"Dining in or carry-out?" The hostess asked Quen and I when we walked into IHOP.
"Dine in." Quen tells her.
She grabs two menus and waves for us to follow her. We do so and she lays the menus on a table top. Quen pulls out my chair for me and I thank him as I sit down. He sits down across from me.
"Your waitress will be with you shortly."
"So, how long have you been working with...that guy?" Quen asks once the hostess walks away.
I blow out a breath and decide to tell him everything.
"I started in the file room when I was eighteen to have some extra money while in college. I met Michael two years later and we started sleeping together shortly after. I really liked him but he told me we had to keep our relationship quiet due to the 'no fraternizing' policy.
He met his wife a year after we started having sex and he made it known they were together while sneaking around with me. I have to take some responsibility because I kept allowing him to sleep with me knowing he was with another woman.
I even went to their wedding. I know that sounds strange but I did. Michael and I continued to have sex even after the wedding. He spent his wedding night with me."
Quen listened quietly but he stopped me after hearing that. "So why did he seem so upset with you earlier? You two looked more like you hated each other rather than being lovers."
I continued my story as if he hadn't interrupted me because he needed to hear the rest to understand the earlier scene between Michael and I.
"I told myself that I was sick of sharing Michael and I really wanted him all for myself but deep down I knew he wouldn't leave his wife. The day before yesterday he took me to lunch and told me that his wife was pregnant. He said the fact that he was going to become a father made him want to stop our trysts.
At first I was devastated, I will admit that. But then I met you and I felt like maybe Michael wasn't the man for me and maybe he was actually blocking that man from coming in my life. Needless to say, Michael is jealous that I have decided to move on."
Quen lets out a hearty laugh. "He's got some nerve. He'll just have to get over it. A woman like you should never be kept on the side. You deserve so much more and if you let me, I'll be more than happy to show and give you what you deserve."
I smile so brightly at him and reach out to grab his shirt. I pull him to me and place a kiss on his lips. I only pull back when our waitress clears her throat. We both blush and look up at the woman. She asks us for our drink order.
I order orange juice while Quen asks for coffee. When the waitress walks away we look over the menu.
"So, will you let me?" Quen asks me, making me look up from my menu at him.
I smile. "I think that kiss was the answer to your question."
He smiles back at me and we order our food when our waitress brings our drinks. We enjoy a delicious meal and conversation over the next two hours.
Quen pays the bill and we leave the establishment hand-in-hand. I feel like I'm on cloud nine as he helps me into his truck. He gets behind the wheel and drives me home.
"Are you coming inside?" I ask him when he pulls into my driveway.
"Sure, but not for too long I've got to do some grocery shopping, my bike needs a tune up and I promised my mom I would install her new hot tub." he tells me while killing the engine.
I grab his hand to stop him and he stares at me confused. "Why don't I go grocery shopping with you? That can kill two birds with one stone."
He chuckles. "You want to go grocery shopping with me?"
