Page 18 of Size Game

“Are you serious?” Hailey laughs.

“Like the plague. We had some great sex in his limo.”

“It was a limo? He has a limo. He has a limo?”

“Oh yeah. It was hot. But wait, there’s more.”

Then I tell her the best part. Okay, not the best part. But it’s the part that leads to the best part.

“So, after talking everything over with Sadie, he asks me over to his place.” I pause dramatically. “For dinner.”

“Oh. My. God. Did you go? Tell me you went.”

“Oh, I went. He had a car pick us all up. We went to his place, which is amazing by the way.”

“How amazing?”

“Brownstone.”

Her eyes light up when I say that. She’s always wanted to live in a brownstone. She loves the sort of old-timey architecture about the city. She waves her hand for me to continue the story, and she takes sip like a Great Dane drinking out of a bowl. Her drink is nearly gone.

I tell her a little about Imelda, and she “aww”s at that. She thinks it’s sweet that he has a nanny for his girl and that he’s a real family man. I tell her that Sadie invited me up to her room and about the little tea party.

“Okay, so you’ve seen this guy multiple times, you have great sex, he’s hired you,andyou’ve met his daughter.”

I nod.

“So, when’s the wedding?” Hailey jokes.

“It’s not like that, Hailey.”

“You had a tea party with his daughter. How is it not?”

“Because neither of us are looking for commitment. It’s all just a… series… of one-night stands. That’s all.” I start to doubt myself even as I tell her. I’ve never continued to sleep with a one-night stand before. We did make it clear that this was a onetime thing, just a fling from the internet.

“A series. At the rate you two are going, it’s gonna be church bells in a matter of weeks.”

“You really think so?”

She gives me a look. “You both laid it out from the beginning. Just a fling. Neither of you are looking for a relationship, and he doesn’t want any more kids, right?”

“He’s hinted at that.”

“Just don’t dive in too deep. He’s a charmer, for sure. But he’s a big fish in this place, and you have to throw him back at some point.”

I know that she’s right, but I honestly don’t want to believe it. I’ve been enjoying my time with Alex, and I really think he has too. I know what we said, but we also said it was just one night. Clearly, we were wrong then. Why can’t we be wrong now?

Hailey pulls a sketch pad from her bag and plops it on the desk. She asks a few basic questions about the venue and theme. Where is it? What room? What are the lighting options?

She knows most of the more common venues and pretty much has all their rooms committed to memory. She draws out a basic sketch of the room with linens, lights, and all. She asks where things are supposed to go: cake, flowers, etc. I point out where Sadie wants these things, and she quickly adds them to the sketches.

I pull out my sketch pad where Sadie drew the flowers and show her. “She wants these flowers.”

Hailey looks over them and giggles. “Oh my God. These are so cute. She drew these?”

“I asked her to.”

“You started bonding even before dinner, didn’t you?”