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The Right Answer
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2024-10-29 19:42:56Related chapters
Asking for a Friend No Regrets
MARISSA“Have a good weekend, Sean.” I waved at the burly security guard at the front entrance. A friendly giant with dark red hair, he had eyes the color of spring grass. I wouldn’t have wanted to cross him by trying to get into a building he guarded for any nefarious purposes, but he was nice enough to me.I was finally starting up something of a friendship with a couple of people who worked in the same office building I did. Sean was one of those people. It made me feel just a little bit more like I belonged, like I could fit in. Lifting his hand in a wave, Sean flashed me a friendly smile that I was getting used to ending my days with. “See you on Monday, Marissa. Enjoy it.”Returning his smile, I tightened my scarf around my neck and stepped through the revolving doors onto the icy sidewalk outside. Gusts of wind swirled around me, picking up my hair and winding it around my face.I jammed a pink tassel hat down on my head and stuck my hands into the pockets of my cerise pink c
Asking for a Friend We Didn't Sleep
MARISSAAnnie and Denise were in the kitchen nibbling on a tray of freshly baked cookies that sat between them. It smelled divine in the house, like chocolate, butter and home.“My kingdom for a cookie!” I proclaimed dramatically, hanging my scarf and coat over one of the kitchen stools.Annie laughed, holding out her arms for a hug. I swept her up, spinning her around as I kissed the top of her head. Denise shook her head at us, but giggled as she held up one of their creations. “You don’t need to give us your kingdom for one, but I do want to hear all about your day later on.”As always, my bravado hadn’t fooled Denise. She saw right through my ‘buck up and believe it will be alright’ facade. Setting Annie back down, I swiped the cookie and nodded to Denise. “Fine, but later.”Casting a sidelong glance at Annie, she inclined her head and picked up the tray, wagging her finger at us. “Right then, no more cookies for either of you. You’ll spoil your dinner.”“Yes Mom,” I teased, thank
Asking for a Friend Is This a Date?
LAYTONGetting dressed for dinner with Marissa was more nerve racking than it should have been. I stood in front of my closet, staring at rows of neatly hung suits. They were ordered by how recently I’d worn them, and by color, though they were only gray and black.I liked rotating them, making sure none got more wear than any other. Once they started looking worn, I replaced them. I couldn’t stand the thought of a frayed or discolored collar.The rotation also made it simpler for me to get dressed every morning. I never had to decide on what to wear, the next option was already ready for me. Right there, hanging on the opposite side from where the freshly laundered ones were.Suits hung on one side of my walk-in closet, shirts on the other. There was a little more choice for color on the shirt rail, but not by much.All of these things meant dressing for dinner should have been a no brainer, but it wasn’t. Shrugging out of a white button up shirt, I hung it back up and opted for a bl
Asking for a Friend Captivated
LAYTONI wondered if she would even have noticed my absence. Strangely it felt kind of good that she had. “I had to visit a couple of our sites. I like keeping my finger on the pulse, and seeing the designs come to life.”I didn’t know why I’d added that last sentence. It was out before I could even think much about it, much less stop it. Somehow, I’d felt compelled to add it. It was true, even if the site visits yesterday had largely been more about avoiding any post-sex awkwardness between us.The waiter delivered our drinks, filled our water glasses and took our food order. Marissa leaned forward, tilting her head slightly as she visibly relaxed. “I heard you liked visiting the sites, now I know why. I get it, though. The appeal of seeing what you dreamed up becoming a real part of the skyline must be incredible.”“It is.” I hadn’t expected her to get it so completely, so accurately. Knowing now that she was designer as well, albeit of a different kind, it made sense. I guess I had
Asking for a Friend Not Too Much
MARISSADinner with Layton had surprised me so far. When I got dressed earlier, I was stuck between thinking I might be fired or that he was only in it to get to round two in bed. Or against the wall, in our case.I wasn’t getting that vibe from him at all this evening, though. He seemed to be genuinely interested in just talking to me. Throughout dinner, we’d talked about everything and nothing. There hadn’t been a quiet minute.We kept circling back to design and regrets about my life choices in choosing my current job over designing, but in between we’d discussed everything from the weather to our bucket list of countries to visit.The reason I was surprised was because I hadn’t thought I’d been as attracted to him as a person as I was to his, well, person. He was easy to talk to, a great and interested listener and all round actually more fun to be with than I had expected.For all my suspicions about ulterior motives for his invitation to dinner, he’d been nothing but the perfect
Asking for a Friend Holding You To It
MARISSAWell—I wouldn’t have known what to say to that even if he had hung around to hear my answer. I felt the tops of my cheeks and ears heating.Two conflicting trains of thoughts sped through my brain. Layton Bridges had just told me that he liked me. Okay, he liked that I’d eaten—which, on a side note, seemed like a strange thing to say to someone you’d invited to have dinner. Wasn’t dinner typically a meal where people ate?The point, however, was that he’d said he liked something about me. Which made me strangely happy, if for no other reason than making me feel slightly more secure in my job—after Sexgate the other night and all.The second train barreling through my brain was one carrying a fresh cargo of steaming humiliation. Had I eaten so much that he’d actually noticed? I did a mental check. I was full, but not stuffed. My plate had been cleared, but it wasn’t like I’d gorged myself on a dozen rolls or ordered seconds or something.No. I shut that second train down immedi
Asking for a Friend We're Going
LAYTON“Open up, man. I got news!” Craig hollered from my door, his voice partially drowned out by the pounding he was giving the poor, innocent wooden door that protected me from the world. “Layton, I know you’re in there! Open up.”Of course he knew I was in here. My condo came with two parking spaces and as the only person I trusted with my spare key, Craig’s vehicle details were on the books for the second spot. Right next to mine.Giving Craig my spare set of keys was my only concession in terms of privacy. High up on the twentieth floor, my penthouse apartment had floor to ceiling windows that were mirrored on the outside and a doorman who only let people up who were on your list.My list contained only three names. My dad’s attorney, my assistant’s and Craig’s. Craig was the only person with unfettered access to the place, since he had my key, but he never barged in.He showed up unannounced, as he was doing right that very minute, but at least he didn’t let himself in. I had a
Asking for a Friend A Good Idea
LAYTONCraig reminded me of his presence by clearing his throat loudly. “Earth to Layton. I know you know floor seats don’t mean sitting on the actual floor. Besides, you can either come with me, or I’m giving your number and your spare key to ‘Stalker Sarah.’ Really, you have no choice.”He grinned like the cat who got all the cream, knowing he had me in a corner. Stalker Sarah was harmless, but fucking annoying. I’d gone out on one date with the woman and it had taken me six months to shake her.Eventually, I’d even changed my personal cell number just so I wouldn’t have to deal with her incessant calls. I tried blocking her number first, but the woman either had access to or owned at least ten numbers. It was exhausting.“You wouldn’t do that,” I said to Craig, who shrugged.“You don’t know how badly I want to go to this game,” he replied, pulling out his phone and scrolling. “Let’s see, I think I have her number here somewhere.”I doubted he would really do it, but I threw my palm
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Asking for a Friend Epilogue Part 2
LAYTONIt was still early, the sun wasn’t even fully risen yet. Annie and I had both snuck out of bed early this morning to make this breakfast. Marissa was fast asleep, lying on her side on the bed.Annie set down the tray and the glass and shook Marissa’s shoulders. “Mommy! Wake up Mommy! We have a surprise for you.”Marissa’s eyes blinked open slowly, confusion clouding them until she rubbed it away as she sat up and took in the scene in front of her. “What’s all this?”“We’re celebrating,” I told her. “I spoke to Craig earlier. They’re on their way to the site for the final clean up. The building’s finally done.”Her lips curled into a sleepy smile. “I can’t believe that it’s over. It’s really all done?”“It’s really all done,” I confirmed, picking up the tray and placing her plate on it on her lap. “Eat up, we’ve got a lot of celebrating ahead of us today.”“Shouldn’t I be the one feeding you breakfast in bed for this?” She asked, frowning slightly. Lifting up the duvet, she patt
Asking for a Friend Epilogue Part 1
LAYTONIn the past two months since Annie’s first ballet recital, there had been three more. Which were four more recitals than I ever thought I would attend. Or actually enjoy.But I did enjoy them. I enjoyed them so much I was even starting to consider myself something of an expert in ballet. I knew was arabesque meant, what pas de deux was, and that attitude referred to a position in classical ballet, and not a little girl shaking her finger in your face.I watched Annie practicing every night, since I had now officially moved in with them. So officially that there was a tenant renting my place and everything. Marissa didn’t know it yet, but I had been looking at houses for us online for the last couple of weeks.Most of my furniture was now in storage since our house wasn’t big enough for all my furniture and all of Marissa’s. I didn’t love the thought of my stuff gathering dust in a storage unit and I wanted us to have a place that was truly ours, not mine or hers.I had to wait
Asking for a Friend Tiny Dancer
MARISSALayton also threw himself deeper into his commitment to our family. He started driving Annie to school sometimes or offering to pick her up. He took her fishing a few more times and taught her how to play catch.Our lives together was everything I was ever too afraid to hope for. Watching him watch her recital now, tears burned the backs of my eyes.His eyes still hadn’t left the stage for so much as second and I could see the pride he was feeling, I felt it too. He was so much better of a father to Annie than Brice ever could have been. And he stepped into that role gracefully and seriously.I wondered if he would bolt when he eventually realized she was starting to look at him as her dad, but he’d done the complete opposite. On the contrary, he freaking loved being her ‘dad.’The final notes of the recital ended, the girls all dipping into low bows as the hall exploded in applause. Parents leaped to their feet and Layton and I joined them.“She was fantastic,” he yelled into
Asking for a Friend Sixth Months of Heaven
MARISSALayton’s eyes were glued to Annie on stage. Watching him now, it was hard to remember a time when I doubted his love or his commitment to her. Or to me, for that matter.The past six months had been perfect. A fairy tale I never believed was in the cards for me. But somewhere, somehow, someone sent Layton to me and let me keep him.After I finally told him I loved him, there was no turning back. And neither of us wanted to. We came clean to Annie about our relationship that same week and she was thrilled.She hugged both of us and refused to let us go. That next week Layton stayed over for the first time that Annie knew of. She was so excited when she saw him arriving with an overnight bag that she zoomed and bounced around all night before finally crashing hard. When she fell asleep, it was on the couch between us.Layton had insisted on being the one to carry her to her bedroom and when he came back to the living room, he had this expression of absolute serenity on his face.
Asking for a Friend Living the Dream
LAYTON“I was just thinking about something that happened with Annie a few weeks ago,” I told him, shaking the memories out of my head. As the site came back into focus, I noticed how much progress there had been in the week since I was last here. “It’s looking good, Craig. You guys are really outdoing yourself on this one.”“We’re doing our best,” he said, shrugging. “I encouraged you to do this by yourself without that other asshole involved. Least I can do is to have your back now that you’re actually doing it.”“Thanks, man. I appreciate it.” I still couldn’t believe some days that this building really was all mine. I tried not to think about it too much, since there was still a lot that could go wrong. I didn’t want to tempt fate by thinking about how well it was going. “Has the flooring been delivered yet?”“Right on time,” Craig said. “They delivered on Friday morning as promised.”I breathed out a sigh of relief. The people who manufactured the flooring called two weeks ago to
Asking for a Friend We're a Family
LAYTONSix months after Marissa first told me she loved me, I walked onto the construction site where the museum was just about done. The scaffolding was coming off today and the team was moving inside. We had two months left to go, tops.The past six months had been the best months of my life. By a long shot. The museum was progressing without any major hold-ups, which was more of a relief than I cared to admit out loud.Marissa, Annie and I were doing better than ever. In the last few weeks, we’d started talking about moving in together, and I was sure it was going to happen soon.I knew it was going to be an adjustment to live together, especially for Annie and me, but it was what I wanted more than anything. I wanted to wake up next to Marissa every morning, to have breakfast with her and Annie before we headed to work.I wanted to be there to tuck Annie in at night and to spend lazy weekends with them. Only a year ago, if anyone had told me I would ever want that kind of life, I
Asking for a Friend Tasting Him
MARISSAStars exploded behind my eyelids. The intensity of the orgasm building inside me was astonishing. My body was going to be blown to dust when it hit, but I couldn’t freaking wait for that glorious release. I gripped the sheets harder, trying to anchor myself against the powerful sensations ripping through me.My hands flew to his hair next, tugging it as I held him to me. Knowing my body better than I did, he knew exactly what I needed. Bringing his lips to my clit, he sucked the little bud in between them and flicked it with his mouth.That perfect pressure sent my body skyrocketing. I stifled a cry, relieved somewhere in the back of my mind I had the pillow handy and crushed it over my face. Sensation crashed into me as I came, overwhelming me with a pleasure I would never get used to.Floating in a bubble of ecstatic bliss, my body went limp. When I opened my eyes, Layton was there wearing a satisfied smile.But it was too tight, too strained. His muscles were tense and his
Asking for a Friend Raw
MARISSALayton’s lips on mine were the best thing that I’d ever felt and I never wanted him to stop. I writhed against him, feeling him hard as steel against my center as he continued to kiss the crap out of me. He dipped his head lower and licked a path to my breasts, his hands on the hem of my shirt.There was something we had to do, somewhere we had to go. But I’d lost track of my train of thought. Warm hands came up to cup my breasts over my pajama top, his thumbs dragging over my puckered nipples. A shiver ran through me. I was so damn wet. I wanted him so bad.“Cold?” Layton asked huskily.I shook my head, closing my eyes for a second as I tried to find words. And figure out that gnawing feeling that we had to move. “No, just—”Layton gave me a sexy, knowing smile. “Me too. Let’s take this to your bedroom, shall we? We definitely shouldn’t let Annie find us like this.”Fuck.Annie.Of course, that was why we had to move. I nodded at Layton. “Let’s go.”His hands dropped to cup
Asking for a Friend Prove It To Her
LAYTONHolding the NDA out to her, she took it and her eyes dropped immediately to the signature line. Which was blank. “I didn’t sign it. I told him to tell Banks where he could shove his insane requests.”Marissa blinked, a huge smile spreading on her face. “Annie’s sleeping, but would you like to come inside?”I nodded, pulling her into my arms as the door closed behind me. Marissa lifted herself up on her toes and kissed me, her fingers winding into the hair around the nape of my neck. When we broke apart, she kept her hands where they were and spoke with her lips inches away from mine. “I love you, Layton. I love you so much.”My heart hammered louder and harder than it ever had before. It was trying to beat its way out of my chest to climb into hers. That was what it felt like, anyway. It already belonged to her, it might as well have done it.I blinked at her, taken aback by hearing the words I wasn’t sure I would ever hear from her. “Could you repeat that?”She smiled. “As man
