All's Fair in Lust & War by Amber Page Page B

“Besides, we’ve got work tomorrow. I’d rather not be seen wearing the same clothes two days in a row.”
    “Nobody will notice,” he said, his voice softly cajoling.
    “No? Not any of the fifty bazillion people I have meetings with tomorrow? I think they will.”
    “Well, you could always stop at home in the morning. Before going to work.”
    “I’ve got an eight a.m. meeting. No time.” It was just supposed to be a quick gab with Jessie at the diner. But she’d put it on her calendar, so it counted.
    Mark looked at her for a long moment. She wasn’t sure what he saw, but finally he sighed and looked away.
    “Fine. I’ll call you a cab.”
    “I can walk.”
    “No. You can’t. Not at this hour.”
    “Really. I can!”
    “Just let me do it, okay? I’ll worry about you otherwise.”
    She shut her mouth with a snap, unsure of what to say. No one had worried about her in a long time. It felt good to know that he cared.
    But he wasn’t supposed to care. And neither was she. Caring led to relationships, which led to heartbreak—and she was sure as hell never going through that again.
    “Okay,” she mumbled. “Call me a cab. I’ll go get dressed.”
    * * *
    Becky poured milk into her coffee and watched the cheerful chaos that was morning in the diner, waiting for Jessie to digest what she’d told her.
    “So you went to his place? Big deal,” Jessie said, leaning back against the red vinyl booth.
    “I thought you said that was out of bounds in office affairs?” she answered.
    Jessie shrugged. “I just said that to make you feel better. Think about it: most people have to have sex in their homes. We don’t all have a private office to escape to when we decide we’re in the mood for a booty call.”
    “We’ve only actually done it in our office once...”
    Jessie covered her ears. “ Eww. That’s enough. I don’t want to know where else you guys have been. I have to work there, too, you know.”
    “All right, all right, I won’t tell you. It’s just that, well, it feels safe at work. Once we venture beyond the building it all starts to feel too relationshippy,” Becky said.
    Just then Rachel, their favorite waitress, arrived and slammed down their pancakes. “Here you go, ladies! Two pancake short stacks, just like usual. Enjoy!”
    “Thank you, Rachel,” Becky said.
    “No problem,” the matronly woman said. “Eat up. You’re getting too skinny!”
    Both women were silent as they buttered the stacks and dived in. After the first bite, Jessie pointed at Becky with her fork.
    “You know what your problem is?”
    “What?”
    “You’re overthinking it. This thing with Mark is just like the stack of pancakes in front of you. They’re gorgeous to behold, delicious to experience, but when you’ve had enough you won’t be sad, will you?”
    Becky shook her head.
    “Exactly. You’ll enjoy your post-pancake carb coma and forget about them. Until the next time you get a craving.”
    With that she took another giant bite and grinned. “These are really yummy.”
    Becky laughed. She had a point.
    “I don’t think he’d like being compared to pancakes.”
    Jessie raised an eyebrow. “You don’t think he’d like you to eat him up?”
    “I don’t know. Maybe I’ll ask him.”
    “Good girl. But mind if I give you a tip?”
    “What?”
    “Don’t use maple syrup in bed. Too sticky.”
    Becky blushed. “I’ll try to remember that.”
    And just like that everything was right in her world again. She wasn’t having a relationship. She was just enjoying a good breakfast after a long fast.
    That she could deal with.
    * * *
    Mark hovered at the door to their office, afraid to go in. After Becky had left his apartment he’d tossed and turned all night.
    It had been a great evening. He’d enjoyed every second of it. The sex, the food, the brainstorming...he’d never experienced anything like it. He certainly hadn’t wanted it to end.
    But when he’d realized how much it mattered to