Kinsley: Friends

You know how I love my bonuses.  I'll be back to school soon and won't have time to write as many, so I better give you guys some while I can!  If you haven't read Sunday's post yet, don't miss it!
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Our pre-dinner sex was exactly what I needed to settle down a little.  Cole was gone from my head, and I even grabbed Damien's hand as we left my house and walked to his truck--which was indeed running.  "At least my truck is still here," Damien teased me as he pulled open the passenger side door for me.

"What's this?" I asked, smirking.  "You knock on my door like a gentleman, fuck me like that, and then open the car door for me like a gentleman?  Trying to make sure I know you're not a dirty old man?"

He laughed and shook his head.  "Careful with that 'old man' crap," he said.  "Don't make me prove my virility again."  He winked and held out a hand to help me up into the truck.

I snorted as I got in and muttered, "Your virility.  Okay, Damien."

He walked around the front of the truck and climbed in on the driver's side.  "Hi," he said, smiling at me.  "I never got the chance to properly greet you."

"Hi," I answered, returning his smile and leaning over the center console to kiss him.  He gently pushed a piece of hair out of the way, then cradled the side of my face in his hand as he kissed me back.  I loved the contrast of the tenderness after the quick, hard sex we'd just had.  I leaned my face against his hand for a second after we separated and sighed.

"How was your day?" he asked, his hand still warm against my face.

I closed my eyes briefly before I settled back into my seat and put my seatbelt on.  "It was fine," I said.  "We're slow at work this week so I spent a lot of time shopping online."

"Oh yeah?" he asked, chuckling.  "What did you buy?"

"Nothing," I replied.  "I was window shopping, I guess."

"Something in particular you were looking for?"

I shrugged.  "I want a new pair of boots but nothing is really doing it for me.  I made my appointment to use my Christmas gift for Saturday, too."

"Good," he said, smiling.

"I'm looking forward to it.  How was your day?"

"Busy," he replied.  "I went in early so I could get out at a reasonable time tonight so we could go out to dinner."

"Well, thank you," I said.  "We could have rescheduled for tomorrow if you were that busy."

"I didn't want to," he told me.  "I wanted to see you tonight."

Our dinner was nice and I relaxed even more.  "I figured while I was spending the day at the salon, I might as well get my hair cut too," I told Damien as we were waiting for our appetizer.

"Yeah?  What are you going to do with it?"

"I think I'm going to cut if off," I answered.  "Collarbone length or so."

Damien reached over and brushed my long hair back over my shoulders and cocked his head.  Then he nodded.  "I think that will look good on you," he said.

"Good," I replied, "Because even if you didn't, I'd still do it."

"I would never expect you to do something with your hair or clothes or makeup based on what I like, so we're on the same page," he said, chuckling.

A devious smirk turned up the corners of mouth.  "I'd wear lingerie that you liked," I said quietly, cocking an eyebrow at him.

"Would you?" he asked, raising an eyebrow to match mine.  "Now that I might take you up on."

"Pick something out and I'll get it and wear it for you," I told him.

He was about to respond when our server brought us the appetizer we'd ordered.  He snapped his mouth shut and just smiled slyly at me instead.  I loved this side of him, and I'd been seeing more of it lately.

We managed to behave ourselves for the rest of dinner, then we moved to the bar area for one last drink before we headed back.  We sat in the corner of the bar, legs touching, talking as we drank.

Once we finished our drinks, we left.  I shivered as we walked out into the cold and Damien slipped his arm around me.  I moved close enough to him that it made it hard to walk, and we both laughed as I shifted away enough so that we could make our way down the sidewalk without tripping each other.

"My lady," Damien said, bowing as he opened the door to his truck for me.

I took his hand and climbed up into the truck.  "You're ridiculous," I told him, laughing.

He kissed my hand and said, "I'm okay with that," before he shut the door.

When we got back to my house, Damien plopped down on the couch and pulled me down next to him.  I curled up against his chest and let him wrap his arms around me.  We cuddled on the couch until we were both almost asleep, then we moved up to bed.

Damien was busy all week and I didn't get to see him again until Friday.  He was exhausted, so we stayed in.  I even pretended to be a good girlfriend and cooked him dinner.

After dinner, we hung out on the couch together with a movie on and Damien's head in my lap.  I absently massaged his head, rubbing my fingertips over his short hair.  About 20 minutes into the movie, I impulsively blurted out, "Do you want to get married?"

"Right now?" he asked, turning his head up to smirk at me.

"Don't be a dick," I tell him, my cheeks getting pink.  "Never mind."

He twisted and sat up, looking at me seriously now.  "I'm sorry.  Tell me what you meant."

I was uncomfortable and I fidgeted under his gaze.  He read my discomfort perfectly and laid back down, settling his head back on my lap.  My fingers automatically went back to his head, soothed by the texture of his hair against them.  It's easier to talk without him looking at me.  "I mean...ever, I guess?  Is marriage a thing that you want, someday?  With someone?  I know that you were engaged..." I trailed off, regretting saying anything at all.

"I would like to get married someday," he answered.  "I'd like to have a family too, maybe."

"A family?" I squeaked.  I cleared my throat.  "Like, kids?"

I saw the corners of his mouth twitch.  "Yes, like kids.  How about you?  Do you want to get married?  Have kids?"

This seemed like such a nonchalant and ridiculous way to have this conversation, but I wasn't ready to have it in any other way yet.  "Yeah," I replied.  "I mean, I think."

"You think?" he probed gently.

"I guess I spent so long convinced that I'd never end up in an actual relationship that I've only just started considering the possibility of both," I admitted.

"And what has you considering these possibilities now?" he asked.  This time his smile was clear.

"Shut up," I said.

"It wouldn't be me, would it?"  He turned and looked up at me.

"I said shut up," I reminded him, fighting my smile.  "But maybe."

He reached up for my hand and twisted his fingers with mine, bringing my hand to his lips.  He kissed my knuckles gently then brought our linked hands to his chest, resting them there.  "Well, if you're thinking about wanting to maybe marry me someday, and you want to talk about it some more, I'd be happy to.  But I'm not in a hurry."

"Okay," I said.  "I'll keep that in mind."  He nodded and turned back towards the movie, and I was relieved.  Both that the conversation was over, and that it had happened.

I barely managed to kick Damien out in time for me to leave for my salon appointment on Saturday.  Somehow, I got there with 2 minutes to spare, which is basically the normal person's equivalent of being about 20 minutes early.

The day was excellent, and though I had briefly second guessed my plan to chop off my hair, by the time I sat in my stylist's chair I was relaxed enough to go for it.  When I sat down, my hair fell to the middle of my back.  When I left, nearly 8 inches was gone.  I shook my head, feeling the ends of my hair brush across the back of my neck.

The first thing I did when I got in my car was take a picture and send it to Damien, Liv, and Lauren, then posted it to Facebook.  Don't pretend you don't you do the same thing.  Then I hurried home to get ready.  Lauren, Liv, and I were having a girls' night out tonight.  It had been a long time since we'd done that, and I was excited.

Of course, I'd promised Damien I'd go for a run with him in the morning, Lauren had to get back to Alex, and Liv lived out of town, so it was safe to say that none of us would be getting wild and crazy tonight.  It didn't matter.  Going out and having a couple drinks and dancing with them was enough for me.

We were on the third bar of the evening (and getting close to tapping out) when someone touched my shoulder.  "What are you drinking?" Cole asked, close to my ear.

"Water," I replied, once I had caught my breath.  "And for fuck's sake, stop sneaking up on me like that!"  I whirled and glared at him.  He was, of course, smirking.  I cocked an eyebrow angrily and he tried to make his grin go away but it wasn't working.

"Sorry," he said.  "It's loud in here, there was no way to get your attention without scaring you."

"You're full of shit," I snapped.  "And seriously?  I don't see you anywhere for months and now I see you twice in one week?"

"Months ago you would have been happy about that," he replied nonchalantly.  He nodded a belated greeting to Lauren and Liv, who were both watching a little suspiciously.

"I have to go to the bathroom," Lauren called.  "Do you want to come?"  I paused, then shook my head.  She raised her eyebrows at me, then shrugged and grabbed Liv, pulling her towards the bathroom.

"I'm a little bummed that you're not happier to see me," Cole said, not sounding bummed at all.  He leaned against the table, effectively trapping me between him and the wall.  "I was hoping we could at least stay friends."

"Cole," I started.  I shook my head and stopped.

"What?" he asked.

"I can't be friends with you," I told him simply.  "It's too hard."

"Why?" He looked genuinely curious.

I sighed and pushed my hair out of my face.  "You know why.  I've never been able to look at you without wanting to get in your pants.  It's not like that's changed.  I'm not interested in doing anything to fuck up my relationship, so I think it's better if we're just...not."

He looked as though he was considering this when Lauren and Liv came back.  "Are you ready to leave?" Liv asked, after a quick glance at Cole.  She looked down at her watch, which I hadn't noticed before and must be new.  It looked expensive.  "It's getting kind of late."

"Yeah," I said quickly.  "I'm ready."  After a quick discussion of where we were parked, we discovered Lauren and Liv were parked fairly close and I was parked in the opposite direction and a solid 5 blocks away.

Cole glanced at me and said, "Let me walk you to your car, at least."

"Fine," I agreed grudgingly.  I wasn't looking forward to the 5 block walk by myself this late on a Saturday, anyway.

"You're okay, then?" Lauren asked me.  "Otherwise you can walk with us and one of us can drop you off at your car."

"I'm okay," I told her.  I hugged them both and we set off in opposite directions.

Cole kept up easily with my brisk pace, and was mercifully quiet as we walked.  When we got to my car, I turned and said, "Well, thanks for walking with me.  I appreciate it."

"You're welcome," he said, and it was one of the most sincere-sounding things that had ever come out of his mouth.  "By the way, I like your hair...even if it's probably harder to get a good handful now."

I rolled my eyes and without thinking said, "I'm sure it's just fine."

"Let's see," he said teasingly, and before I could stop him, he'd grabbed a fistful of hair at the back of my head.  Operating purely on reflex, I sighed and let my eyes flutter closed, losing myself for just a second.

And then Cole kissed me.