Chapter 36

ARTHUR

Perhaps there was nothing as beautiful as seeing Doris make her 'O' face. Head thrown back in the throes of ecstasy in orgasm.

For a moment, I stayed inside her, even though my body was softening, and my mind too.

I looked at Doris underneath me, and everything was right in my world.

I disposed of the condom, took off my suit jacket and unbuttoned my shirt, and got back into bed with her.

I gathered Doris closer to me so her head was lying on my chest. I put my arm around her and rested my chin near the top of her head.

"Little Dove," I said to her, "give me 20 minutes to recover, and maybe I will be ready for round two."

"I guess I would be up for that," Doris said.

She laughed a happy, little feminine giggle. Then she caressed my abs, and it made me glad that I worked out daily in my gym and could provide her with a hard body like she probably dreamed of.

"I still wanted to talk about our relationship," Doris said. "The more we have sex, the more confused I get." She gave me a look that I could only describe as apologetic.

"I hear you, baby," I said. "Just give us a few minutes to snuggle and enjoy the post-coital glow, and we can have that conversation."

I caressed her hair as I continued. "I don’t know where we stand any more than you do, and I’m not sure we need to have all the answers today, but it’s a conversation we both should have, and I’m certainly willing to."

We lay in comfortable silence. I stroked Doris' back, and her hand rested on my pectoral, close to my heart.

I was partially dozing off when my phone rang.

It was Nathan, calling from the special number I had a distinct ring for red-level urgent emergency calls.

"Ugh," I said. I had to roll over Doris to get to my phone, which I had left on the nightstand.

"What?" I said more sharply than was necessary.

"Sorry to bother you, boss. But there’s a problem with a Japan deal. A big one, and they want a video call right now. You’ve got to come to the office to look at these contracts and come up with a plan."

I pinched the bridge of my nose, trying to stave off my frustration.

"As you know," Nathan said. "This deal was supposed to be already rolling, and we’ve got millions of dollars and hundreds of jobs on the line. And they’re insistent that you have that meeting right now."

"Not the best timing, Nate," I grit it out between my teeth. My low, mumbling growl sounded quite scary.

"Again, you know I wouldn’t call you unless it was urgent."

I sighed. "Yeah, I get it. I don’t have to like it. I’ll be in as soon as I can. Just give me a few minutes in the meantime."

I looked at Doris. She'd obviously heard my part of the conversation and maybe part of Nathan's as well. In case she hadn't heard his part, I told her what Nathan said.

Her eyes were wide. Her mouth was turned down in a slight frown. Her expression was the epitome of letdown and disappointment.

I caressed her face and let her see in my expression how much I did not want to go.

"I’m sorry, baby. I’m really sorry. I know the timing couldn’t be worse. And trust me, if I could have anybody else to do this for me, I would. The last thing I want to do is leave your bed."

"I can’t believe you have to go to a meeting now, Dora said. The upset in her voice, and the catch in her throat, almost broke my heart.

"It’s 8 PM? Who has a meeting so late at night? Is it really something that can’t wait until tomorrow?"

"It’s 8 PM here on the East Coast, but it’s already tomorrow in Japan. And yes, I wish it could wait, but I can’t. Can we have a rain check?"

"I guess we'll have to."

"It’s all right, sweetheart. I promise that I’ll see you soon. I can’t renege or neglect deals that I already have in process, but when Mia I was sick this last time, I promised I'd put my relationships first."

I paused and looked Doris right in the eyes, so she got I meant her too.

"I don’t have anything else to prove anymore. I don’t need more money. My mother no longer has a hold over me like she did long ago."

"Next time we get together, we will have a real date, and the conversation you want. Does that sound good?"

"I guess so. I mean, after all, you still owe me a round two," Doris said.

DORIS

I can’t say that I wasn’t upset and disappointed that Arthur had to leave so quickly. I went from feeling like I was on "Cloud 9" to feeling let down and completely disappointed within the blink of an eye.

"Come on, Doris," I said to myself. I took a deep, cleansing breath.

"Get yourself together. It’s not the end of the world."

I got up and went to the bathroom. I splashed some cold water on my face.

The large mirror showed a woman who was clearly sated and well fucked with a messy "rat's" nest of hair.

It was absolutely the "thrashed my head against the pillow" because I'd had amazing sexy and nothing else over and over because nothing else mattered look.

I smiled at my reflection. My skin seemed to glow and my hair, despite its disheveled state, was shiny.

I looked healthy, not like somebody who was under stress and tension, and was juggling multiple jobs, and didn’t know about the state of her relationship.

I didn’t look like somebody who was worried about her foster father, or her biological father, or a piece of land that should have been sold to a happy client, but the US government was still adamant they wanted to make into a cemetery.

I just looked like a woman who was happy. And it made me realize how unhappy I was with Bob. I put all of his needs first. I let him run over me like I was a doormat.

Nina was right. This was a new Doris.

I was changing and getting better every day because I was getting more confident, but also because I was willing to expand my mindset and look at every problem as an opportunity rather than just an obstacle.

I put my hand on my hip and struck a jaunty pose.

“You should be proud of yourself, girl. You’ve come a long way, and whether Arthur decides he wants a short-term relationship, a long-term relationship of friends with benefits relationship, or a let’s just be friends relationship, whatever category we end up falling into, you can handle it.”

And I realized it was true. I didn’t need a man; I wanted Arthur. I wanted a relationship, but I didn’t need it.

Taking a good hard look at myself in the mirror, I realized that I didn’t want Arthur for a day or a week. I wanted him for longer, and I didn’t just want Arthur. I wanted Mia too. I wanted us to be a family.

I was just concerned I’d be too timid to ask for it.

I got dressed in my favorite comfortable nightgown and queued up my latest binge-worthy series on Netflix. And I promised myself I wouldn’t concentrate on any of my worries.

Over the next few days, despite the fact that I really wanted to spend more time with Arthur, he was obviously too busy.

Nathan popped off a quick email to me telling me that Arthur had to go to Japan. I understood and I knew the time difference would make it difficult for us to talk, but I couldn’t help but wonder if Arthur was avoiding me a little bit.

Was it a pattern? That we got closer together, and every time we got a little more intimate, he would run away and need a few more days of avoiding me?

I didn’t want to think that that was the case, but I had to face that it was a possibility.

I gave myself a little pep talk, and made a playlist that included “Since U Been Gone” by Kelly Clarkson, “So What” by P!nk, “Me Too” by Meghan Trainor, and “I’m A Survivor” by Destiny’s Child. I played it over and over, singing loud to the choruses.

I told myself that if I expected good things to happen, they would happen.