Our Love

Quinn

I was floating on Cloud 9 when I entered the house. Carrie was out, and for the time being, I had the place to myself. I was kind of glad for it; I didn't want her to see the ridiculous smile I couldn't wipe from my face. I knew she would lovingly tease me and demand all the details. The date with Grant had been more than I could've imagined. I knew he was kind and thoughtful but seeing it in a different light tonight fueled my attraction to him.

After we left the lake, we rode along in relative silence, just holding hands and enjoying the company. A part of me wanted to ask Grant to come in when we arrived back at the house, and another part of me wanted to invite myself over to his place. The way our lips felt together, the way he kissed me, it was like nothing I'd ever felt before. I calmed my inner horndog, though, and let the evening play out and Grant be the gentleman he was showing me. I knew he was desperate not to live up to the player persona he exhibited.

We sat in the driveway for a bit, both gushing about what an awesome time we had together, which led to more kissing and a short make-out session, if you will. I felt giddy from it all, and when Grant told me good night, it took all my strength to go. He waited until I was safely inside before leaving. I hurried up to my room and fell back on my bed like a teenager. I laughed at myself before gathering my things and heading to the shower.

Once I was cozy in my pj's, I pulled out my phone. Carrie had texted a few times, just keeping me up on her whereabouts. Grant had texted as I requested, letting me know that he had made it home safely. I quickly responded and thanked him again for such a lovely evening and how I couldn't wait to do it again very soon. I laid back with a sigh and remembered I'd be going on another date, except this time with Wade, and I worried if it would measure up. How could I have such chemistry and connection with two men at the same time? I fell asleep with the thoughts swirling in my head, tossing and turning all night.

I woke up with a start, feeling like someone was staring at me, and sure enough, someone was. Carrie and her creepy ways! She sat on the edge of the bed, holding her mug of coffee, watching me.

"What the fuck?" I groaned. "You're such a creepo."

"You're lazy! I've been waiting all morning to hear about this date, and all you've done is sleep." I couldn't help but laugh at her antics.

"What time is it?" I reached around for my phone.

"Noon. You must have had a late-night rendezvous with our Grant, eh?" She waggled her eyebrows, holding out the mug toward me. "I at least brought you coffee."

"Thank you." I sat up, taking the warm mug into my hands. I sipped it as I adjusted to being awake. "We didn't have a late-night rendezvous, by the way. I was home and in bed at a reasonable hour. Unlike you, though, what time did you stroll in, hmm?"

"About an hour ago, actually. I slept over at Natalia's if you and Grant were up to the dirty, dirty here." I shook my head with a smile. This woman was something else. "Well, was it a nice date?" She scooted back on my bed, leaning against the wall. The poor woman had waited this long to hear the details. I figured I had better put her out of her misery.

I went over the basics of the date, saving details for only Grant and me. I did gush about how amazing of a kisser he is and how giddy it made me feel. I also divulged how badly I had to fight the urge to offer for him to come in. Of course, she enjoyed that little tidbit.

"How long has it been?"

"Since I had sex?"

"Yeah."

"Embarrassingly long." I held my head down, trying not to feel shame. The last person I had been intimate with was Rex when we were married. Everything that had happened with him had me in such a negative head space that the last thing on my mind was dating or hookups. It also didn't help not being able to stay in the same place for very long and the fact that I found it difficult to trust. When I explained all of this to her, she was nothing but supportive and loving.

"It just means it's going to be amazing when you finally decide to do it. In the meantime, I will order you an assortment of toys."

"I am a bit nervous about it, it's been so long, and he was the only one. Ugh. Asshole just had to taint every aspect of my life." I whined, setting the mug down.

"Stop. You'll be amazing. Whether it's with Grant, Wade, or any other guy you decide to go on a date with, it'll be fine. You go at your pace and when you're ready and want it. You're a badass, taking charge and getting these dates set up. You know you're in charge of everything else as well. Those guys, they're both so smitten it's crazy, and they'll do anything to make you happy. Wade said as much when I saw him last night." I perked up when I heard the last part.

"You saw Wade? Was it weird? I mean, was he upset I was out with Grant?" I picked at the chipped polish on my fingernails, needing a manicure badly.

"Nope. He said that he hoped you were having a great time and that you deserved nothing but happiness. Exactly what I said, they both want you to be happy. If for some reason, it's not with either of them, I know they'll fully support you in that too." I could feel the tears pooling in my eyes, wondering how I got so lucky to have found these people. My people now.

"I have no idea what I did to deserve all of this, but I'm beyond thankful. For your friendship, for their friendship, the job, all of it." She pulled me into her arms, holding me tight.

"The universe knew you needed us and that we needed you, simple as that." Carrie kissed my cheek, then patted my back before she got up. "Now, no more tears! Let's go do some pampering before your next hot date, yea?"

"Ok. Yeah. Sounds nice."