Filed to story: Cheating with My Boyfriend’s Best Friend Novel by Jane E L (Olive & Aaron)>>
It was David!
The same David I used to worship as an undergraduate!
The same David I bought at the auction!
Julian saw us staring and waved us over. “Olive! Nick! Both of you come here. I’d like to introduce you to Dr. David Ford. He’s a visiting from Harvard this semester to see how our research is going.”
David smiled at us, smoothed the slight wrinkles on his suit, and extended his hand, “Nice to meet you, I’m David Ford.”
“Nice to meet you, Dr. Ford. I’m Nicholas Floyd. You can call me Nick.” Nick was especially excited to shake David’s hand.
“Hello, Dr. Floyd.” David smiled warmly. “I read the paper you published last November. Very creative.”
Nick’s eyes lit up for a second, and I could practically hear the victory bells ringing in his head.
There’s no better way for a researcher to feel accomplished than to be recognized for their work, and praise from a bigshot like David was nothing to scoff at.
Honestly, it started to make me feel jealous…
“And it’s nice to see you again, Olive.” David turned to me before Julian could introduce us.
I froze in place.
David laughed. “Don’t you remember? We had dinner at the auction. You were there with-”
“Of course! How could I forget?” I hastily cut him off. I didn’t need him mentioning my involvement with Aaron, especially not here. I’d be screwed… “It’s nice to see you again, Dr. Ford.”
Eventually, Julian and David continued their conversation and walked away. That was when Nick walked over to me with a glass of red wine in his hand.
“You know David Ford?”
I scratched the back of my neck and avoided making eye contact. “Not really… We’ve only met once before, really…” | also danced with him. And he overheard me arguing with my fuck buddy.
My face burned.
“So what’s he like in private?”
“He’s still very professional. Super friendly and polite. That’s pretty much it.” To be honest, I didn’t know David particularly well. From my experience with him at the auction, he seemed like a gentleman.
I looked at Nick in surprise and asked, “Why are you so curious? You didn’t seem this interested in Aaron.”
“Aaron’s just another pretty face.”
I nodded. Aaron was gorgeous, especially when he was on top of me…
But wasn’t David also attractive?
I interrogated Nick further. “What do you mean by that? Don’t tell me you’re interested in David…”
“Maybe.”
My eyes widened, but before I could press for more info, Nick suddenly laughed. “I’m teasing, Olive. David’s nice, but I
already have Tim. He’s the only one for me… though I do wonder what David would look like in bed. He’s probably a hunk under that stuffy suit…”
I couldn’t help but think of Aaron instead. At his office, he spoke eloquently and his whole being compelled respect from those around him. In bed though, he was excitable and spontaneous. All of the time I’d spent with him flashed through my mind: wearing his hoodie, standing in line for popcorn, watching him put on an apron, making breakfast… Every facet of him was attractive to me.
Suddenly, Nick’s face was right in front of mine. “Why are you blushing like that? What are you thinking about?”
“N–nothing.” I shook my head.
That evening, when I was leaving the lab, I actually saw David on the sidewalk outside.
“Dr. Ford? What are you doing here?” I didn’t see many people when I came this way.
“I was looking for a restaurant, and the map says it’s here…” He frowned at his phone.
My eyes widened. “I think you have the wrong place. There aren’t any restaurants on this street.”
My anxiety was obvious, but David smiled apologetically. “Relax, I was just curious. Dr. Julian told me you were engaged. But Aaron, as far as I know, isn’t engaged.”
“I…” I opened my mouth but trailed off.
At that charity auction, Aaron had introduced me to the public as his fiancée. Then, David saw Aaron making out with me outside the auction house. Not long after that, I got
engaged to another man. The whole situation was so awkward.
Feeling a little uncomfortable, I took a deep breath and gathered the courage to clear things up.
“David, I think I need to explain that Aaron and I really aren’t a couple right now. It’s just a little complicated to talk about it.”
David nodded understandingly and did not pursue the matter further. “Don’t worry, I’ll keep your secret.”
I forced a smile. “Thanks.”
At that point, it was useless to explain.
“I won’t judge you, Olive. Don’t worry.” Sensing my unease, David took a sip of his wine and gave me a reassuring smile.
“It’s your right to choose who you stay with, who you get engaged to, marry, break up with…it’s all your choice. It’s also your choice to have a drink after work hours…”
David held up the bottle and winked at me.
“Thank you, Dr. Ford.” I couldn’t help but laugh out loud, taking the bottle and pouring myself a glass. The awkwardness disappeared, and we clinked glasses.
“Cheers.”
“Cheers.”
Two glasses of wine down, my face began to flush. The bistro was very lively, and the aroma of food and the smell of mulled wine filled the air, making me feel warm inside. Across the room, David had taken off his suit and was slowly rolling his shirt sleeves up, revealing forearms that were lined with
muscle.
“If you had unbuttoned a few more buttons, maybe we wouldn’t have had to pay for this meal.” I flirted. The ladies who came to hit on him disappeared, and I drunkenly took my chances.
Even though we were seated in the corner, there were enough glances at us that made me think people had decided we were dating. A few girls gave me jealous looks, and I took the opportunity to wink.
“Oh, Olive cut me some slack.” David cut his steak slowly and methodically, moving as gracefully as if he weren’t in a cheap bistro but some Michelin restaurant. “Your pretty face has attracted all this unwanted attention and put me on a pedestal.”
I smiled, trying to hide my flustered face.
“The guys must be thinking, damn, that old man must be rich. How else would he get such a pretty girl to come to dinner with him?“.
I was overjoyed. “David, stop!” I teased. “You’re too funny.”
David shrugged. “That’s probably the benefit of being older. No lady would want to have dinner with me if I didn’t rely on humor.”
“Nonsense.” I blushed at David’s compliment. He smiled back, and his dark eyes seemed to hold a deeper story. It was apparent that he was using the charm of his age to his advantage, giving off a calm and charming presence.
The guys I had previously dated were all my age, and I was never interested in middle–aged men. What was so attractive about a man who was out of shape and whose breath smelled of stale cigarettes and alcohol?
One of my undergrad roommates had a middle–aged
‘boyfriend‘. In reality, he was her sugar daddy paying off most of her student loans. I remembered the way her ‘daddy‘ had a pot belly and touched her with his two greasy hands up. Damn, it was disgusting.
“Actually, maybe you’re right.” He took a sip of his wine. “I was never funny back then. I was actually a nerd, and my biggest dream in college was to have girls who would talk to me. As I got older, I came to realize that it wasn’t humor and good looks that made me want to talk to girls, it was this…”