Chapter Eighteen
CHASE
Making my way out of the studio, I assume Dax will be back with lip-filler Barbie. First, I searched the office area, and he’s nowhere to be found. So, I make a last-ditch effort and head to the kitchen. If you can’t find Dax, search for the food or the booze.
As I walk in, Dax is leaning against the countertop, a bag of ice against his swollen face in one hand and a glass of something resembling whiskey in the other. My shoulders slump. I know immediately Dax isn’t in the right frame of mind, and neither am I. This whole thing has screwed with us both.
His non-iced eye glances up at me as he stands taller, placing the ice on the counter. His body tenses, instantly going into fight mode like he’s expecting me to punch him again, but instead, I walk up to him and yank him to me in a tight, back-slapping embrace.
Only he’s not hugging me back.
He’s stiff like he thinks I’ve lost my damn mind.
Maybe I have.
“What the fuck, man? Are you off your meds or something? Punching me, then hugging me? Make up your mind.”
I pull back, then exhale. “I fucked up, sure. But it doesn’t excuse what you did, Dax. That shit was uncalled for. If only you’d talked to me, I could have explained Lyri’s situation.”
“But Cha—”
“No buts, Dax. She doesn’t want this life. That’s where it needs to end. Trust me on this. You still trust me, don’t you?”
His body finally slumps. “Yeah, bro… always.”
“Then I need you to let this go, and I swear I’ll be more present. I’m sorry I got so wrapped up in Lyric. It’s just… I’ve never felt for anyone the way I feel for Lyri, Dax. It scares me how deep my feelings run for her and how quickly they developed.”
His eyes meet mine. It’s like something inside of him clicks, like he’s finally seeing it. “You love her.”
My body ignites, my chest warming at the thought. “I do.”
He slowly grips my shoulder. “Then, brother, we gotta get her back ’cause I’m not having you mope around here like a lovesick puppy. That’s not good for your image.” He gives me a dirty, big smirk.
I slap him across the back of the head. “Asshole.”
He exhales, chuckling at his own joke. “We need to make a plan. A get-Lyri-back plan. If anyone can pull off something big, it’s us.”
“I love how getting her back is now an us thing. You do know there’s only two of us in this relationship, not three?”
He mockingly frowns. “Are you sure you don’t wanna spice things up?
” I roll my eyes, turning to walk out the door.
“I’m kidding,” he calls out. “Kinda,” he mumbles, and as I turn back to face him, he smirks.
“So, you wanna go in with a big bang right away, or just ease in slow and steady like, giving her just a little thrust to wet her whistle?”
I groan. “Why does everything have to be an innuendo with you?”
“I can stop. Or I can give you more, more, more, mooore—”
“Fucking hell, you’re like a prepubescent teen, I swear.”
He laughs, putting the ice back on his eye. “I’m just glad we’re working together again. Operation Lyrical Revival is now in full swing.”
“Getting my woman back has a code name?”
“Every mission has to have one. We’re brothers in arms, fighting the good fight, Chase. You with me on this?” Enthusiasm seeps off him in waves.
“Yeah.” I can’t help but get excited at the possibility because at the end of whatever-the-hell-ride I’m about to embark on with Dax, I know I am going to have Lyric back.
“I can’t hear you, soldier. I said… are you with me on this?”
“Fuck’s sake,” I mumble under my breath. “Yeah,” I state with much more enthusiasm while trying to appease him.
He grins like the damn Cheshire cat as he straightens his leather jacket. “Okay, first things first. What’s her favorite food?”
I raise a brow in curiosity. “What?” He glares at me. “Okay, ahh… I know she likes Red Vines. She ate a bunch of them on the road trip to take the goat back to Rip. Oh, plus Fun Dip and Indian food, but I don’t know how we could work that into it?”
“Girl’s got a spicy side, but more importantly, a sweet tooth. Okay, we can work with the second one.”
“You gonna shower her in sugar? I think that’s a bad idea. I’ve seen her on a sugar high.”
His eyes close, then a huge juvenile expression lights his face.
I reach out, punching his arm. “Stop imagining Lyri in the shower.”
His eyes flash open with a chuckle. “Sorry, bro. Gotta admit she is fucking hot, though.”
I exhale. The thought of never seeing Lyric’s gorgeous face makes me want to punch something. Again. The fact that this all happened in such a messed-up way is entirely my fault.
This is all my fault.
If I’d just told her every fucking thing from the start, who I am, what I’ve done in the past, none of this would have happened.
This is all on me.
Not Dad.
Not Dax.
They were simply doing their jobs.
I didn’t do mine when I was in a relationship as Lyric’s boyfriend. Now we’re suffering the consequences of my bad judgment.
“Where did you go just now?” Dax asks, seeming more serious.
I exhale with a frown. “She’s never going to take me back.”
He steps in beside me, slapping my shoulder. “She will. She has to. If she doesn’t, I’m afraid your pretty face is going to take on this mopey sack-of-shit look forever, and then you’ll never have a chance with another female again.”
“You really are an asshole.”
He chuckles like he’s making fun of himself. “Right? So, let’s go find Mary-Beth.”
I jerk my head back. “What the hell? Why?”
“Because she’s going shopping for us.”
“There’s that us again.”
“Shut up and roll with it. Now, c’mon.” He grabs my arm, yanking me through the hall down to Mary-Beth’s desk. Her eyes shift up the instant she sees Dax, and her lashes flutter like she’s entirely in love with him.
Hell, she probably is.
Most women at Ego Star are.
“Dax…” His name rolls off her tongue like she’s humming it to herself. “How can I help you today?”
He perches on top of her desk, leaning down almost in her face. The guy knows how to play her, that’s for sure. Her breath catches as I stand back watching the whole thing unfold like I’m intruding on their time.
I feel like a damn voyeur.
He does this cocky, lopsided smirk thing and begins his spiel. “Mary-B… sweetness…”
She bats her eyelashes, twirling a lock of hair around her finger.
“Can you do a little task for us?”
She glances at me, and I put on my best panty-dropping smile, but she’s instantly back to Dax with star-struck awe in her eyes.
“For me, Mary-B?” he asks.
She giggles, and I want to hurl at this little display of… whatever this is.
She sighs like she’s totally and utterly besotted, or maybe it’s lust as she leans closer to Dax. “I’m working overtime on a Sunday because I’m highly valued, though way underpaid.” She flips her hair over her shoulder. “But I do love it when you call me that.”
He waggles his brows. “I know.” He smirks. “So, do you think you can help us out, Mary-B?”
Her entire body shudders as if hearing her name has sent a shockwave right through her. She bites her bottom lip, obviously trying to be seductive. I feel like I need to leave the room or something.
This shit’s fucking weird to watch.
“You’re so good to me. Okay, so what I need is for you to go to the store and grab as many Red Vines and Fun Dips as you can find.
Plus, a colorful toy for a parrot, a bottle of expensive champagne, and something to put them in, so it’s like a gift basket?
You following?” She nods. “Then I need you to find a card, a real nice one with ‘I’m sorry’ or some shit along those lines, and bring all of it back here to put together. ”
“Got it!”
I want to make sure she does, in fact, get it. “Do you need to write it down or something?”
She and Dax both snap their heads to me, Dax grimacing like I’m a fucking idiot.
Mary-Beth glares at me like I am the devil incarnate. “I didn’t get this job by not being able to do it properly, Mr. Covington. If you took the time to get to know your employees as Dax does, then you’d know I’m the best damn secretary in this company.”
I open my eyes wide, and he dips his head like he knew that was coming.
“My apologies,” I offer sincerely.
“I’ll get what you need, but Dax, you gotta do that thing you do for me… as a payment,” she requests.
I tilt my head at Dax questionably this time.
He tenses like he’s embarrassed, but he dips his chin. “Deal. Only if once the gift basket is ready, you deliver it as well.”
“Yeah, sure,” she agrees.
He stands and places his hand out. Dax brings her hand to his lips, and he kisses the back of it. Her entire body relaxes at his touch. Mary-Beth takes a deep breath, then grabs her handbag, stands, and turns, walking off without another word.
I slowly spin, glancing at Dax, and he knows exactly what I’m thinking, letting out a groan. “Oh, fuck, don’t even start with me—”
“So, is it some kind of weird kink? I bet she likes dress-ups, right?” I tease.
He tilts his head like he’s thinking. “She probably does, but it’s not that.”
“Dax, tell me, what do you have to do? I mean, you’re doing it to help me, so I should at least know.”
“It’s nothing, honest—”
“I really think I should kno—”
“I really think you shouldn’t—”
“Dax!”
He exhales exasperatedly. “Fine! I have to lie on her bed wearing a unicorn onesie, singing Justin Bieber’s “Baby” to her while she cuddles her cat, Mr. Mittens.”
My brain tries to reject the mental image, but it barrels in anyway. Jesus Christ! Dax, all limbs and misplaced swagger, zipped into a glittery-ass unicorn onesie, crooning Bieber’s ‘baby, baby, baby, oh’ while some fluffy-ass feline stares on like royalty.
A snort punches out of me before I can stop it.
Then it snowballs.
The tension I’ve been carrying, the tight coil of rage in my gut, the shame, the heartbreak, the betrayal, it all starts to crack under the weight of this absolute fever dream.
The pressure in my chest loosens. My shoulders shake, and I let out a choked wheeze that turns into a full-bodied laugh, one that hits deep in my core and catches me off guard.
Holy hell, I needed that.
I stumble back a step, my hand braced on the countertop as my laughter turns nearly breathless. “Unicorn… onesie?” I manage between gasps, like I’ve been gut-punched by comedy.
Dax scowls, wounded pride all over his face. “Yeah, yeah. Laugh it up, fuck face. I’m risking dignity and potential glitter chafing for you.”
I lose it again. My hand shoots to my ribs, holding on as I double over, wheezing like I just sprinted five miles. “Glitter… chafing?” I cough out, nearly crying now. “You poor, sparkly bastard.”
“Do you know how much synthetic fur those damn things have?” he mutters, rubbing his forearm like the trauma’s still fresh. “It’s like wearing a disco ball with mange.”
I straighten, still laughing, swiping at my eyes while I shake my head. It’s absurd. It’s fucking stupid. And somehow, it’s exactly what I needed.
Like this idiot just dragged me out of the darkness one ridiculous image at a time.
“You’re a goddamn hero,” I tell him, voice hoarse with laughter. “This… this is next level.”
The earlier fury still simmers in the back of my mind, but it’s dulled now, like this ridiculous conversation hit the brakes on the hurricane inside me.
The anger’s still there, but so is perspective.
And maybe, just maybe, I don’t feel like punching the walls anymore.
Dax straightens, brushing invisible lint off his imaginary unicorn chest. “We’re brothers, you and me, Chase. There’s nothing I wouldn’t do for you.”
“And now I know the true meaning of sacrifice.” I slap a hand over my heart.
He points a finger at me. “You ever tell anyone about this, I’ll deny it so hard the NSA’ll start deleting records.”
“Too late.” I grin. “Burned into my memory forever. But I am a dick for not realizing you felt left out. I should have introduced you to Lyri sooner. I shouldn’t have tried to keep you guys separate.
I love you both, so you should know each other.
You should be friends. I fucked up, big time. I apologize, Dax.”
He shrugs. “I’m used to you fucking up, Chase. Who do you think cleans up your messes all the time?”
“True…” I pause. “Wait! You knew what Mary-B wanted.” Dax stills. “Does that mean you’ve done it before?”
His eyes widen as he cracks his neck. “We should get a drink while we wait for Mary-B to return.”
His avoidance technique sounds like a good one to me. I wrap my arm around his shoulder, pulling him to me. “Jesus, Dax, the shit you must get up to when I’m not around.” I let out a chuckle. “Okay, drinks it is.”
“Fuck, yes! And then we will enact phase one.”
My muscles clench all over, but if anyone can help me get Lyric back, I know it’s going to be Dax.
So, phase one, here we come.