"I don't have to pick you up from work everyday, do I?" Sean asked. He bit into the toast he was holding. They were back in his apartment after their little reconciliation at the park (see Chapter 1), finishing the toast, eggs, and coffee they made.
"I'm not that unreasonable," Dell said as she finished spreading marmalade on her toast. "I finish at different times of the day. I wouldn't want to keep you waiting."
"Hmm, maybe I should pick you up every now and then, just so you'd stop working at six."
"Work is important to me. And it's not like I don't take care of myself."
"Really? When was the last time you took a vacation?"
"I... I don't remember..."
"I rest my case."
"But it's not like I need it at the moment. I can go anytime."
"Sure, sure." He took another bite on his toast.
"Anyway, let's talk about ground rules," Dell said to change the topic.
Sean stopped his chewing. "Ground rules?"
"Yeah, for our 3-month deal."
"There are rules?"
"It's not hard, I promise! It's just a little something so we know how to go about this."
"Okaaaay..." He didn't sound very convinced.
"First, we need to go out to events together."
"Events? Like parties?"
"Yes, and industry events and things like that. If we're going to make this setup work, we need to be seen together. And events are a great venue for exposure."
"Alright. Sounds reasonable. I can do events."
"Second, we need to go on dates once a week."
Sean nodded. "Okay. Yeah, I would take my girlfriend out every week."
"And third, you have to text me everyday."
"Everyday!" Sean exclaimed.
"People around me need to feel your presence. This isn't going to work unless they know I'm dating someone."
"Couldn't you just tell them?"
"There has to be evidence. If you start texting, people at work are going to get curious."
"I'm not really very good at texting everyday."
"Just try it. You might surprise yourself and enjoy it!"
From his expression, he doubted that. But Dell was too much in a good mood to let it bother her.
"Oh my, it's 3am!" She suddenly noticed. "I've got to get going. Sorry for intruding until this late."
"It's alright. Tonight was quite... Interesting." He stood up as she prepared to leave.
"Thank you again, Sean." She beamed at him.
"Hey, your welcome, dear. Take care on your way home."
She looked at him with a smirk. "You mean the three steps from your doorstep to mine?"
Sean shrugged and returned her smirk with a smile. "A lot of things could happen in three steps."
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