Convenience and Compatibility (33 page)

“What are you doing Mallory?” Apparently Tara
failed to see Dean.

“Dean was at the front door waiting for me.
Didn’t you see him?”

“No. Why don’t you take me to Adam’s house,
I’m sure you can stay there as well if you want.”

“Maybe, maybe I’ll just go back later.”

Tara nods and we drive to the condo. We park
in the visitor’s parking and Tara hits the intercom for Adam’s
condo.

“Hello? Is that my sexy lady?”

“Yes Adam. Listen, I’m here with Mallory so
put some clothes on if you’re naked.” Tara giggles at me and I
wonder if he really does walk around naked when I’m not around.

“Actually Greg is over so I have my trousers
on.”

There’s a loud buzz and we go in the
door.

Of course Greg would be there - such is my
luck tonight. The boys live in the same building, one floor above
the other. They met in law school and have been inseparable
since.

Adam lets us into his place and it couldn’t
be more different than Greg’s. Greg’s condo is modern and clean –
very minimalistic. Adam has the same floor plan, but his furniture
looks like he had it in the fraternity from college. There are
stacks of papers, I’m assuming work, everywhere. It seems to fit
his personality perfectly. Greg is sitting on the sofa and stands
up when we walk in the door. His face lights up; a mixture of
surprise and elation.

Adam graciously ushers us in and we sit with
Greg as he makes us drinks.

“What’s going on?” Always the lawyer, Adam
cuts to the chase.

I open my mouth and shut it as Tara explains
how Dean is waiting for me back home.

“And you don’t want to see him?”

I shake my head no and can see Greg watching
me out of the corner of my eye.

“Want me to go over there and tell him to get
lost?” Greg asks, ever my defender.

“No, I don’t think that would be a good idea.
I’ll drive home in a little bit, he’s just thinking I’ll be home
from work soon. He can’t stay there all night.”

“And what if he does?” Greg asks.

“Does what, stay there all night? I guess
I’ll stay at my parent’s place then.”

“I have a bad feeling about this guy.” Adam
interrupts.

Greg and Tara nod and we take our drinks from
Adam - mojitos, one of my favorites. Adam is a superb
bartender.

“But he knows where your parents live too
Mallory.” Tara interjects. “He went to her Mom and Dad’s place
today, trying to find out where she is.” She explains to the
boys.

“I think you need a restraining order
Mallory.” Greg says.

“Yea, that’s super creepy.” Adam chimes
in.

“I suppose I could go over to my sister’s
house.”

I look over at Greg and he is swirling his
drink. He looks sexy tonight in a pair of jeans and his UW Law
School T-shirt. I remember the time I wore that very shirt, and
only that shirt, all day in his condo.

There is no further mention of Dean as we sip
our drinks and the boys talk shop. Tara and I roll our eyes and
walk onto the terrace. It’s surprisingly warm for the middle of
March and we sit in the chairs on the patio, watching the rain hit
the water.

I think about what Adam said about Dean being
creepy. The thought had never entered my mind before, but now I’m
kind of freaked out about possibly running into him. I remember the
butterfly knife in his glove box and the way he expertly opened it.
At the time it was hot, now it seems disturbing. Tara interrupts my
thoughts and I’m happy for the intrusion.

“Did you tell Greg about Mexico?” Tara
whispers.

“I did, last week.”

“How did he take it?”

“Not great.” I frown at Tara as she looks up
at the sliding glass door. I follow her gaze as Greg walks out onto
the patio followed by Adam. Greg walks over to me and moves my feet
onto his lap as he sits on my footstool. I raise my eyebrows and
smile. What is he doing?

“Come home with me tonight.” He whispers.

I frown and Greg stands up, putting my feet
to the floor and taking my hand. He hoists me up and leads me back
inside. “We’re taking off, bye Adam, Tara.”

I look back to the patio and raise my
eyebrows, mirroring the surprise in their faces. Mr. Bossy is in
control now and I guess I’m leaving.

I swallow the rest of my mojito and place it
on the bar before Greg leads me out of the apartment and up the one
flight of stairs to his condo. He turns to me. “Do you want to take
a shower? I know you like taking a shower after work.”

“Um, sure.”

“Go ahead, I’ll put some clean clothes in the
bathroom for you.”

“Okay.”

I guess I am spending the night at Greg’s
tonight. I take my shower and find a T-shirt on the counter waiting
for me. It’s one of Greg’s undershirts; stark white that ends half
way down to my knees. I guess I won’t be sitting cross-legged
tonight. I pull my hair out of the hair tie and let it fall down my
back as I stand in the doorway of the living room – hesitating.
Greg is sitting on the sofa with his feet on the coffee table. The
lights are off; the fireplace the only light illuminating the room.
Greg is less jovial tonight and I’m afraid he is mad at me.

“Come here.” He gently pats the sofa next to
him.

My feet slowly pad over to him and I sit a
few inches away on the sofa. Greg turns to face me, taking my face
in both of his hands. He stares into my eyes, searching, until at
last he closes his eyes.

“I can’t do this anymore Mallory.” Greg opens
his eyes. “You keep breaking my heart and I keep coming back for
more.”

Wait, what? Where is this coming from? “Do
you want me to leave?” I whisper, hoping beyond all hopes that he
says no.

Greg shakes his head. “I need you to decide,
and I think I already know the answer, but I need you to tell me if
you want me or not. I can’t keep being the one you go to when you
have no one else. I want to be the one you go to because I’m your
first choice.”

I say nothing, not sure what I can say. I’m
not confident what I want at this point, but the thought of losing
Greg scares the shit out of me.

“Please answer me.”

“I don’t know Greg, I think I’m bad for you.”
It spills out of me and he drops his hands, looking down. I try to
explain myself a little better. “To be honest, I’m scared I’m going
to lose you.”

“Then why do you push me away?”

“I don’t know… I feel so bad what I’ve put
you through the past six months. All this shit with Dean. I’m just
so sorry.”

“Just be honest with me Mallory. How do you
feel about me?”

“I love you, I always will.”

“Really?”

I nod yes. Of course I love Greg, but I
carefully omit the part about me falling in love with him
again.

“Then why aren’t you with me? Why did you
fuck another guy? Why are you leaving? Why do you work extra
shifts, don’t call, and treat me like shit?” Greg’s voice gets
incrementally louder and I’m not sure if he’s frustrated, confused,
or a little of both. I look down, trying to hide my guilt, knowing
I don’t really have an answer for any of his questions.

“I thought that if I was away from you that I
could get over you easier, that it would be the same for you.”

“I will never be over you Mallory. I love you
more now than I ever have.” Greg says this matter-of-factly and I
look up to meet his eyes. He turns toward me and takes my hands.
“So tell me, we both love each other, can you forget all the rest
and be happy with me?”

“I don’t know.”

“What the fuck Mallory, you can be engaged to
that asshole after two weeks and you can’t be my girlfriend when we
have known each other for a year? Don’t you feel how right this
is?”

“That’s why I am going away Greg, to gain
some clarity. I don’t want to be anyone’s girlfriend for a
while.”

“If you really loved me I think you
would.”

Greg drops my hands and I know that we are at
an impasse.

“Greg, I don’t want to fight with you. I’m
sorry I can’t be what you want right now. But I need you to respect
my choice, you can’t bully me into being what you want.”

“You’re right. I’m sorry.”

We sit looking at each other until I break
the silence. “So it seems to me like we have two options here. One,
we go our separate ways and I leave tonight and that is it. Or,
two, we spend this next week together and when I return, whenever
that is, we’ll see what happens.”

“What do you want to do?”

“I want to go in the other room and fuck you
silly.”

Greg’s eyebrows raise and a slow smile
crosses his face. “I like option number two.”

“Good. Let’s go.”

Greg hesitates just a moment before turning
off the fireplace. He stands, then scoops me up in his arms,
carrying me to his bedroom as I giggle.

He places me on the bed and pulls the covers
out from under me so I am tucked in his bed.

“Let me go take a shower first.”

I pull down on his shoulders. “No, I want you
like this. Get in bed.”

Greg pulls off his shirt and takes off his
jeans and boxer briefs, his dick springing free. I slip my shirt
over my head and he climbs in next to me. I wrap my arms around his
neck and pull Greg on top of me. His cock pokes me in the
stomach.

He leans down and kisses me softly - the
first time we have kissed in months. Greg starts out with soft
kisses, tenderly exploring my mouth like we are strangers instead
of long-time lovers rekindling a romance. I gently suck his bottom
lip and he moans, closing his eyes. Breaking away, I trail small
kisses up his neck to nibble on his ear and suck on the lobe. I
wrap my legs around him, and pull myself closer to his body – I
want him inside, need him inside me.

Greg makes an odd sound and I pull my face
away. Is he crying?

“Greg? What’s the matter?”

He moves off me and sits on the edge of the
bed, his head in his hands. “I don’t know if I can do this. You’re
leaving in a week.”

I go to him, putting my arm around his
shoulders. “Come to bed. We don’t have to do anything. Let’s go to
sleep.”

Greg gets up and I watch as he closes the
curtains and then climbs in bed next to me. He pulls me into his
arms and I rest my head on his chest. The rise and fall of his
chest helps lull me to sleep, but not before I castigate myself for
being a horrible friend to Greg.

Slivers of light come through
the
curtains as I’m awoken by the suffocating weight of Greg on half of
my body. Ever so carefully, I pull myself out from under Greg and
look for the T-shirt I was wearing, finding it across the room on
the ground. I slip it over my head and go into the living room,
silently shutting the bedroom door. I make a cup of tea in the
kitchen and grab a throw from the sofa before walking onto the deck
to enjoy the sunrise.

The deck is small and only has enough room
for two chairs and a small table in between. I wrap myself in the
blanket and snuggle into one of the chairs, enjoying the warmth of
the sunshine on my face and my steamy cup of tea. The chimes Greg
bought in Port Townsend sway gently over my head, a soft deep sound
coming from them.

I watch the water and think about the sticky
predicament I have gotten myself into. Being with Greg again feels
so right and I know that it would be so easy to fall back into the
old routine with him. But I have given my notice at work, bought my
plane ticket, sent tuition to the school in Mexico, and given up my
apartment. I’m going to follow through with my plan. This is the
right this to do, it’s just hard.

I finish my tea and get up to make another
cup, opening the sliding door quietly so I don’t wake Greg. I’m
surprised to see him up already, sitting naked on the sofa, his
head in his hands. He looks up with a start when the door makes a
noise, his eyes red and his face surprised. I’m pretty sure he has
been crying.

“What’s the matter?” I rush over to him and
put my arm around him.

“I thought you had left me again. Like last
time.”

“What do you mean like last time? Greg, I’m
not going anywhere.”

I drop the blanket around me and push him
back on the sofa. I sit on his lap, straddling his body. Greg
responds, putting his hands under my shirt and up my back, down to
my ass again. He pulls me against him and I gasp at his arousal,
the hunger in his eyes. He’s no longer the scared insecure boy from
last night, but an animal this morning. He picks me up and we walk
into the bedroom, only to repeat what we started last night.

We are naked in bed
and Greg’s hands
are all over me, gripping me against him tightly, almost lifting me
from the bed as he lies on top. His kisses are deep and hungry,
making my face and my pussy wet. I put one hand in his hair and
pull him deeper into my mouth as I position myself under him and
grab his cock. I want him inside.

He puts a hand on my sex and slides a finger
inside, testing my wetness.

We both moan as he enters me, and now the
lovemaking is less frenzied, more passionate. He stares into my
eyes and the only thing I can think is I love him. I love him. I
love him.

We both need this and I close my eyes,
relishing the feeling of him moving inside me.

“Greg,” I breathe, “Harder. Please
harder.”

Greg moves so he is at more of an angle and
complies with my request. I rest my feet on the back of his knees
and spread my legs. Greg and I groan in unison as he slides deeper
inside. I grab his ass and dig my fingers in the skin of his cheeks
with each thrust.

“I’m close.”

“Just a little longer,” I beg.

And then I come around him – every limb I
have holding him tight to me as he continues thrusting. I squeeze
my eyes shut and enjoy the intense feeling as Greg cries out then
and I feel him coming into me. He falls onto me and we lay panting,
my pussy still contracting around him.