My parents are amazing, no other word for it. When highlights of the sex talk your dad gave you include; ‘not every woman likes to cop a load in the face’ and ‘deep throat isn’t a natural thing’, you know you have a great parental unit. So it really shouldn’t have surprised me to have my sex life be the topic of conversation over brunch. My mouth was full of waffles and maple syrup when my mother struck.

“Are you seeing anyone?”

I feigned shock at the question, looked at my nephew with wide eyes and raised eyebrows, then pointed my fork, loaded with another bite of waffle, at myself. “Is she talking to me?” I asked with my mouth full.

“Jay,” Suzi chastised in full mother manners mode. “Don’t talk with your mouth full.”

Eleven year old Chance grinned but made sure to swallow before he spoke. “She’s talkin’ to you.”

“You sure she’s not talking to you?” I frowned at him.

“I’m eleven!” The kid gave me his own shocked look. “The only girls I see cook for me and clean for me.”

“Chan!” Suzi tried to tell him off but she sounded too amused to be taken seriously. Meanwhile Dad had almost snorted orange juice out of his nose and Cathy was laughing.

I ignored them all to say, “Well that’s the sort of girl I’m after. Where do you find them?”

“Duh!” He rolled his eyes then pointed at Suzi and Cathy.

“Dude!” I recoiled in horror. “That’s my sister and my mom!”

“Well they make great waffles,” Chance shrugged and forked up what I think was his sixth. “Just sayin’.”

“True.” I nodded and shovelled in another bite myself.

“Haven’t you heard Cathy? Jay’s on a break from relationships,” Suzi said with a smirk at me.

How the hell did she know?

“Tam told me all about it.”

“You’re not on a break from me are you Jay?” Chance looked worried.

“Never Chan!” I held out my first for a bump then reached over and ruffled his hair. “At least, not until I beat you at NBA 2K,” I added and he scoffed so I rose to the challenge. “Go and set it up.”

He looked to Suzi for permission then shoved a last bite into his mouth and ran inside.

As he disappeared Cathy gave me a mom look and asked, “What’s going on Jay?”

I shrugged. “Ask Suzi, she knows all about it apparently.” I wanted to hear what Suze had to say so I shoved more waffle in my mouth so I couldn’t talk.

Cathy sighed and shook her head even as a smile pulled at her lips. I knew she loved me, even when I was being a brat. Maybe especially when.

Suzi was more than happy to dish the dirt anyway. “He has a special friend Cathy,” she said with faint condemnation. “Your son can’t even get casual sex right Jack,” she told Dad who grinned proudly.

“I think he’s got it exactly right. He needs sex, why not have one of those friends with benefits situations. Safer and smarter than picking up a different girl every time. No commitment, no expectations.”

See? My parents are awesome

Cathy frowned at Dad who shrugged and gave her his best ‘what did I say?’ look, then she turned that frown on me. “Is this true Jay? I’m not sure if I like it. And who is this friend? Do we know her?”

“Whoa, slow down Cath,” I said with a laugh.

“It wont be anyone we know.” Suzi continued to help. “Tam said Mitch said no one knows who it is.”

“I’m discreet.” I shrugged and pushed my chair back. “Chan’s waiting.”

“Jay!” Cathy protested so I circled the table to lean down and hug her. “I’m fine, I promise,” I lied. “I’m just taking a little break. I’ll get back to finding you a daughter-in-law soon.”

Three hours later I was standing in front Dee’s door, my hands full of brunch left overs. I knocked on the door and called out, “I have waffles.”

Because when I had texted her earlier she had responded with, ‘Maybe later’ and I wasn’t above bribery. She had been avoiding me for a week now and I was done being nice about it.

Her door opened about a foot and she gave me a slow once over. “What else have you got in there?”

“Only one way to find out,” I said casually, as if I wasn’t desperate to get my hands on her. “Come on baby, don’t make me eat this alone,” I added when she kept me waiting.

Finally she sighed and stepped back, leaving the door open. I followed her inside and set the food on the coffee table in front of her couch then kept  going to her bedroom where I found her laying on her stomach, her head under the pillow. I had no idea what was going on so I took off my shoes, laid on my back beside her and waited. After a minute she moved to her side, her body pressing against mine and I took the hint and rolled towards her, made her my little spoon.

My body had a predictable reaction to hers, the sweet curve of her ass the perfect resting place for my growing erection. I tightened the arm I had draped over her hip and buried my face in her hair. “Ignore that,” I mumbled. “Fucker has a mind of his own.”

That got a laugh out of her and I started to relax. It was hard not to with her in my arms but at the same time, I felt the tension in her and I still didn’t know what the hell was going on.

“I’m sorry,” she whispered and any relaxation I had found disappeared.

Somehow I managed to keep my voice calm as I asked, “For what?”

“This.” Her hand found mine and she threaded our fingers together. “I don’t think this is working.”

“Wha-,” I had to clear my throat to speak past the lump in it. “What do you mean?”

“Our arrangement,” she began and I didn’t want her to finish.

“No,” I interrupted.

“Jay I-”

“No,” I snapped again as I moved. I had her on her back and under me in a heartbeat. If she was going to end things, she could do it looking at me. “We agreed, you promised, it would be fine,” I said a little desperately, staring into her eyes.

“I know but-”

“What am I doing wrong? Am I too demanding, not demanding enough? Tell me, I’ll change.” Fuck, was that me? Begging? Fuck yes it was and I didn’t care.

“It’s not you, it’s me-”

“What is?” I frowned at her. “You’re not making any sense.”

“Let me up.” She pushed my shoulder and I responded by pushing my hips against her.

“No!”

“Jay.” Her eyes narrowed in warning.

“Dee,” I echoed. “We’re not going anywhere until we sort this.”

“I can’t think when you’re like this,” she said with a scowl and shoved me a little harder.

“Like what? Hard?” I taunted. “Maybe if you hadn’t avoided me all week, I wouldn’t be like this. So much for fuck buddies.”

She flinched at my words and I swore under my breath and levered myself off her. I rolled up to sit with my knees bent, my arms braced on my knees, my face buried in my hands. What was I doing? Sure I was hurt by the hint of rejection from her but that was no excuse for my actions.

“I thought it would be fine.” I felt the bed shift but didn’t look up. “I didn’t expect… seeing you flirting with… I just…”

She trailed off with a sigh and I turned my head to look at her, hope making my heart race. She was sitting cross legged beside me, her head down, her hair a curtain so I couldn’t see her face. I wanted to look into her eyes, see if she was saying what I thought she was.

“I can’t socialise with you like that any more.” She lifted her head, flicked those long tresses back and smiled at me, an ironic smirk. “I can do dinners with the group but if you’re going to be picking up women, I’ll take a pass. Same goes for me, okay? We can just call each other when we’re done. And if you find someone you want to date, just let me know.”

Her words penetrated the fog in my mind, pierced my heart. Adrenaline dumped into my system and I started to shake. I swallowed hard and managed to choke out, “Sure baby.”

The next few minutes were a blur. Her smiling happily, then looking confused as I pulled on my shoes, made an excuse about needing to leave, did I close the door or did she? It didn’t matter. I took the stairs, got down one flight before I had to stop. Did I sit down, or did I collapse? I don’t know how long I sat there replaying what had just happened. The fear I had felt when I thought she was ending things. The hope when she said she couldn’t watch me flirting, hope that she was jealous, that she wanted me for more than a fuck buddy. Then the devastation at her casual “call each other when we’re done.”

I thought I could handle it. I had my plan to show her how good we could be together, to make her fall for me as hard as I had fallen for her. But it wasn’t working. I was falling deeper and harder and she was thinking about me dating other women. Now the question was, did I abandon the plan, end things before I got my heart completly broken. Or did I come up with a new plan?