Unexpected

Chapter 16

Brian woke up some hours later with a tremendous urge to pee. The music was still playing and the candles were still burning, although there wasn't much left of them.

He got up and put his boxers on before heading to the bathroom. When he was finished he turned the music off, blew out the candles and climbed back into bed.

They had fallen asleep with no covers but at some point they had been pulled up. Melanie was laying on her side facing away from him, only the lower half of her body covered.

He laid there in the dark, staring up at the ceiling, thinking about what had transpired that evening. It had been a long time since he had had sex like that. He didn't realize until it was over how much had missed it.

He'd done a lot of freaky things in his day, and while this certainly hadn't qualified as freaky, it was exhilarating. He had hated having his hands tied up, not being able to touch her, but the feelings it stirred inside him... He was glad now that she had done it.

He turned on his side and moved next to her, spooning her, putting his arm over her. It felt good. The feel of her flesh against his and just holding her. She stirred slightly and he pulled her closer. He closed his eyes and immediately fell back asleep.

It was daylight when he woke again. He was alone in the bed and the apartment was quiet. Lily was curled up in a ball in the spot Melanie had vacated. He leaned over and scratched her head before getting up.

He wandered out to the living room and found her curled up on the couch reading a book. It must have been a good book because she didn't notice him until he sat down beside her.

She smiled at him.

"Good morning."

He wrapped an arm around her shoulder and kissed her.

"Good morning," he replied. "What time is it?"

"Probably close to 10. I got up around 9:15."

"Do you want to go get some breakfast?" he asked.

"Sure. Won't you be a little overdressed for breakfast?" she asked, remembering what he wearing the night before.

"Oh yeah. I forgot about that. Well, we can go back to my place and I can shower and change. There's a diner not far from my house we can go to."

"Sounds great. I'll go shower."

"I could join you," he said, grabbing her wrist as she stood up.

"We'll never get out of here if you do that. And I'm starving."

She bent down and kissed him then headed to the bathroom. Within 30 minutes they were in his car and headed to his house.

By the time they reached the diner it was nearing 11:30. They were about to be seated at a booth near the window but Brian asked if they could be moved. It was daylight now and he didn't want the hassle of possibly being recognized.

Once seated and they had ordered an awkward silence fell over the table. Brian seemed to be struggling with something internally.

"Everything ok?" Melanie asked.

He let out a sigh. "Yeah, but there's something I want to talk to you about."

"Ok," she said, not sure where this was headed.

"I meant what I said last night."

"I'm not sure what you're referring to."

He leaned closer to her and lowered his voice. "When I said I don't want to be with any other woman. Just you."

She was speechless. Whatever she had thought he was going to say, that wasn't it.

"Ummmm...wow...," she stammered out.

"Is that a good wow or a bad wow?"

"I...wow. That's good. I mean, what are you getting at?"

"I don't want to pressure you. I know you've been hurt. And I certainly don't want to rush you into anything. But last night was incredible. I can't even remember the last time I had a night like that. We've known each other for less than 2 weeks. But right now, I'm not remotely interested in anyone else. Only you."

She honestly didn't know what to say. She thought they were just fooling around, having a good time. But he made it sound like he wanted to date her exclusively. She wasn't sure she was ready for that.

"Look, I'm not trying to complicate things," he said, reaching across the table and taking her hand. "I'm not asking you to jump into a relationship. I'm just letting you know that from this point forward I won't be with any other women. We still barely know each other, but I am so interested in getting to know everything about you. If you want to see other people, that's fine. I'm not asking for a commitment from you."

"I feel the same way about you. I want to know everything there is to know about you. And to be honest, no man has ever done to me what you did last night. I can't even put into words how that felt." He smiled at this, pleased with himself. "While I'm not committing to being in a relationship just yet, I can tell you that I have no interest in being with another man." She squeezed his hand.

After they ate they went back to Brian's house to hang out. They played with the cats, watched a couple of movies, and ordered a pizza. It was a relaxing day for both of them, just enjoying being in each other's company.

Brian drove her home around 9:00. They both had work the next day. When they pulled up to her building he took his seatbelt off and reached for the door handle.

"You don't have to walk me up," Melanie said, putting a hand on his arm. "It's pointless. And the building is secure so I'm not worried."

"Ok. Listen, this has been an amazing 24 hours. I want to see you again soon."

"I'll text you tomorrow and we'll figure something out," she said with a smile.

She leaned over and put a hand in his hair, pulling him to her. The kiss lasted for several minutes before they broke apart.

"Sure you don't want me to walk you up?" he asked.

"If you do that neither of us will get any sleep. And we both have long days tomorrow."

"Yeah, yeah. I know." He leaned over and kissed her again before she said "Good night" and got out of his car. He sat there until she was completely out of sight. He missed her already.