
partners, and we act as such.”

“I’m
sure you do, honey. Next time your brother is out there, please don’t get him
drunk. Margret was livid that he got drunk the week his daughter was born.”

I
laughed. “I felt bad about that, but we were having such a good time. I don’t
think either of us realized how mu
ch we drank.” The lie
slipped
easily off my tongue, and I felt a little guilty. Poor Mom, was everyone in her
life lying to her? Me? Toby? Dad?

She chuckled
heartily
.
“You two are adults now, so I can’t be angry with you. I’ll just leave that up
to your partners to do for me. Speaking of partners, have you met anyone while
you’ve been out there?”

I
sighed.
“Well,
that’s a record thirty seconds.”

 “A
mother has her concerns!” she exclaimed.

“Mom
. . . no, I haven’t met anyone. I’ve been working.”

“I
know you have, but you do have one day off. Don’t you ever get out of that
apartment?”

“I
do, but I haven’t been looking to date anyone right now. Besides, my Sunday
nights are usually . . . busy. So I like to have my day off to recoup. I still
have tons of time to find someone and settle down before I’m, ya know, old.”

She
huffed into the phone. “That’s what your great aunt Myrtle said and look what
happened to her.”

“She
bought a few cats and lives alone.
That’s what she wants to do.
I’
m
not striving to be the next cat lady of the family, trust me.”

My
mother sighed exasperatedly.
“You’re missing my point, Lauren.”

I
knew exactly what her point was.
“And that is?”

“I
want more grandchildren.”

“Mom,
you just got another one! You have two already, and one is barely a week old.
You haven’t even had time to spoil her yet.”

“Let
me rephrase myself. I want grandchildren from you, too,” she said curtly.

“Okay,
crazy lady. I’ll get right on that and find a guy to be my baby-making machine.
We’ll start cranking ‘em out here real soon, okay? I need to go now. I love
you, bye.” I h
u
ng up before she
could
say
anything else. I sh
ook
my head and ran my fingers
through my hair. Ever since I’d turned
twenty-four,
she
ha
d
been nagging me about children for her to spoil. I loved her, but enough was
enough. Better she worry about that, I supposed, than my father’s impending
doom.

“Is
your mother pressuring you to get married and ma
ke her more
grandchildren?”
Pierce asked
from
acr
oss
the conference table. His feet were on top of the table, and he was chowing
down on an egg roll from April’s Chinese run at lunch
. I didn’t
admit to him that I was bummed about not seeing Lucas today. Every time he brought
lunch for us, I talked to him for a good half hour about random things. He was an
interesting guy, and I thought I might have a small crush on him. I also thought
Pierce knew this, and maybe that was why he’d been ordering out the past few
days.

“You
have no idea! Almost every time I talk to her, she brings it up. ‘When are you
going to date a nice man and give
me more grandchildren?’” I
said
,
mimicking her tone with my voice.

“I
can’t wait to
get married and have kids!” April piped up
.

I had
an
urge to roll my eyes at her naiveté but was able to resist it.
Pierce’s
annoying assistant invited herself, again, to sit with us. If she sat any
closer to Pierce, she’d be in his lap. I felt a little sorry for her; she
seemed so young and so immature. Even though I knew he would never make her a
girlfriend, I was still jealous that she had the freedom to openly show her
affections, however misplaced they might be. I couldn’t do that without
worrying about it catching fire in the rumor mill.

“How
many kids do you want, Mr. Maverick?”
April asked. I cringed slightly
at her voice.

“One
or two, I suppose. I’ve nev
er really given it much thought.
”
He gave
me
a lon
g
glance. “What about you? H
ave you given any thought to how many
kids you want?”

I
shrugged and poked at the Kung Pao chicken with my chopsticks
.
“One, I guess. I would like to have a little boy. Though I’d also be fine with
a girl.”

“I
want two boys and two girls. What do you think about that, Mr. Maverick?” April
asked. Her pestering questionings were beginning to sound like a yapping
Yorkie. She just wouldn’t shut up.

Pierce
looked
bored. “If that’s what you want. It’s not up to me.”

I
didn’t think Pierce realized the impact
his words
had
on her. She was
not aski
ng about his personal opinion
on her life. She was asking because she was
planning their future
together.

She
smiled and reached out to touch his shoulder, her fingers briefly resting on
his neck. “Good. I’m glad.”

Sunday finally came,
and I eagerly awaited Kat’s arrival at the entrance to the hangar. I nearly
bounced on the balls of my feet. I couldn’t wait to see her, but at the same
time, I was extremely nervous and hopeful that things wouldn’t become awkward
between us as two friends experimenting together. I could see her now walking
toward me, a big smile on her red painted lips. She was wearing a black lace
corset dress and her arms were outstretched. I returned her smile, relieved
that she was happy to see me. There didn’t seem to be any trepidation in her
eyes. We hugged, holding each other for a moment. It had been over a month
since I’d seen her. I slowly pulled away and led her into the white stretch
limo. I made sure the privacy divider was up so that the driver couldn’t hear
us.

“So what now?” she
asked. “Are we just gonna get there and hop to it?” Her turquoise eyes lit up
with curiosity. The loud purple eyeliner she wore perfectly accentuated the
shape and color of her very best feature.

“I thought I would
take you to dinner first. Do you want me to invite Pierce?”

Kat stiffened and
looked at me. “To dinner or the sexy time?”

“Dinner,” I said.
“But just so you know, he will be at my condo when we . . . when we’re
together.”

“I assumed he’d be
watching us do it since you two seem like a two-for-one deal now.”

I could feel a blush
stain my cheeks. “I want him there to watch, but if it makes you uncomfortable,
I can call that part off.” I squeezed her hand. “What’s important is that I’ll
be searching an entirely different side of myself, thanks to you.”

She shook her head.
“I don’t mind him watching, but I would like dinner to be just the two of us.”

“Okay.” I smiled.
“How would you feel about videotaping it?”

She arched an eyebrow
at me. “You are a kinky little minx, aren’t you?” she smirked. “As long as I
get a copy, we can record all night!”

“That’s what I
thought you’d say.”

~*~*~*~

I had a little more
wine than I normally drink at dinner. It wasn’t exactly intentional, but I wanted
to calm the nerves that welled within me. Never before had I been with a woman,
explored her body, and made love to her. I didn’t even know where to begin.
This wasn’t just any woman either—she was my best friend and I longed to do
right by her. And to think, the man I was developing uncontrollable feelings
for would be watching the entire encounter. It was arousing and completely terrifying.

Soon, we were in the
elevator leading up to my apartment. Before I convinced myself not to, I pushed
the red stop button. The elevator froze just before it reached my apartment.
Maybe it was the wine—my liquid courage—or maybe it was the wild animal inside
of me who longed, once again, to take control of me.