25. Transparency, the best policy?

I gave Walter a wet yes and with that yes, Walter took me to the sitting room floor, took my body for his, and did whatever he saw fit. By the end of it, we were both satisfied and exhausted. We laid our naked bodies on the blue carpet covered by a black fleece blanket until sunrise.

The first thing I saw when I opened my eyes in the morning was Walter's big chest, I admired him for a while scanning him from his black curly hair to his pinkish lips, this man was even more gorgeous in his sleep.

"Like what you see?", he said with his eyes still closed, I jumped and faced the opposite side, now putting us in a spooning position

"Wha-what do you want for breakfast?", I tried to cover up my embarrassment, but my shaky voice could not mask it

"You..." Walter began kissing my back, "I mean we are already naked and in position, you are ready to be eaten", he slightly bit my shoulder, while his hands wandered all over my body. I made soft movements with my body in response to his touch and my soft morning moan was like a signal telling him he could continue with his mission to pleasure me to his heart's content. He took me in that spooning position, I was a very happy and blissful person after that session, Walter exceeded my expectations, the man did not get tired; anytime, anywhere- he was always ready to take me. I had to stop him a couple of times from taking me on the balcony. Overall, what almost became a boring weekend was turned into a passion-filled weekend, I was struggling to even walk properly on Monday, but all that was masked by the glow on my face, and I did not regret giving this man a chance.

A month went by, and this thing I had with Walter was at its peak, whether it was because we were just two people vibing or there were no expectations and no strings, whatever it was, I found myself drawn to the excitement and Walter's spontaneity. Maybe that is why even his supportive and caring nature gave me a different high, because he was doing it out of the goodness of his heart, not because he was forced by some title. We managed to hide it well in the office, no one picked up on it, and my work was striving as well, I was now involved in bigger projects, and I was in my prime.

One Saturday Walter invited me to his friend's housewarming party, I knew that we were not exclusive but seeing him every day and the frequency of text-exchange had me convinced that I was the only woman in his life at that point. Although I did not believe I was the only one, he did not give me a reason to doubt otherwise hence I was happy to be his plus one at this party. I felt really special to have this man's full attention on me. 

His friend bought a mansion on a mountain and it was breathtaking with the tall palm trees lined along the driveway welcoming us from the gate and taking us to the big lion fountain at the front. The house had 12 bedrooms, 8 bathrooms, 5 garages, 2 dining areas, 2 living rooms, 2 big patios (one with a pool and the other one with a big garden), 2 big kitchens, and a 2-room cottage, I honestly felt was overkill for a person staying alone. Although it was a simple housewarming party with modest decorations, Walter's friend went all out to even hire a valet driver, a professional chef, a bartender, and the butler who took our coats at the door and led us to the main patio where the party was set up. As we approached the backyard, we were met by the big blue pool some people were already swimming, and outdoor lights were hanging around the backyard waiting for the night to fall. 

I was very nervous and I didnt know whether to act as a friend or girlfriend, Walter went to get two glasses of wine from the bar, while I hovered around the place. The event was not a formal one so we all had on our outdoor outfits, Walter was wearing a white golf T-shirt, with khaki pants paired with white Snickers while I had on a white maxi dress and my hair was tied up in a messy yet elegant bun. We walked around with Walter introducing me to his pals and chit-chatting until I felt my blader calling. I excused myself to find a bathroom, unfortunately, the butler was out of sight, so I found myself in the wrong wing of the house. On my way out, I heard two women talking about Walter in the non-busy kitchen, I stopped in my tracks to listen in:

"So do you know the woman Walter came with?"

"Who still keeps track of Walter's bimbos, the man changes women like he changes clothes, how many have we met this year alone?"

"You are right, in 3 months we will be meeting someone different. Do you think he is ever going to grow up? How did he introduce this one?

"That's the weird part, he didn't put a label on this one, usually if it's a friend he does specify, and if it's more, he does say. This man has been a mess ever since Rachel Baker, I don-"

I didn't want to hear anymore so I coughed twice to announce my presence and their faces turned pale, It was clear that they were talking about something they shouldn't be discussing, and they quickly scattered.

I remained in the kitchen for a while to calm myself down, it turned out I was not special, and even though I suspected that I was not, it was still painful to hear. My pride could not take it, I needed to recollect myself, I recalled seeing the second patio with a garden when we drove in, so I went to take a breath on one of the outdoor couches. My favorite thing about the mansion was the clear sky visibly decorated by the stars and the moon, I gazed at it for a while as if I was looking at a painting and the air was very fresh, unlike in the city. The patio was kept bright by the garden lights, I must have lost track of time because I was snapped back to reality by Walter's tap on my shoulder

"Hey, so this where you are hiding...", he sounded relieved

I was not ready to see him yet. Even though I was not happy about everything and I was curious about the Rachel person they mentioned, I had no right to confront him because we were not together. Thinking about that small fact made me even more frustrated and angry, so I did the only thing any person in my shoes could do to protect themselves in the future because I was not ready to let him go yet,

"Walter, I know that we are not exclusive and I do not expect any loyalty from you. You have the right to live however you see fit, but please promise me one thing, should you find yourself committing to someone, please let me know. I don't want to find myself as the 3rd person or the other woman and I don't want any drama", I gave him a condition.

"What??! Where is this coming from?", Walter was visibly taken back by my request

"I just want to know, I want to know what I am dealing with and I think transparency is the best policy. That will also give me the chance to make my own choices. That is my only condition..."

"Okay, I promise to tell you. But, what brought this up? You were fine before you went to the bathroom. Did someone say something to you?", he said while taking a seat next to me,

I was not fine, him agreeing to my condition made my heart even heavier, why didn't he fight it? was he planning on committing to someone else? I mean how do I tell him that even though we were not exclusive, I was not ready to share him? I wanted to be the only woman he looked at just like he was the only one for me. Was I being too selfish?