Men and Martinis by Stewart Delancey

Author:Stewart, Delancey [Stewart, Delancey]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Genre Fiction, General Humor, Romance, Humorous, Humor & Satire, Literature & Fiction, Humour, Coming of Age, Contemporary
Amazon: B00W1WKXFC
Goodreads: 199213017
Publisher: Delancey Stewart
Published: 2015-06-01T07:00:00+00:00

PANTS OPTIONAL

NATALIE

Sam and I had drinks after work, and he behaved like a completely normal person, reminding me why I had thought dating him might be a good idea in the first place. I still wasn’t in love with him, but at least he wasn’t acting possessive and scary now. He apologized for his behavior, and I thought the fact that he could acknowledge it meant it wouldn’t happen again.

Candace seemed to have made up with Damon. She’d called to gush about him, which was a good sign, and I assumed that all was well. She seemed as single-mindedly determined about him as she’d ever been, though there was definitely something different about her since that night at Cream. She seemed just a little bit softer—like she’d realized that she was vulnerable.

Damon dropped by my office now and then, planting himself across the desk from me if I was on the phone or typing, waiting for acknowledgement.

“Hey, Damon,” I said during one of these impromptu visits, putting the phone down.

“Pepper,” he drawled. He was smiling at me in his seductive Damon way.

“Was there something you needed?” I couldn’t help but smile. He was wasting my time, but there was something about him that I couldn’t help but like. Even though he was essentially a cad, I felt like I could sometimes see the edges of something much more genuine poking out from underneath his shiny exterior. It seemed like maybe he let down his guard with me just a little bit. Maybe it was all calculation on his part, but letting me see just a hint of vulnerability made me feel like he wasn’t completely unredeemable. Plus, he was dating my friend.

“Not really,” he said. “I just feel like we never talk anymore.”

“I don’t think we ever really did talk, Damon,” I reminded him.

“True. Though I hear about you a lot now, you know.”

“I guess you would. How’s that all going?”

“Good, I think. Candace is taking things pretty seriously.”

“She shouldn’t be?” I asked.

“I just don’t want to give her the wrong idea,” he said.

“Might be a bit late for that,” I told him. “She really likes you.”

“I like her, too. I’ve never dated one girl this long.”

“A record, huh?”

“I’m just not sure I’m ready to be totally exclusive. Or even a little bit exclusive.” Damon looked at me like he wanted my approval.

“I don’t really have a say here, Damon, and given our history, maybe I’m not the right person to talk to about it.”

“Maybe not, Pepper,” he said. “But I don’t have a lot of people to talk to.” He looked sad for a second, and that—combined with standard Damon sex appeal—made me want to slide across my desk and comfort him.

“Well, you can talk to me,” I said, restraining my urges. “But I kind of have to be on Candace’s side. Girl code, remember?”

“Right. Girl code.” He looked skeptical and probably remembered how I’d broken the girl code not so long ago.

He sauntered out of my office, and I was left worrying that he might have just foretold the inevitable end of Candace’s happiness.

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