Total pages in book: 44
Estimated words: 41687 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 208(@200wpm)___ 167(@250wpm)___ 139(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 41687 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 208(@200wpm)___ 167(@250wpm)___ 139(@300wpm)
His family was pretty perfect too. Unlike me, Jake came from a large, welcoming family. They were a bunch of high achievers, but they were never too busy to celebrate a birthday or get together for a family dinner. His father owned a large law firm but still went out of his way to spend time with his wife, kids, and granddaughters. Jake was in charge of the firm’s pro bono cases, which meant he was encouraged to have the same work-life balance his father had. Jake’s brother, Austin, was a money manager, and his sister was a high school calculus teacher. We’d spent tons of time around the dinner table swapping teaching stories.
As Jason, Sam, and Griffin had predicted, the man was a breath of fresh air in my life. Kind, generous, successful, and loving.
Which was why I was shocked when Jason came to town so the two of them could stage an intervention almost a year into my relationship.
“What’s happening right now?” I asked, as the three of them shuffled me into the private room of one of our favorite Indian restaurants. “Did I forget a birthday or something?”
“My family calls it a love posse,” Griff explained. “It comes from a good place, I promise.”
I blinked at him. “I’ve heard about Marian love-whatevers and I don’t need one. I’m finally in a relationship with a good man and everything’s fine.”
Sam glanced at Griff. “I’m a love posse convert. It’s how Griff realized he was in love with me,” he said fondly.
Suddenly, I felt put on the spot. “Oh, that’s not… I mean… Jake and I aren’t…”
Jason gave the server our drink orders and sent her on her way before turning to me. “I thought you said he said the L-word a while ago.”
“He did. But I…” I blew out a breath. “I’m taking it slow. Being careful.”
I felt Griff’s eyes on me, but thankfully, he kept his mouth shut.
Sam didn’t hold back. “What do you like best about him?”
I glanced around at the three of them but waited until after our drinks had been delivered and we’d ordered our food. “Is this an interrogation?”
“Answer the question,” Jason said gently. “Here’s your chance to brag about your boo.”
He was right. And there were a lot of great things about Jake to like. “He remembers all the little anniversaries, like when we first met and when we first went out on a proper date. When I first met his family. When I first stayed over.” I didn’t mention he also remembered the first time I bottomed for him and celebrated it by offering to bottom for me so we could have a “new” anniversary to celebrate.
I’d politely declined.
Sam said, “That’s… a lot of firsts.”
Griff crinkled his forehead. “I thought your first date was on Valentine’s? That’s next week.”
“It was. So he’s mentioned it on the fourteenth of every month.” I tried not crinkling my nose when I admitted this, but it was hard.
“That’s fucked up,” Jason muttered.
“No, it’s sweet,” I said in Jake’s defense.
Griff nodded. “I like that he’s attentive.”
“Yes!” I said. “Attentive. That’s exactly what he is. He’s very attentive. The man would do anything for me.”
Sam hesitated. “Would he, though? Because I’ve gotta be honest… I’m starting to wonder if Jake is the perfect boyfriend a little more than he’s the perfect boyfriend for you.”
“Don’t be ridiculous. What does that even mean?” I slurped a large swallow of wine and let it warm its way down my throat. Whatever this dinner was, it sounded like downing a glass of wine quickly was a good precaution. Lately, my patience had been thinner than normal.
Jason leaned forward. “It means that whenever we’re together with him, he always talks about his work and his family. And when he does mention your career, it’s in this head-pat way.”
Sam nodded. “Like, ‘Robbie told me the cutest story from school the other day,’ or, ‘You should see Robbie with his students. He’s adorable when he’s in front of his class!’”
Griff shrugged. “At the Christmas cocktail thing he hosted, I overheard his mom telling someone you’d probably stay home with the kids when you had them. That’s nice, I guess. He obviously thinks you’d make a great dad. And you totally would.”
“Jake doesn’t expect me to be his stay-at-home baby daddy,” I said with a laugh. “He supports my career.”
Jason exhaled. “I’m sure he does, babe. But it’s true that he paints this picture of your future together, and it sounds more like what he envisions than what you do. You always dreamed of moving to a smaller town, of living near the beach. He talks about staying in the city to take over his dad’s law firm.”
“Relationships require compromise,” I reminded him.
Griff nodded. “True. They do. And you’re right to be cautious before going down that road.”