THE INVITATION~

I could not stop smiling. Last night had been the best of my existence. It felt like a giant weight had been lifted from my shoulders, knowing that my body was capable of experiencing so much pleasure. Now I could see what all of the fuss was about. The only mar on our perfect night was seeing Richard and learning that I was the reason he and I had never conceived a child. I had wanted a baby for as long as I could remember, and I would not give up on that dream. Perhaps I would just need to explore other options, like adoption. I decided to put off thinking about it for now. It's not like I had to be in a big hurry. I wanted my life to be more settled before I made a plan for my child. Settled with Devin? The possibility popped into my head. I attempted to nudge it down, realizing that I might be skipping ahead way too quickly. I ran up the stairs two at a time towards my bedroom. As I rounded my doorway, Tobi, Kim's bitchy cat, skittered out of the room as if I had just kicked her. "Well, if you hate me so much, what were you doing in my room?" I stuck my tongue out at her.

I walked over and added two more Post-It reminders to the collection on my mirror. 

"Slow down".

" Enjoy the moment".

Just then, Kim peeked her head around the corner. Her short, brown hair was a spiky mess and the ratty, faded lavender robe she was wearing had seen better days. In spite of that, she looked adorable. "I think you're incapable of looking bad." I wrinkled my nose at her, playfully.

"What's going on?" she croaked in a sleepy voice. "Tab came running into my room like the devil himself was chasing her." She rubbed the yellow cat's ears as Tabitha glared at me from her arms.

"I had the audacity to walk into my room when she was in here. That is what's going on. I don't know why she hates me so," I added as I walked over to my closet.

"Maybe because you hate her." Kim started to shuffle off, but stopped and turned, eyes narrowed. "How was your all-nighter with Devin?"

"Good," I said quickly, trying to keep it light.

She tilted her head, studying me. "You had a big O!" she squealed.

"A few," I admitted, laughing. "It was so amazing. He is so amazing," I gushed.

"I told you there was nothing wrong with you. It was just that pencil-dicked ex-husband that couldn't please you."

I considered telling her about seeing Richard and learning of the Tiffany's pregnancy and my latest failure, but I decided not to ruin this happy time.

"Look at you, glowing," Kim teased me. "Orgasm-ing agrees with you."

"I think orgasm-ing agrees with everyone." I laughed as I went to my bathroom to get dressed for work.

I bought a sandwich and took it to the park on my lunch break in an attempt to get my mind off it for a while. Couples strolled by hand-in-hand and riding bikes. I smiled at them and checked my phone.

I considered sending Devin a text. I could invite him on a date. Nothing said that a girl had to sit around and wait for a boy to contact her. I started the text numerous times, but deleted each one.

In the end, I put the phone back in my purse and decided to wait it out. Thankfully, he didn't make me wait long. My phone started ringing before I had finished my walk back to work. I panicked and almost dropped it. I hadn't been expecting a call. I could think about a witty response to a text, but I'd be on the spot on the phone. What if I say something dumb? I had almost decided not to answer when I ordered myself to pull it together.

"Hi, this is Kylie," I squeaked, my voice too high.

"Hi, Gorgeous. It's Devin" His voice was low and sexy. "I wanted to see if you'd like to go to a charity auction with me next Saturday evening. It's a black-tie event. I should warn you, though," he added, "my whole family will be there." The thought of Devin wearing a tuxedo made my mouth water. The fact that he was inviting me to an event with his family was so exciting that my knees almost buckled. "I'd love to," I managed to get the words out.

I focused my attention on the details of where and when, while my mind reeled with excitement. Then I agreed to meet him there and hung up.