Chapter 9
Daisy’s chocolate eyes widen with both shock and disappointment. Her flushed cheeks redden before she places a hand on the side of her neck, assumingly to calm her racing pulse. I don’t blame her because I’m tempted to mirror the movement. I knew she was my employee the moment I saw her curls, but I knew there wouldn’t be a way to convince her to dance with me except just…doing it.
Had she declined after the initial hesitation, I wouldn’t have pressed her further into me, enjoying the feel of her hips grinding against my hardened dick, a silent reprieve from the ache. She felt good against me like she was always meant to be there. And I have no fucking idea what she means by she doesn’t know how to dance. Her hips—her entire body says otherwise. She was a natural in my arms, matching the beat of the music perfectly and keeping up with my movements just fine. I shouldn’t have let her turn around, if for any other reason, so I could still hold her.
“Well,” she says, sliding her gaze back to mine before taking a step back. “This has been fun, but I’m going to go.”
I don’t get a chance to respond because she turns on her heel and walks through the crowd without a second thought. Maybe it’s the panic creeping into my sternum, but my feet carry me, lightly nudging people to get out of the way. Sam Alberdeen’s blue eyes find mine, nearly bulging out of his head as he grabs a brunette-haired woman’s arm. A brief glance into brown eyes, and I can tell she’s attractive, but I don’t dwell on it long enough because I’m too focused on stalking my way over to the woman running from me.
Daisy’s curls bob along as she walks, about to reach her friends, when my hand wraps around her elbow, turning her back towards me. Her head rears back, and her arm tenses, but my grasp stays firm. “What’re you doing—“
“Daisy,” I speak over her, gently shaking my head to rid the fogginess from my brain. “I—“ I drop my hand from her arm and step back, shifting uncomfortably on my feet. This interaction is awkward as fuck, and I’m not sure what the fuck I’m supposed to say that sounds fitting as her boss yet doesn’t give away that I didn’t not enjoy that.
Because I fucking did. Very much so.
“I’m sorry,” I lift my head, sucking my cheeks in before blowing the breath out.
Her eyes darted between mine, and her eyebrows pinched slightly in confusion. She briefly looks over her shoulder to her friends, who seem extremely invested in our conversation but quickly turn away when they find me watching before finding my gaze again. Nothing comes out of her pretty lips, but she narrows her eyes as if she’s in the same predicament as I am.
“Are you?”
“Am I what?”
“Sorry?”
I rear my head, face scrunching in confusion. Daisy surprises me anytime she opens her mouth because everything she says is unexpected. Besides my friends, I don’t encounter many people ballsy enough to speak what’s on their mind without worrying they’ll offend the other, but for some reason, this quiet girl doesn’t care either way.
It’s kind of hot.
“For dancing with you?” I ask, a smirk pulling on my lips, thinking back to how divine her body felt against mine. “No, I’m not. But I am sorry for deceiving you. I wouldn’t have danced with you if you had told me no or to stop.”
The corners of her eyes widen slightly, her swallow thick. What I find attractive about Daisy is her confidence when defending herself, even if she doesn’t believe the words coming from her mouth. It doesn’t take much to know that Daisy is insecure as all fucking hell—I know because I used to be the same way. The whole “fake it til you make it” mentality? Yeah, like that, but times ten. People always use that term as a joke—something quick they could say when experiencing anxiety about talking in front of a crowd or doing something for the first time, without realizing that some people literally use that mentality as a way to protect themselves. The ones who weren’t allowed to show their emotions around the people they loved and cared about, so they pretended shit was fine when it never was.
“And if I knew ahead of time, would you have stopped?”
I snap my focus to her. “What?”
She shifts nervously on her feet, glancing over her shoulder before striking eyes find mine again. “If I knew it was you and wanted you to dance with me, would you have done it?”
I grin, taking a step forward, looking down at our shoes before looking at her through my lashes. Whether it’s the alcohol flowing through my system or the adrenaline surging through me when I look into her eyes, all I see is her. “We’d be doing much more than dancing at that point, Daisy.”
The breath halts in her throat, her eyes roaming between mine. Somehow, the air around us thins, nearly dissipating as we stare at one another, unable to break eye contact. Even in the dim lighting of the bar, flecks of green float through them. My fingers itch to hold her face in my hands and pull her to me, if only so I can get lost in her eyes.
Seemingly lost in the moment like I am, her eyelashes flutter, and my gaze darts to her parted lips. She starts to say something when a hand grabs my shoulder.
“Everything okay over here?”
Looking over, dark skin gleans in the light, an easy-going smile painted across Declan’s mouth. Daisy’s eyes find his, a glint flickering through them. “Hey, I’m Declan,” he smiles, outstretching his hand for her to shake. She takes his hand in hers without hesitation, and ease washes over her face, causing irritation to boil in my stomach.
“Daisy,” she replies shyly.
“I hope my friend here isn’t causing you trouble,” he smirks, nodding his head in my general direction. “He tends to be a bit…forward.”
I roll my eyes and run a hand down my face. “She’s—“
“He’s my boss,” Daisy says, eyes flicking between Declan and me. “We were just parting ways for the night.”
My eyebrows raise. “We were?”
Her eyes pinch around the corners as she rolls her lips into her mouth. “Yes. We were.”
“Ah, that’s too bad,” Declan answers before I can, roaming over Daisy’s appearance before straightening his shoulders. “Was hoping you’d be able to enlighten me on how this guy”—he smacks my chest twice— “is at work.”
She shrugs. “I don’t have much to say. He’s not too bad.”
Not too bad? The hell does that mean?
“Well, a group of us are sitting right over there if you care to join.” Declan nods towards Naomi and Jase, watching curiously from our original spots at the bar. Daisy smiles apologetically and shakes her head.
“Thanks, but I think we’re good. Conflict of interest.” She waves a hand around, glancing back towards the makeshift dance floor. She looks at me from the corner of her eye and takes a step back as if she’s embarrassed to be standing too close to me, and the thought punches me straight in the stomach. I don’t want her to feel uncomfortable, but when I realized who she was, the urge to hold her in my arms and feel her against me was stronger than worrying about everything outside of the moment. She lured me in by simply being her, and I couldn’t not take the chance to try. Even if it backfired, I wanted to be able to say that I got to hold her for a brief amount of time.
The unexpected thought shocks me.
“Ah, next time,” Dec smiles again, his hand squeezing gently on my shoulder. “It was nice to meet you, Daisy. Maybe I’ll see you around.”
Blush hits her cheeks before she smiles, and her easiness with Declan is enough to make me grind my molars together, but she quickly waves before turning on her heel to walk toward her friends. The brunette looks up when she returns, eyeing both Declan and I warily before turning her attention back to her friends. My focus remains on Daisy’s backside, unable to pull away from the curve of her hips, imagining how soft her skin would feel pressed against mine. I’m kicking myself for not savoring the feeling when I had her, and suddenly, I’m wishing we could be lost in each other again.
Declan whistles, pulling my focus back to the present.
“She’s hot, man.”
“Which one?” I ask, unsure if I want to know. If he says Daisy—
“Daisy,” he angles his body away from the girls to look at me head-on. “I mean, her other friend is cute, too, but damn…”
I frown, looking at my friend. There’s always been a small part of me insecure when it comes to Declan. He’s the better-looking one between us. It’s not that it matters, but girls have always actively thrown themselves at him, whereas I was the complete opposite growing up. Very nerdy, awkward, and insecure. Part of me is still that way and still envious of my best friend when I know I don’t have a reason to be. If there were ever a girl I was interested in, Declan wouldn’t think twice about it because that’s just not the type of guy he is. He takes it all in stride and doesn’t get too in over his head, but if he wanted Daisy, he could easily have her. He’s known for dating supermodels, actresses, and women in high-up places. It’s just who he is: the charmer, the guy with a heart bigger than his chest, a fierce advocate for the people and things that matter to him. A selfish part of me hopes he doesn’t stay interested in Daisy because I want the chance to throw my hat in the bag, even if it means we only become friends.
“Tan, if you want her, you should go for her,” Declan says, his expression softening. I shift my focus again from Daisy—who currently has her arm linked with Sam’s and looks to him like he holds the damn universe at his fingertips—and shove my hands in my pockets.
“I didn’t say I wanted her,” I say carefully, fighting the internal urge to continue staring at her. “I didn’t say anything.”
“No, you didn’t,” he agrees, bobbing his head to either side. “But I can tell you’re curious about her. If she’s somebody you want to pursue—“
“I don’t.”
“Sure,” Declan says after a moment, turning to look over his shoulder. “So if I said I wanted to ask for her number—“
“I’d punch you in the throat.”
“Exactly,” Declan smiles, nodding towards our group before he starts walking. I follow. “It’s okay if you want to pursue her. I don’t know what happened fully between you and Yasmin, but if you’re ready to move on and try with somebody else, you should.”
“I’m not interested in pursuing something,” I say, although it sounds like a lie. “I don’t even know the girl.”
“So get to know her,” Declan says, finding his way back to his stool before plopping down on it, reaching for Naomi’s glass of water and taking a sip. She rolls her eyes but leans back against Jace’s chest. “Start out as friends if she wants it, and see where it goes. If it doesn’t work out, well,” he shrugs, shifting to face me completely. “At least you can say you tried.”
I bite the inside of my cheek, hesitating as I look at Daisy. She’s in the middle of a conversation with her friends when her brunette friend wraps an arm around her shoulders and presses a kiss to the side of Daisy’s head before leaning against her. It wouldn’t be a bad idea to try pursuing a friendship with her—if that were something she wanted. If it wasn’t, then Declan’s right. At least I tried and won’t have regrets.
I think I’m a decent guy—at least likable enough that people want to be friends with me—so I don’t know why my skin pricks with unease when I think about being rejected by her.
“It’s because you are a good guy, Tanner,” Naomi speaks up, her face softening. “And there’s no way she would reject you once she gets to know you. She’d love you as much as we do.”
I stare at her in confusion, wondering if I said all those thoughts out loud. I don’t have time to be embarrassed about it, though, because Declan nods towards the doors after taking another sip of Naomi’s water, all of us watching Daisy maneuver through the crowd. “Now’s your chance, bud. Looks like she’s heading out. Go be the gentleman we know you to be and make sure she makes it home.”
I find myself hesitating, volleying between Daisy and my friends. “Are you sure?”
Naomi rolls her eyes and waves a hand. “Don’t worry about us. Now that you’re back in town, we’ll grab dinner or something this week.”
“Seriously, man, go,” Declan urges. “We’ll be fine.”
I look at my friends once more, all with excited smiles, before pulling Naomi into my arms and pressing a kiss to her temple. “Let’s grab coffee soon, yeah?”
She nods. “Text me.”
Jase and I clap each other’s hands before hugging, patting each other once on the back before I mimic the same exchange with Declan.
“You better text the group chat when you’re home!” he smirks, and I chuckle, shaking my head before waving a final goodbye to the group and making my way through the crowd.