An Open Entanglement Ch. 06

Author's note: Big thank you to fellow Lit authors and friends aimingtomisbehave33 and petitmort for their continued support and feedback. Thanks to Jill for co-creating the universe. And thanks to you, reader, for being here -- hope you enjoy the ride.

Previously in the series: Taylor found out she was assigned as counsel on a project with her ex-fiance Jim, who asked for closure after their work meeting and completely embarrassed himself. Annoyed by this development, Taylor went out clubbing with new beau Brad and later came home to have passionate loud sex, uncaring of its effect on Jim, who still lived next door.

***

Chapter VI -- The Girls

Monday

The idea of getting used to someone was scary for Brad; he usually didn't let people stick around long enough for him to make a habit out of it. He could actually count the number of people he hadn't pushed away on one hand, consisting of close family and his two bros from college.

As amazing as Taylor was, the thought of settling down with her had briefly made an appearance and then he purposefully pushed far from his mind.

Sure, in the past month or so, he had not actually slept with anyone other than her, wanting to be there for her through a particularly difficult time, but there was a limit to how long he could withstand monogamy, regardless of how wonderful his partner might be.

Maybe it was these thoughts that made him pick up his phone when it rang in the early afternoon.

"Brad? I just landed. Flying back out early tomorrow morning as usual. Want to meet up?"

Even just hearing her accented English made him smile. They always had a wild time together and seeing her infrequently only helped ensure each time was memorable and exciting. He missed that feeling of newness.

Skipping out on his local rotations for a few weeks had been easy enough, but he wasn't going to miss the chance to see Elise, whom he didn't see much thanks to her busy flight schedule.

"I, uhhh, need to check my schedule, make sure my dinner date won't mind being stood up," he said coyly.

On the other end of the phone, Elise laughed.

"Is there a girl with you right now? Do you have to pretend you're a good little boy? Just nod along and leave soon. You know where to find me."

Her confidence was one of the things he enjoyed about her most.

"Fine, you've convinced me," he chuckled in a low tone. "I'll meet you at the Hilton. See you in half an hour."

He was going to leave immediately; upon brief reflection, he decided to take a quick shower. He wanted to look his best, which often didn't take much time, but for Elise's benefit, he ran some gel through his hair, put on cologne and picked a Henley shirt that brought out both his eyes and his muscles.

Once at the hotel, he made his way through the lobby to the hotel bar on the left. Despite the early evening crowd, he immediately recognized her sitting at the bar, with her straight black hair pulled up into a bun and the gold sweater falling off a delicate white shoulder.

If he was having second thoughts about it and thinking of Taylor, they all disappeared when Elise turned around. With a sensual smile playing on her dark red lips, she stood up and approached him. At 5'11, she stood only slightly shorter than him, her piercing gray/green eyes staring into his.

"It's nice to see you again, darling."

Her voice was husky in his ear, her slender arms already pulling him in close for a hug.

Brad held her by the chin and kissed her. Then he let her lead him to her hotel room upstairs.

***

Taylor came home from work late in the evening to find a note from Brad that he was out for the night. She sighed, tossed the note in a corner and threw herself onto the couch.

She knew in her gut he was with another woman. He would've texted or called if he was going out with friends. This quiet cryptic note-leaving was the only sign of guilt she'd get from Brad.

Looking back at the crumpled note he left her, she wasn't as upset with him as she thought she'd be. Loyalty and exclusivity were things she'd taken for granted in the past, but certainly not with Brad. Maybe she'd just hoped he would've been honest about it.

They'd been living together for a while. She could feel their sex life losing a bit of its earlier spark, which was natural, given the speed of their affairs before each other. Neither of them was good at the whole exclusive thing.

Taylor had been in recovery mode since the events with Jim and Nick had unfolded, opening up just enough to Brad to help him support her intellectually, emotionally and, of course, sexually. However, through their growing connection, she'd once again come back to the place where monogamy was making her feel stifled and Brad had no clue.

It was time to be an adult and finally have the conversation she'd never had before.

***

Tuesday

The paperwork on her desk seemed to have grown overnight when she stepped into the offices of Mercer & Duncan LLP the next morning. Sighing, she made herself a cup of coffee in the kitchen area, then sat in her office and started tackling the mountain that was her casework.

At least she had an office with a door, unlike some of her colleagues. A door that closed and helped her concentrate on work without interruptions...

Concentrating was harder than usual, considering she had slept past her alarm and woken up alone in the bed. Brad hadn't shown up at all, which made things both easier and more difficult; easier because she didn't have to pretend everything was OK between them, and more difficult because she had to go through a full work day while her feelings and thoughts simmered unchecked just beneath the surface.

Shaking her head to chase relationship thoughts away, Taylor forced herself once more to read the opening lines of a deposition and finally succeeded in getting lost in work.

She was so caught up in reading and furious highlighting, that the knock on her door startled her. She ran her hands through her blonde hair and took a deep breath before inviting the person in.

"Come in."

"Hey, Taylor, sorry to bother you but, uhh.."

Taylor looked up to find Kevin - the office hottie and source of many fantasies among both the female and the male associates at the law firm. It was hard for him not to stand out with his 6'4 athletic frame, broad shoulders and an ass so tight you could bounce quarters off it.

Yeah, if Taylor was honest with herself, she'd fantasized about him, too. Even if Kevin looked more like a professional football player than the board-certified lawyer he actually was, it was probably that exact combination of attributes that made him all the more attractive to her. However, being colleagues was a hard limit for her; it was the one line she'd never crossed.

"Hey Kevin, what's up?"

"I didn't even know the machine worked, but someone just faxed you a document?"

Standing at her door, he waved the bunch of papers in his hand. The devilishly handsome smile he wore created a stark contrast between his white teeth and his dark skin, and Taylor felt a playful spark in the way his dark eyes looked at her.

She was unable to resist returning his smile. Knowing full well he was watching, she slowly uncrossed her legs and walked over to him, putting one shapely leg in front of the other in her tight pencil skirt.

"Must be a joke or something. Who even knows how to work a fax machine anymore?"

Her voice trailed off once she took the papers from his hand and checked the subject line. Jim, her ex-fiance, with whom she was supposed to work on an account, had sent her his latest proposal for the ad campaign. Via fax.

It was yet another trick he pulled, as he tried to weasel his way back into her life. Even though she had given in and given him all the closure he needed, and more, he still poked and prodded. Reviving old memories, like how he used to fax documents to her when they had first met working on a project, proved nothing more than what a manipulative prick he was.

Taylor's expression quickly soured. She folded the papers in half without looking through the rest of it. She knew what it was about.

Kevin must have sensed the change in the mood.

"I didn't mean to ruin your day with this. I can just shred it, pretend it never arrived. It wouldn't be a stretch to say our fax machine doesn't work. "

"It's OK, Kevin, just someone I have to work with at the ad agency for the Sheffield account. They clearly think it's funny to waste my billable hours with stuff like this. I'll deal with them later. Thanks for bringing the documents to me. I know you're busy and I appreciate it. "

She was trying to change the subject before she had to either divulge personal information regarding her ex or dismiss Kevin too rudely. She didn't want to do either of those.

Lucky for her, he was good at changing the subject.

"This being my last week at the firm and in town, my time isn't as precious anymore. But getting to drop by your office has always been a nice perk and I'll miss our chats. Any chance you'd let me buy you a drink, you know, finally hang out outside of the office before I leave?"

His smooth delivery made her smile up at him. He was almost a foot taller than her, but when every inch of him was so beautiful, Taylor didn't mind craning her neck to see him better.

When his almost black eyes met her blue eyes up so close, the chemistry she'd been ignoring for so long was so tangible that she couldn't catch her breath for a second. She smiled and turned her face just slightly to avoid giving herself away.

"Can't believe it's your last week already! I feel bad turning down your offer for a drink, but I'm afraid this week is impossible for me."

It was a generic, polite answer. A professional answer, which she thought her position at the law firm demanded, for whatever reason. However, deep down inside, she would love to go, have the fantastic conversation she was sure they would have and also explore where that spark between them could go for a night.

Kevin nodded, his smile losing some of its brightness.

"Understood. I'll try and catch you here one last time on Friday, then. Wouldn't want to leave without a proper goodbye and today absolutely does not count."

With that, he turned and left her office. Taylor stood there for a minute longer. She felt angry at herself for trying to do what was best for everyone, including Brad, who she knew was already hooking up with other people.

***

When she came home from work in the early evening, Brad had returned.

"Welcome home, babe!"

He walked towards the door and closed it behind her. Taylor gave Brad a perfunctory hug. If he felt her insincerity, he didn't show it as he went around the living room tidying up and made small talk.

She sat down on the couch, biding her time until she felt angry enough about the previous night. It would be interesting to see how long Brad thought he could get away without having an actual conversation.

"Gym was crazy today. Got two new clients, who want to train together. I don't know how we'll manage weekly sessions; because of my biweekly clients, I couldn't commit on the spot."

She thought it was funny for him to use the word "commit" right about then.

"Can't one of your coworkers pick it up every other week? That way you both get extra clients and you don't have to juggle two simultaneous sessions."

"I guess I could ask David. Yeah, that's a good idea, thanks!"

He almost called her "babe" again and moved in to kiss her on the couch, but then stopped long enough to observe Taylor's body language, which was entirely closed off. He knew what was coming.

Brad sighed and took a deep breath.

"What's on your mind, Taylor?"

"Have fun last night?"

Taylor couldn't keep the biting tone out of her question. She just couldn't help herself. She was half upset with herself for turning down Kevin, when she'd known Brad had made a different choice in a similar situation.

"Yeah, Elise is... was... Well, she's only in town for a day at a time and I don't get to see her very often." Brad's sheepish grin only made Taylor angrier.

"I didn't realize a long-lost friend was in town. What's she like?"

For some reason, Brad completely missed the sarcasm in her voice and started answering her. "You'd like her. French, tall and elegant. And her accent is just..."

Taylor interrupted him with a wave of her hand. "I wasn't really asking."

"OK, fine. Then say what you really want to say, without the sarcasm and the mind games. I really can't do this if we can't both talk about it." He let the frustration come out in his tone, as he found himself stepping towards Taylor.

"This being what?" she shouted, looking up at him, standing her ground against his potential intimidation.

He had thought the argument would mostly be about him skipping out the night before and that she'd probably storm out regardless of what he said and come back a few hours later for makeup sex. It suddenly dawned on him that this was actually a relationship talk, which he wasn't ready to have.

With that realization, he let the air out of his chest and pushed himself half a step back away from her.

"This being what?" she repeated in a calmer tone, noticing the shift in his body language.

He stared at her, not knowing what to say. All the things he had thought of, he couldn't say. He didn't have answers, only more questions.

The silence grew for a few seconds; it was long enough for Taylor to realize she'd cornered him impossibly and it wasn't exactly the direction she wanted this conversation to go in either.

"Do you still want me? Or is this becoming something that we're doing out of habit and you just didn't have better prospects for the time being?"

Her questions had gotten easier. These, he could actually answer.

"You know I want you! I love.. being with you."

He couldn't keep the hesitation out of his words, suddenly mindful of what "love" could mean in a conversation like this. She seemed to understand what was going through his mind when she responded.

"I'm not asking you to say anything you're not ready to say. I just.. need to know if you need an out and you haven't said anything because you've been too scared to say anything after the drama I caused."

Another easy question. "I don't need an out," he said quickly, without thinking.

"So you do want me around? Like I want you around?"

Taylor sounded relieved and hopeful. Brad thought the discussion was as good as over. "Well, yes. What else is there to say?"

"That maybe we need to figure a few things out." She watched his face clench again at her words.

"Figure what out," he asked, looking at her intently.

"That monogamy is.. probably not the way forward for us."

Taylor was surprised she blurted it out like that. As a concept, it had been floating in her mind for forever, but she hadn't really put her wish into words before. Her relationships had always been monogamous, at least on paper, and her hookups had been just hookups, with enough guilt attached to them that she'd swept them under the rug right afterwards every single time.

Taylor had finally decided she wanted, and deserved, a different kind of relationship, with Brad. After the initial shock of her words, she felt truly comfortable in her skin for the first time in a long time. Then she tried to mentally prepare for the way Brad was about to completely mishandle the situation.

Brad was surprised she was bringing it up that way. He hadn't really had a partner since Nicole that was OK with his hookups. He hadn't expected this request to come from Taylor.

"So, an open relationship? I mean, I do want to... but I didn't think you'd..." He couldn't find the words to say that would make his statement somehow less offensive.

"You thought what? That I wouldn't be OK with it?" Taylor certainly felt offended and knew the conversation was about to get worse before it got better.

Brad shrugged. "Well, yeah, I didn't really think you'd be OK with it. Isn't this why you're making such a big deal out of last night"?

"You think this is me making a big deal? All I want is honesty. I know you have an active sex life that used to be really varied before me. And we haven't talked about any of it, but one way or another, I... also used to have a varied sex life."

She had finally said it. It was clear from his face he hadn't thought about that part of the equation. Her stomach turned in anticipation of what horrible bullshit she knew he was about spout.

"But you... I mean, I guess I didn't know that about you. You seemed like a one-man-woman to me..." He seemed to consider something before speaking again. "...but I'd be OK with it if you wanted to hook up with other girls."

Taylor scoffed.

"I'm not going to hook up with girls, just because that's the only non-threatening option for you."

"It would be hot, too, I think," he responded with a sheepish grin.

The casual shrug of his shoulders made Taylor even more frustrated.

"What does me hooking up with girls have to do with what you find hot? Do you think your hookups mean anything to me?"

"I think the only reason we're having this discussion is because you're upset I went out with Elise."

"This is so not about Elise!"

She sat down on the couch, no longer having the strength to continue talking while standing up.

"Look, I'm all for fluid sexuality. And while I've never really been attracted to a woman before, sure, I won't discount that possibility. But that's something I need to figure out for myself and by myself."

She paused, some more fight creeping back into her voice.

"Also, for your information, me being bi would mean I could just as easily fall in love with a woman and dump your sexist ass for her. That's twice the competition for you, if you follow the logic. So next time you advocate for some girl-on-girl action, consider that possibility."

He sighed in defeat. He thought about mentioning how his college girlfriend Nicole never left him for a woman, but even he knew better than to bring up a girl from his past at that moment.

"Fine. So, you want to sleep with other guys?"

Deep down, he was really not looking forward to hearing her answer. But he was the one who had asked for direct answers, wasn't he?

"Yes," she said quietly, "I love being with you, but now that we're kinda living together and sharing a certain level of emotional intimacy, I want to have short-term partners, where it can be... you know, just about the moment, without any baggage or strings. You know what I'm talking about, don't you?"

He gave her a confused nod.

"I guess.. I don't know."

It was becoming more and more frustrating for Taylor to continue in a level tone. Brad kept switching between rising up to the occasion and backtracking, which didn't let her understand where he stood in all of this.

"What is it that you don't know? Aren't you the one with a weekly or a monthly rotation? What do you share with those girls in your black book beyond a few quick words and a fuckload of bodily fluids?"

That finally spurred him on to go on the defense and his voice rose for the first time to match hers.

"I haven't even called any of them since you showed up at my goddamned door! I've been nothing but supportive and loyal to you! Do you even know how many women I turn down on a daily basis? Just so I can be here for you day in and day out. If that's not good enough for you, Princess, I don't know what is!"

Taylor couldn't believe what she was hearing.

"Oh, excuse me, Your Highness, for keeping you away from your harem! Didn't realize you weren't able to fulfill your daily duties! How will any of them ever survive without your dick?"

She was so upset that she inadvertently looked around for things she could throw at him. Her fists clenched and unclenched in an effort to calm herself down.