Vivian’s POV

She and Ryan were at the point where he left the door open for her when he knew she was on her way up. It was a small thing but it gave Vivian great satisfaction to just turn the door knob and come in on her own without waiting to be let in.

It made her feel like there was a measure of trust and understanding between her and Ryan. Closing the door behind her, Vivian looked around and could not find him in the living room. She checked his study and upon finding it empty she moved to the bedroom but he was also not there.

"Ryan?" She called out while standing in the hallway. There was no answer, so she went searching for him. Moving quietly through the penthouse in her quest.

The sound of low grunts, and punches being thrown drew her to Ryan’s home gym, and sure enough, she found him in there.

The man, unaware of her presence, continued with his workout, unintentionally giving Vivian a show.

She had no idea how long she stood there watching those muscles ripple.

His skin glistening with sweat as Ryan punched the bag over and over. Showing such an economy of motion with each punch, no energy wasted. Just him delivering solid blows to the punching bag.

When he finally stopped and began undoing the bandages around his knuckles Vivian could not help but let out a disappointed sigh. The sound finally got Ryan’s attention.

He turned to her, his blue eyes lighting up before he walked right over to where she was standing.

"How long have you been here?" He asked, and Vivian smiled as she threw her arms around his neck, her lips meeting his. After returning the kiss briefly, Ryan pulled back, a grimace on his face.

"I am all sweaty," He complained. Not at all bothered by that, she bumped her nose against his.

"I do not care. After what I have just seen you do to that punching bag. I want you to use some of that power and concentration on me," To emphasize her point she ran her tongue over her top lip, and brushed her covered breasts against his sweaty chest.

His eyes darkening with lust, Ryan grabbed Vivian by her butt and lifted her up. A surprised giggle escaping her, she hooked her legs around his waist.

"Show me what you’ve got, Mr Terrell," Vivian said mischievously, then all of her confidence faded away immediately when her stomach chose that moment to remind her that it had been hours since her last meal. There was no slight pang in her belly to remind her to eat, instead, her stomach growled...loudly.

***

Hiding her face in the crook of Ryan’s neck, loving how strong and manly he smelled despite her own mortification. Vivian took a few quick inhales before trying to salvage the situation.

"It’s alright. We can continue, my stomach has just been a bit loud today," She told him. But she already knew what Ryan’s answer was going to be. And sure enough, he did not disappoint.

"There is no way we are going to be having sex while you are starving. Let us find something to eat first," Still hiding her face against his neck. Vivian spoke up in protest.

"Didn’t you say that you were out of food last night? Or did you finally get around to calling someone to bring you groceries?"

Though he had never said it, the fact that Vivian was around so often had to have been wreaking havoc on his meal plans. Something that Ryan’s private chef had not yet been notified of.

"Just because I do not have food in the penthouse, it does not mean I am going to let you starve," Lifting her face from where she was hiding it, Vivian leaned back in Ryan’s arms and looked at him hopefully.

"Does that mean we are ordering in? How about we call and then have a quickie while waiting for our meals to be delivered,"

To her, the idea was an amazing one, but from the quick headshake he gave, he did not agree with her plan.

Still carrying her, Ryan began walking out of the gym. It should not have been funny, but Vivian could not help but giggle as they headed to his bedroom. How he could carry her and make it look like she weighed less than a feather she had no idea, but she was loving it! What she loved way less was the words that came out of Ryan’s mouth next.

"We are not ordering in. How about we eat out? I know this really great restaurant that we can go to,"

***

Going out to a restaurant in order to share a meal together was huge.

Sure, the two of them had dined together a lot of times since the beginning of their arrangement. But actually going to a restaurant sounded deeper somehow. Over the last few weeks Vivian had been feeling the lines in their arrangement beginning to fade.

It was making it harder and harder to differentiate what the two of them were doing and what couples did. But somehow she felt as though going to a restaurant with Ryan would be crossing some invisible barrier and mudding the waters even more.

Ryan had not wanted to hear it though, and now she was waiting as he got himself cleaned up. Deciding that she was over thinking Vivian chose to ignore the apprehension that she was feeling and just go with the flow. They were going to eat together.

That was all.

Besides she was in jeans and a simple shirt. It was not exactly the kind of attire that one would wear when going to a classy establishment. There was no way Ryan would be taking her to a fancy place. They would probably just find some hole in the wall place, have their meals and get back to the penthouse and have some wonderful sex.