Fox in the Hen House

"Hey, not this Saturday but the Saturday after, we both need to attend that dinner remember, the one that everyone in Washington will be going to. I hope you won't be working that night too, or will I be able to have you to myself for most of the evening?" I ask Steff to change the topic.

"No, I won't be working that night, I'll be all yours. There's going to be so many people there too, so many lobbyists and political aides and the like. There's always a good amount of gossip that comes out of those nights too, and as long as we're not a part of that, I'll be happy."

"Same. Although, I usually go under the radar at those things, no-one's interested in the boring data analyst."

"That's because there's no political blackmail or favors to be gained with you. You're just the handsome numbers guy." Steff replies while smiling up at me before kissing me once more.

"Yeah, but I'm sure some of those ambitious young lobbyists would love to get down and dirty with you, however."

"What? Only the young ones? Personally, I think the older guys are the ones to look out for." Steff giggles with her response.

"As long as none of them ever get their way with you, then I'll be a happy man."

"Well, rest-assured, you'll always be a happy man indeed. I never mix business with pleasure, and you're all the pleasure I'll ever need. Now take me to bed Dave, and show me some of that pleasure I'm craving right now."

"Absolutely." I answer before picking up Steff, carrying her off into our bedroom.

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It's early on a Wednesday morning as both Steff and I are enjoying our morning coffee together before we'll leave for our daily commute into Washington DC once again. I've come to savor the routine of our morning coffee, the small bit of time we get together before our long day commences.

"Oh, I forgot to tell you last night, but I've been asked to go to New York on Friday for some meetings on behalf of the Marshall Institute." Steff mentions as we're sitting together.

"Are you flying or driving up for the day?"

"We're flying up, but our first meeting is in the afternoon. Then we'll be attending a dinner, before having two more meetings on Saturday."

"What? You're staying there overnight?"

"Yeah, it makes no sense to come home. Besides, I don't know how late we'll be at the dinner for, and the first meeting on Saturday is scheduled for ten in the morning."

"And you're just telling me this now?"

"Well, I only found out yesterday myself. I wasn't meant to be going, but someone pulled out."

"And it had to be you to be the fill-in?"

"Dave, I know it's short notice, but I don't want to say no either. This is a good opportunity for me; I want to go." Steff replies as she reaches out to take my hand.

"Alright, I guess it's not the end of the world. Although, I hope they won't be sending you away on too many of these overnight jaunts. I prefer you being home here with me."

"So do I, believe me. But if I'm going to get anywhere where I am, a little bit of sacrifice will be needed, unfortunately."

"Yeah, probably. Although after we're married and I knock you up, I'm not sure how much travelling you'll need to be doing for your career. Maybe a role where you can work mainly from home will be in order."

"That sounds good, but I'm not married or knocked up just yet." Steff smiles back at me before we both get ready to leave the house.

On Thursday night I make sure to give Steff some good loving, even more than what we normally enjoy. If she's going to be away for Friday night, I want to leave her thinking about me. It is a little weird getting home late on Friday however, coming home to an empty house and an empty bed. This is the first night we've not spent together for quite some time.

Steff called me earlier this evening, chatting with me for about twenty minutes before she needed to get ready for the work dinner. I know I'm being a little selfish in wishing that she'd said no to going away for the night, that she was here with me instead. At least with my job, I've never been asked to go out on the road, to travel anywhere to meet with anyone. Yeah, in the end, I am just the numbers guy.

On Saturday morning, I again met up with Pete and Steve to enjoy riding through the wilderness, it helped to take my mind away from Steff being in New York. Steff arrived home in the afternoon and that night, we both enjoyed a lovely dinner at home together, before heading into the bedroom so I could show her just how much I missed her even if for one night only. We did our usual visit to our parents in the morning on Sunday, before again enjoying our time together on Sunday afternoon. Even with her trip away on Friday night, we did enjoy our weekend, before having to return back to our weekly work routine on Monday.

The week flew by, I had a big deadline for Friday morning which I met, barely. I went riding with Pete and Steve the next morning, before getting ready for our big work function on Saturday night. We arrived at the hotel just after seven, entering into a large ballroom filled with dining tables with a stage setup at one end. Already there are plenty of people here, everyone buzzing around doing their best impression of worker bees in a hive, as I chuckle at my own thought.

Yeah, Steff is right about me hating these nights, this place is brim full of political junkies, all eager to network and chat and sell and, well, talk bullshit mainly. I'm hoping I'll show myself to my bosses, then spend the rest of the night only chatting with Steff.

"Is Megan or Chrissy coming tonight?" I ask Steff as we look for our table.

"Chrissy is, but not Megan. She's got something else on."

Will Chrissy be sitting with us then? Are these tables arranged to seat colleagues together or something?" I ask, as I genuinely don't know how they make seating arrangements for these nights.

"No idea about tonight, but usually they like to mix and match so that you get to meet people you don't normally work with." Steff answers.

"So, we might end up with random strangers wanting to talk shop all night long."

"Well, that is the purpose of tonight, after all." Steff says as she takes my hand, leading us through a myriad of tables, looking for our place names.

"Oh, here we are. Although I don't recognize any of the other names." Steff says as we find our table.

"Well, I'm hoping some of them will just be here for appearances like us."

"Maybe you are, but I'm looking forward to meeting some people here tonight."

"Yeah, sometimes I forget you're a political junkie like the rest of them." I chuckle.

"I met you at one of these nights, if you remember. They aren't all bad." Steff responds as more and more people begin to take their seats.

As I'm looking around, I see Chrissy taking her seat at another table, but I'm surprised to see that she's here with Brad.

"Chrissy's here with Brad, what's up with that?" I say to Steff, pointing in their direction.

"Oh, he's her plus one. She didn't want our bosses to think she's desperately single or anything."

"Always keeping up appearances, huh?"

"You do work in this town too, don't you? You know this place is all about keeping up appearances." Steff replies while laughing at my insight.

"But won't Megan get a little jealous if he's here with Chrissy?"

"No, why would she get jealous?" Steff says, looking a little confused by my question.

"Ah, nothing. I'm just kidding a little." I answer, not wanting to get into the whole Brad, Megan and Chrissy dynamic whatsoever.

"Dave, hey, it's been a while." I hear from a guy behind me.

"Hey Jacob, yeah it's been a few years at least." I reply once I see it's one of my old college friends who I haven't kept in touch with since leaving college some five or so years ago now.

"Wait, you two know each other?" Steff asks, looking a little surprised.

"Yeah, we went to UMD together, although Jacob was doing political science stuff like you. But do you know Jacob too?"

"Yeah, we work together. Although we haven't spent that much time working closely, but yeah, we know one another." Steff answers.

"And Steff is a real political animal at work too; she's definitely going places. Hold onto her Dave, you'll be dining with Congressmen and Senators before you know it." Jacob responds with a smile.

"I just like my work, that's all." Steff answers, looking like she's blushing a little.

"Anyway, we'll have to catchup soon Dave, here's my card with my number." Jacob replies as he hands me his business card.

"Sure, I'm looking forward to it." I reply before Jacob continues on his way.

"I'm betting you won't call him." Staff says quietly so other people at our table won't hear.

"Nope. He's a decent guy, but we'd have nothing to talk about except work, and I hear enough about politics already."

"Is that why you only ever hang out with Steve and Pete, because they don't give a shit about politics either?"

"Yep, and I like it that way." I respond, before we do the polite thing of introducing ourselves to the rest of the table, and them with us.

The night isn't too bad, the entrees served are nice, and the main dinner is even better. I've managed to avoid talking with too many people, even at our own table although they all seem nice enough. Steff has been a little more talkative, and when she excuses herself to go and greet her bosses and to 'do the rounds' as it were, I'm left sitting here looking out at the rest of the people all dressed up in their finest attire, trying hard to impress one another.

They have an old school swing band playing tonight, and quite a few people are already up dancing as the night gets later. I watch some of the couples enjoying themselves, wondering how many of them are actually married or dating the person they're with. I can't help but assume that a lot of cheating happens on nights like these.

That's when I spot Chrissy and Brad, dancing slowly together on the far side of the dance floor. It's like they're ignoring the upbeat music playing, in a world of their own right now. When they start to kiss one another, I'm taken back a bit. What the hell? I thought Brad and Megan were a thing, is he sleeping with Chrissy too? Maybe Marla was right when she joked at the cookout that maybe he is their 'arrangement' they're both happy with.

I do wonder if Steff knows what's going on though, she seemed genuinely confused when I mentioned that Megan might get jealous of Chrissy being here with Brad earlier. Maybe this is the first night that Chrissy and Brad are hooking up, maybe Brad just decided that he'd like to sleep with both Megan and Chrissy.

Who knows? And I have to remind myself that I don't care either.

Steff and I left the Gala function for home about an hour later, and I'm glad the night is finally over as we arrive home. It doesn't cross my mind to talk with her about Brad and his double love interest, right now I'm more interested in our own love life. And I'm going to show Steff just how much tonight.

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It's now Thursday lunchtime the week after our big dinner last Saturday night. I've arranged to meet up with Steve for lunch, meeting in his favorite café once again.

As Steve makes his way over to our table, I stand to shake hands with him as usual.

"How's your week been so far?" Steve asks me.

"Not too bad, same shit, just a different day. You know how it is."

"Yeah, it gets like that sometimes. Have you ordered already?"

"No, I was waiting for you." I answer before Steve signals to the waiter.

After placing our orders, we make a bit of small talk, mainly about sport until our food arrives.

"So, have you spied on my fiancé anymore since the last time?" I ask him with a cheeky grin.

"Again, not spying. And yeah, I saw them in here on Tuesday actually."

"Steff? And who else?"

"Just her and Brad."

"Really? No Megan or Chrissy?"

"Nope, just those two. They were sitting at that table just over there, the same table I saw them at last time as well. Maybe they come here pretty regularly like me. Who knows." Steve answers.

"And did they look like a couple again this time? If I remember, you thought they looked like they were together the last time they were in here."

"Well, yeah, they did. Kind of."

"Which means what?" I press him.

"Nothing really, just that if I didn't already know Steff, maybe I'd think they were a couple. That's all."

"Did she see you in here too?"

"No, I don't think so. Or at least she never looked my way when I looked over at them eating their lunch."

"So, did anything actually happen between them? Or were they just here having lunch, and not holding hands are anything?"

"Just lunch. I know you're thinking I'm seeing shit that's not there, and you're probably right. But that's what I see when I see them together. To me, they look like they're in a relationship together. I know I'm wrong and they're just 'best friends' and all that, but that's how it looks to me."

"Alright, let's drop it. I don't need to be getting all paranoid about Steff and Brad. Besides, I've seen him making out with both Megan and Chrissy now at two separate events. I think your girlfriend is right, that maybe he is 'the arrangement' they're both happy with."

"Well, Marla's pretty good at figuring people out. But what if Steff is a part of that with Brad too?"

"What are you saying Steve? That just because you've seen her having lunch here with him, that she must be sleeping with him too?" I answer, sounding a little annoyed now.

"You're right, there's probably nothing going on at all. Forget I said it." Steve replies somewhat defensively.

"Let's talk about something else. Are you all good for Saturday morning as usual?" I ask, wanting to change the topic.

"Yeah, but Pete will be a no-show. He's taking Justine to the Obstetrics clinic on Saturday. He just texted me this morning."

"Oh well, it'll be just the two of us then, I hope you can keep up."

"Says the guy who's usually last to finish on the trail nine times out of ten." Steve laughs with his remark.

"Yeah, yeah." I chuckle back.

While back at work, I do think about Steve once again insinuating that he thinks there might be something going on between Steff and Brad. I know how stupid that sounds, Steff has never given me any reason to ever doubt her. And Brad is one of her best friends after all, and maybe to most, seeing a guy and a girl as best friends might just look like there's something more than that.

But I know there's not, that Stef doesn't have those types of feelings towards Brad, and I doubt she ever has.

The weekend went as normal, bike rides on Saturday morning, dinner together with Steff on Saturday night, followed by visiting our parents then some time alone on Sunday. The following week at work has been up and down however, but tonight me and Steff are heading out to yet another fundraising event. As it's a Thursday night, I don't want to be out too late, and have let Steff know not to mingle too long after the dinner is over.

After we've taken our seats and met everyone at our table, I'm preparing myself mentally for yet another night where everyone around us will be talking politics once more. But Steff likes that, I just wish for her sake that I did too, but I can't bring myself to get into it that much.

"Brad is here tonight too, I'm not sure where he is though, I haven't seen him yet." Steff informs me as the waiter is pouring us both a glass of wine.

"Did you talk with him about tonight?"

"Sort of. We had lunch together last week, he told me he'd be coming tonight as well."

"What about Megan and Chrissy? Are they coming too?"

"No, Megan has a date tonight with a guy named Henry, and Chrissy is being her wingman, she's with his friend but I can't remember his name." Steff replies.

"Hold on, Megan is dating someone? When did that happen?"

"They've been going out for a number of weeks now. It must be getting more serious if she wants Chrissy to meet him and his friends too."

"Really? So, there's nothing going on between Megan and Brad then?" I ask, after seeing them kissing not that long ago.

"No, and you asked me that before. Why would you think that Brad and Megan are a thing? They work together."

"Well, maybe because I saw them kissing romantically with my own two eyes."

"You did? Are you sure?" Steff asks, seemingly surprised by my revelation.

"Yeah, I'm sure. It was when I was at the event that I had to speak at the other week. I saw them with their tongues down each other's throats out on the balcony. That's why I was surprised that Brad showed up with Chrissy at the big dinner the weekend before. And I saw him kissing her too when they were out on the dance floor as well."

"No way, now you're just making stuff up." Steff answers, smiling up at me like I'm gaslighting her.

"I'm being honest, Steff. In the last few weeks, I've seen Brad making out with both Megan and then Chrissy. And now you're saying Megan has been dating someone else while this is going on with Brad too."

"Well, I can't believe that Megan or Chrissy would be getting together with Brad while I don't know about it. It's just hard to believe is all." Steff reiterates.

"Believe it, I saw it. Maybe they're just better at keeping secrets than you are." I smirk at my fiancé.

"Well, obviously. I'm going to have a talk with Brad when I see him later, that's for sure."

"Yeah, just don't tell him it was me that saw him with Megan and Chrissy. I don't need to get involved in all your friend's personal drama's."

"Don't worry, I won't. Oh, there he is over on the far table. Can you order dinner for me if I'm not back in time?" Steff asks as she gets up to leave.

"What? You're going over there to talk with him now? Can't it wait until after the dinner?"

"No, but I won't be long, I swear." Steff says before she makes her way over towards Brad.

Great, so now I have to sit here by myself and make small talk with the other people at our table while Steff goes off to gossip with Brad about his love life. Just wonderful.

When the waiter comes around to take our meal orders, I look back over at Steff sitting with Brad, they're still chatting and smiling, enjoying the evening it seems. I order for Steff as well and then send her a text, letting her know that her meal will be here soon. I look over and see her checking her phone before looking over at me, nodding in my direction.

It's not until our meals are delivered to our table that Steff finally reappears, taking her seat beside me.

"Glad you could make it." I offer in a sour tone.

"Sorry, we had a lot to talk about."

"You could've talked with him about it some other time, not leaving me here on my own."

"Oh, come on Dave. You're a big boy. I'm sure you were fine here with everyone else at our table."

"Whatever. Let's just enjoy our meals so we can go home."

"Stop being so grumpy Dave, it wouldn't hurt for you to at least try and enjoy these evenings for once."

I ignore her comment, not wanting to argue with Steff here tonight, or any night to be honest. I'm just here because my think tank is partly sponsoring the night, and staff like me are expected to attend. Same with Steff and her firm too, although she clearly like these nights more than I do.

I've tried to keep our conversation between us lighter and on a happier tone during dinner, and Steff still seems to be her normal happy self too, conversing a lot with the other guests at our table as well.

After dinner, I want to angle towards us leaving as soon as we can, but before long Steff is once again going over to talk with Brad, saying he's a little lonely at the table he's at. While she's gone, I take the opportunity to go speak with a few of my colleagues, making an appearance as they say. After talking with my boss and a few others, I make my way back to our table, but find that Steff is still over chatting with Brad.