Chapter 443: Sweet

Connor could not take his eyes from Mina's pleased expression, which only added to the fire he was feeling. Watching her eat was not meant to be erotic, nor did he buy her the cakeas to watch her lick her lips, but he was glad that he did. Every time she bit into one that she enjoyed she moaned, and while Mina's actions were the innocent doings of a person who was truly oblivious, they were turning Connor on.

Wanting to take his mind off the sexual thoughts he was having, Connor made small talk with Mina. He hoped to distract her from the bliss she was feeling, because he was almost jealous that the sounds she was making were for cake, and not for him.

Connor found Mina unsurprisingly down to earth. She answered his questions honestly, but what attracted him the most was that she had purposefully left some of the mini cakes in the box untouched. Connor believed they were for him, but he could not be sure she was not saving them for herself for later.

"Aren't you going to have one?" Mina asked, she pushed the small box of pastries toward Connor, who had only glanced at the desserts when he noticed that she had stopped eating.

"I don't eat sweets." Mina looked at Connor as if he had just said something she could not believe.

"Take a small bite with a sip of your coffee," Mina replied, choosing to ignore Connor and make him step outside of his comfort zone much in the way he was doing with her. Connor did as Mina asked, finding himself amazed that he had not tried something so simple in the past.

"Mina, you know that I really like you, right?" Mina took a deep breath and released it.

"I know that you think you like me, but that is because you don't know me. As soon as the mystery fades, I become like everyone else, and you will get bored." Mina shrugged as if she had just told an undeniable fact, and Connor wondered if she had bad experiences with dating in the past.

"Has that happened to you?

"Not to me, but I've seen it happen to others. You like me now because you find me intriguing, but when you know all there is to know about me, that feeling will vanish." Connor knew Mina was not talking about sex, but that is exactly where his mind went.

"Maybe in the past, when I first met you that was true, but not now. Will you not give me a chance?" Connor stated more than asked. Mina did not want to lead him on, but she could not exactly tell him that she had no future with anyone, so she made a harmless deal with the man.

"How about we do this; you and I remain friends? We can get to know one another without expectation, and after a year, if your feelings do not change and neither of us are in a relationship, we can try to pursue one."

"And you won't judge me for anything that happens during that time?"

"As long as you do not have children, anything you do within that year has nothing to do with me. What matters will be how you treat me before, during and after. I won't lower my standards for anyone." That part was not a lie, Mina had standard qualities she looked for in a man, but thus far, only Paul had come close to meeting them.

"What if I fall in love?" Connor suddenly asked, not knowing why the words had even left his lips.

"Then as your friend I would be happy for you. Likewise, I would expect you to be happy for me." Mina did not say the words Connor said, but he knew she had implied them.

"So basically, you are giving me permission to date while simultaneously getting to know you with the potential of us starting a relationship after one year?" Mina nodded because she saw nothing wrong with her offer. Setting her limited time aside, she believed that relationships should occur naturally. She had always been firm in her opinion that anyone who would leave the person they are with for someone else, never really liked the person to begin with.

Feeling as though he and Mina had hit a sweet spot in their conversation, Connor excused himself, saying that the others were likely still waiting on him. He also wanted to let Mina get back to work, because he could tell she had been busy before he came to interrupt.

Before leaving, Connor kissed the back of Mina's hand causing the girl to flush bright red once again.

"I will take you up on your offer, but not until after your party." With those words, Connor left, leaving Mina confused.

The truth was that Connor did not want any distraction between now and then. He wanted Mina to see a side of him that only she brought out, because he wanted her to know that she was different to him. He had never planned to starve himself of women while waiting for her, but now that he knew she did not mind, it suddenly made all other women pale in comparison.

----

Olivia found herself nervously shifting in the backseat of Connor's car. Oric had decided not to tell Cylus about Peter, but in exchange, she had given him information about Willow that she was sure would come back and bite her in the end. She was also nervous because of Peter; his outburst was so unexpected that she worried he would do it again, and despite having been warned by Oric, she made the decision to see the man again.

As soon as Mina was out of work, Olivia went straight to the woman's apartment. She planned to leave right away, but Jay was there complaining about her father, and how he had been setting her up on matchmaking dates.

Olivia did not get to see the introduction of Willow and Jay, but the two women seemed to be two peas in a pod, hitting it off in an explicit laced conversation that ended in laughter from everyone.

"You look different," Jay suddenly said to Olivia and Willow agreed.

"She's been acting weird all day too." Willow was lounging back on the couch with her head in Mina's lap. The eyes of all three women landed on hers, and Olivia felt herself shy away. She looked down at her body, trying to make sure nothing had changed. Mina's eyes widened because she had seen that guilty look before.

"You didn't," she said. Making Willow and Jay look at her instead.

"How can you tell?" Olivia asked, panicking, and Jay finally caught on.

"Dom?" she asked, clearly excited, but she frowned when Mina reminded her that Dom was on medical leave.

"How was it?" Willow asked, noticing that Olivia was not giving them a name, she assumed the woman wanted to keep the information a secret, something she wished she had been able to do all those years ago.

Without mentioning Peter's name, Olivia went into detail about everything that happened the night before and why it had happened. After the women confirmed that Olivia did not regret her actions, they probed her for details, which she gladly provided.

Mina listened with her hands over her face, Jay's mouth was hung open and Willow kept sighing longingly. Contrary to what she thought, she did not feel bad or guilty telling the women about her escapade, and she was glad when neither of them judged her.

"Thank you," Jay added sarcastically, her expression had changed to one of annoyance. "I don't think any of the old men my father keeps introducing me to will ever make me feel that way, and now I'm jealous."