No Strings Attached Read online

  “I guess it’s time for me to go.”

  She looked up at me and smiled, saying, “Unless you want to go to the meeting with me.”

  “No, thanks. I have already seen my brother once today. Two times in one day would just be too much.”

  “See you later then.” She stopped next to me, stood on her tiptoes and kissed me on the cheek.

  “That’s it?” I asked, a little disappointed.

  “I told you, in order to get more, you need to surprise me again.” She winked and left the office.

  This is crazy, I thought to myself, running both hands through my hair. When on earth did she manage to turn me into her slave? I didn’t even mind cooking for her again. And I rarely demonstrated my cooking skills for anyone. Or maybe I was just too busy fucking to think about food or anything else?

  I smiled mentally to myself, and left the office, typing Jillian a message on the way to the elevator. “You sure there are no hidden cameras in your office? I’m sure Dom would be happy to know how naughty some of his employees are.”

  “Actually, there are... I asked the security to install them for my personal use only.”

  “Holy shit… Will you show me the records?”

  “Depends on how good the upcoming feeding session will be.”

  “I’ll make sure you will never forget it. Does Dom know that you won’t give a damn about what he’s saying at the meeting?”

  “As long as I have one sexy chef waiting for me at home, I don’t really care.”

  I smiled unintentionally, surprised to know that I didn’t get angry at her words. In any other situation, I would run as fast and as far as I could, afraid to see the list of obligations and groceries pinned to the fridge in the morning. I couldn’t believe Dom’s words were becoming real so damn fast... But surprisingly enough, it didn’t scare the hell out of me like I had originally thought it would. Maybe I just wasn’t ready to see what was in plain sight yet? Anyway, I thought I still had a lot of time to figure it out, so I stopped to buy some ingredients for chicken lasagna that was one of my favorite meals, and went home.

  I still had a little more than a week to think about my production company’s business plan. I didn’t have a chance to talk to Dom, but I hoped he wouldn’t mind helping me out a little, financially of course. One thing that he had always been right about, was that apart from writing and composing songs, I needed to think about something more serious. And unlike anything else, my dream had always been the one thing that I never gave up on.

  “Are you going to wear anything under that apron of yours?”

  I smiled, reading the new text message. “Nope. Why?”

  “Good. I was just about to suggest you meet me like that.”

  “You little tease, are you still at work?” I looked at the clock on the wall and it showed half past seven in the evening.

  “Yeah, waiting for some papers from Dom. Need to sign them before I leave.”

  “Will call him to make things faster.”

  “Thanks, can’t wait to get out of here.”

  “Can’t wait to see you…”

  There were a few minutes of silence, and I guess I knew why. I didn’t know the message would sound so… I didn’t even know what to call it. But it was so much different from anything I had ever written in any other message, to any other woman. In fact, I didn’t remember a single time I was actually dying to see any of my girlfriends. And, well, Jill… I didn’t even know if I could call her that. I guess neither of us wanted to give a name to whatever was going on between us; it just felt like it was too early and too damn scary to be giving our relationship a name at this point.

  When I thought Jill wouldn’t reply to my message, she texted me back, saying, “Same here…”

  I leaned against the kitchen table, staring at the message. Something clicked inside me. I knew it the moment my heart started beating faster at the sight of the message, but I wasn’t sure I wanted the events and whatever I felt for her to develop that fast. Nevertheless, I did want this night to be special, and there was no way Jill and I would spend it in different beds.

  I dialed Dominick’s number, already knowing he would laugh at me.

  “Hey, what’s up?” He asked, answering the call.

  “Could you please hurry up and let my lovely roommate come home?”

  He laughed into the handset. “I told you that you would lose your mind in no time.”

  I rolled my eyes. “I called you because I have dinner prepared over here, and it’s getting cold, and I don’t want her to miss my chicken lasagna.”

  “No… fucking… way! You’re cooking for her?”

  “Yes, I like cooking, you know?”

  “I know. That’s why I can’t believe you let her see this… normal part of you.”

  “Well, thanks, Dom. But I would really appreciate you shutting the fuck up and finishing the damn documents that are about to ruin my entire night.”

  “Well, of course, I will hurry up, little brother. After all, it’s not every day I get the joy of hearing about you acting like a gentleman, and not like a jerk.”

  “Look who’s talking!”

  “Okay, okay, I’m already on my way to Jillian’s office.”

  “Thanks.”

  “Hey, Oliver, wait!”

  “What?” I snapped, already regretting the decision of calling him.

  “Don’t burn down Scarlett’s kitchen. She kind of loves it.”

  “Don’t worry, I won’t. Unless Jill starts a fire here.”

  “Oh, I’m sure your fire has already been started a while ago.”

  “Damn true, dumbass. Good night.”

  “You too, Bro.”

  Chapter 10

  Jillian

  “Finally, Dominick. What the hell took you so long?” I grabbed the documents that he was holding in his hands, and went back to my desk to sign them.

  I knew my former boss was a workaholic, but today, I hated him more than usual. I was kind of dying to get home, as soon as possible.

  “So… How was your first day at a new post?” He asked casually, taking a seat facing me. I still felt a little uneasy about him coming to my office, no matter how much I wanted this new job, and no matter how sure I was that I was more than qualified to do it.

  “The usual, you know,” I said, forcing a smile.

  He nodded, watching me closely.

  “What?” Instinctively, my eyes travelled to the unfortunate couch to make sure that it was still standing where it had been this morning and that it still looked the same. Fortunately, the couch didn’t appear any different, it was still in one piece and clean, that was good news.

  “I saw the recordings,” Dominick said, barely holding back his smile.

  “Excuse me?”

  “I mean the recordings from the elevator security cameras.”

  Holy fuck… Fuuuck…

  I don’t think my cheeks had ever reddened that quickly, I don’t think they had ever reddened at all actually.

  “Um, what exactly do you mean?” I asked, hoping my play-it-cool strategy would help me somehow.

  His grin widened. “We both know what I mean, Jill. Or do you want me to list the details of everything that followed Oliver pushing the stop button.”

  Screw me dead…

  “Okay, Dom, I can explain.”

  “Don’t bother.”

  “Am I fired?”

  He burst out laughing. “No, no, you are not. But if it had been anyone other than you, Jill, then yes, that person would be fired in no time.”

  Oh, my God, I was mortified. And yes, at that point, I wanted to kill Oliver with my bare hands.

  Dominick’s eyes travelled to the damn couch and he smirked again. “I guess now you know that I was right about the thing,” he said, jerking his chin in the direction of the couch, in case I had missed him looking at it.

  “It will never happen again, I swear,” I said, my palms shaking.

  He rose to his f
eet and smiled, looking down at me. “I know my brother too well to believe that. So you’d better listen to my advice about the couch, because next time, it might not be me who watches the elevator recordings. Fortunately, I was just about to use the elevator when one of the security guys told me it was broken. I asked him to show me the recordings from the cameras we have in all the elevators in this building, and the moment I realized that you and my precious brother were the reason for dozens of people being late back from their breaks, I took the CD with the recordings and threw it away, before anyone else would be able to see what really happened there.”

  “Thank God.” I breathed a sigh of relief.

  “I’m far from being God, or a saint, or anything of the sort, Jillian, and we both know it. I just did what I needed to do, knowing how many times I actually wanted to repeat the very same scenario with Scarlett.”

  I grimaced. “Shut up, Dom. You have such a dirty mind.”

  He laughed. “Look who’s talking!”

  “Okay, can we just… forget about it? By the way, um… how much did you-”

  “See? Not much. Actually, I asked them to stop the video the moment I saw Oliver pushing the stop button.”

  Oh, man, I’m gonna kill Oliver the moment I see him.

  “Breathe, Jillian.”

  “Very funny, Dom. Now, would you be so kind as to let me go home?”

  “Can’t wait to see your playboy?”

  There was no way I would ever get used to his smart-ass comments.

  “I’m starving,” I snapped, packing my bag.

  “I bet you both are.”

  “Hey, why don’t you get the hell out of here? Isn’t Scarlett waiting for you at home?”

  “She went to L.A. to visit her parents.”

  “Oh, I see. You didn’t have anyone else to drive up the walls tonight, so you thought I would make the perfect Scarlett substitute, right?”

  “I already miss working with you, Jill.” He smiled, heading for the door. “You always saw right through me.”

  “I’m sure Mrs. Smith will do her best to get on your nerves. Good night, Dom,” I said, going out into the hall.

  “Night, Jill! Say hi to my brother.”

  “Sure, sure.”

  Who would have thought that my first day at a new post would be that eventful? Damn you, karma, couldn’t you just give me a break?

  ***

  I was nervous and I didn’t know why…

  All the way back home, I couldn’t stop thinking about whatever was waiting for me there. The memories from the elevator and office scenes flashed behind my eyes, and my knees started trembling even worse. I can’t help but admit that I wanted more, more of everything: kissing, laughing, feeling Oliver’s lips and hands all over me… The only problem was that I wasn’t sure if I was ready for more.

  With every passing hour, my desire to see him again got stronger. But the worst part was that deep down inside me, I knew it was bad news.

  We’d known each other for about a year already, but I never felt anything like what I felt for him now. And the thoughts about what had happened between us, only complicated everything even more.

  With my hand shaking, I turned the key in the lock and the door opened. I smiled at the familiarity of the situation. The hall of Scarlett’s apartment was filled with music and I could hear Oliver singing in the kitchen. Was he wearing anything under his apron? I was a little scared to find it out. I put my bag and jacket on a chair and went to see him.

  The smell of whatever he was cooking was mouth-watering. And considering that coffee was the only food substance to cross my lips today, not to mention the mind-blowing lunch, it wasn’t surprising that I was starving.

  “Hey, Beautiful. Thought you wouldn’t make it home tonight.”

  I smiled, leaning against the doorframe, a little disappointed.

  “Jeans and T-shirt?” I asked, pointing to his casual outfit.

  “Well, first I was going to follow your advice about the clothes, but then I thought I would leave that part for dessert.” He winked at me. “So, how was your day? I mean apart from that hot hour that we spent together.”

  I went to the table and took a seat, watching him put the food onto the plates. A glass of wine was already waiting for me there. I took a sip and my body welcomed the fire it sent through my veins.

  “It was good. Except for the part when Dominick came to my office, smirking and saying he saw the recordings from our little elevator adventure. I didn’t realize they had cameras in the elevators!”

  The spoon that Oliver was holding in his hands froze halfway to the plate. Carefully, he turned around, his eyebrows raised in shock.

  “How much did he see?”

  I laughed at his horrified expression. “Not much, but I had the same reaction to his words, and of course, your dumbass brother couldn’t help but use it against me. He said he destroyed the video right after he saw you pushing the stop button.”

  Oliver let out the breath that I bet he didn’t even notice he had been holding, and said, “Well, I hope he’s not going to fire you for that, is he?”

  “I still have the job, no matter how hard you tried to take it away from me.”

  He smiled again. “I can try so much harder, you know?”

  “No doubt. But next time, we need to be more careful. I don’t want anyone, including Dominick to think that I’m not good enough to do my new job.”

  Oliver rolled his eyes. “Fine, next time we will do it in his office.”

  “Great idea.” I smirked. “Don’t forget to warn him beforehand. I’m sure he will be thrilled with the idea of seeing your naked ass at work.”

  “Oh, I’m sure he will. Now, how about you try my lasagna? I hope you like lasagna?”

  I nodded, inhaling the smell of cheese and pepper that was one of the things that I could eat non-stop.

  “Good. ‘Cause I spent hours cooking it, and I kind of can’t wait for the reward for all of my efforts in pleasing you. Here, let me help you.” He took my fork, speared a piece from the plate and brought it to my lips.

  “I can feed myself, you know?” I said, looking up at him.

  “I know, but the first bite is sacred, you only get one chance to taste an amazing food for the first time.”

  I smiled, taking the bite into my mouth. “Mmm, it’s beyond description. What did you add here? I’ve never tasted such a delicious lasagna!”

  “Of course you haven’t. You never had me to cook it for you.”

  “So now I have you?” I didn’t know why I asked that question. Seriously, it just flew out of my mouth before I could stop myself.

  “Yes, you do. For as long as you want to see my sexy ass here.” He tried to laugh it off, but I could see that look in his eyes, saying he knew that the question was not a joke at all.

  “What will I get for dessert?” I asked, chewing another piece of the best lasagna ever.

  “What would you like to have?” He asked, sipping his wine.

  All of a sudden, I wanted nothing but to run away, again. Because again, the situation felt like nothing but a heartbreaking disaster, which I didn’t know what to do with.

  “How about we… just sit and watch a movie? It’s been a long day, and I feel a little stressed and exhausted.”

  He hesitated for a while, studying me carefully. Then he nodded and said, “Of course, if that is what you want to do.”

  We both knew that I wanted so much more than that, but I guess we also both knew that we needed to put some distance between the last and next time we get into one bed together. I also thought I needed a break from all the pants-dropping experiences with Oliver. To ease the tensed silence, I said, “Why don’t we take it slow?”

  “Like one step at a time?”

  “Exactly.” Surprisingly enough, Oliver always felt my end of the situation, as if he could actually get into my head and see when he needed to stop or say something that I needed to hear.

  “Okay, let’s
take it slow,” he said, smiling slightly. There was something in his eyes that I couldn’t read. Did he think I was out of my mind or something? After all, it was a little too late to talk about taking things slow when we had already taken them all fast, hard and deep… Oh, God, we both were in a whole mess of trouble.

  After our late supper was over, we washed the dishes and went to the living room to find a good movie to watch.

  “How about Dirty Dancing?” Oliver asked, showing me the DVD.

  “Oh, no, Scarlett and I have already watched it like a hundred times. And who would have thought you were a fan of Dirty Dancing?” I laughed, settling on a couch.

  “I like everything dirty, you know that, or at least I would hope you know that by now.”

  “Oh, yes, I’ve already figured out that much.”

  “Okay, I hate the rest of Scarlett’s collection of movies, so why don’t we just listen to some good music and share another glass of wine?”

  “Sounds like a plan.”

  I didn’t really care about the way we were going to spend the rest of the night, but one thing I knew sure – it had to be a sexless night. I needed more time to figure out how I was going to handle whatever was going on between Oliver and me, and still stay strong without getting my heart shattered in the process.

  “So, tell me, Jillian, why is it that none of your relationships has ever lasted more than one night?” Oliver brought his wine from the kitchen and sat next to me on the couch.

  “Who said that none of them has lasted longer than one night?” I asked, a little offended.

  “Am I wrong?” We were sitting facing each other, I didn’t feel like talking about my ex-boyfriends, and I wasn’t really ready to hear about Oliver’s past sexual encounters either.

  “Actually, you are. As a matter of fact, Jeremy and I dated for almost three months.”

  “Wow, that’s really long. And what happened next?”

  “He cheated on me… Several times, I guess. But fortunately, I was only lucky enough to hear about one of his cheating adventures, it was the last one, I left him as soon as I found out about it.”

  “He must have been a total ass to cheat on you.”