Chapter 10
Delilah
My night with Zander was incredible. My morning with him was more of the same, but as soon as he walked out the door, a wave of guilt washed over me.
My brother was fighting for his life, and I’d just had sex with one of the men who held his future in his hand.
To make matters worse, it was the best sex I’d ever had.
When I was with him, I’d never felt so alive, so consumed by a man’s touch, and my body was already aching for more.
Hoping I might come to my senses, I got up and took a long hot shower.
Unfortunately, I was still thinking about him even after I got dressed and was on my way to my car.
I even found myself looking for him as I turned into the parking lot of my work, but there was no sign of him or his brothers.
The same held true the following two days.
There were no calls, no casual check-ins, or so much as a drive-by since we’d slept together, and I silently cursed myself for being disappointed by the fact.
I guess I shouldn’t have been surprised.
It wasn’t like anything could’ve come from our night together.
We were from two different worlds, and there was just too much for us to overcome.
Sadly, the thought didn’t ease the tightness in my chest as I got ready for another day of work.
I grabbed my things and headed to nursing home; once I got there, I wasted no time making my rounds, checking in on my assigned residents and making sure they had everything they needed.
I was pleased to see that both Mrs. Rice and Mr. McClanahan were both in good spirits.
It seemed that Zander’s visit with Mr. McClanahan had made a lasting impression.
As I thought about it, I realized Zander had made a lasting impression on me as well.
No matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t stop thinking about him or why I hadn’t seen or heard from him, so much so that Krissy called me out on it.
She walked up to me with a look of pure determination, placed her hand on her hip, and snapped, “What’s up with you? ”
“Nothing is up with me. I’m ... uh, fine.”
“Um-hmm.” She crossed her arms as she stood there studying me. “The other day you came in here practically glowing, and now you look like someone kicked your dog.”
“I never had a glow, Krissy.”
“Oh, yeah. You most definitely did,” she argued. “I kept thinking you were going to tell me about the guy, but nope, you’ve just been walking around here keeping your little secret all to yourself.”
“What makes you think there’s a guy?”
“Because I know you, and it’s written all over your face.
Your cheeks were all flushed and you had a little sparkle in your eye.
So, who was it? Cameron?” Without giving me a chance to respond, she shook her head.
“No, you sent that douchebag packing months ago, so it had to be a new guy ... Oh! Was it that fine ass who came by here the other day—the one who won over Mr. McClanahan? Oh, my jeez. Please tell me it was him! He was some kind of hot. I would’ve climbed that man like a tree. ”
Reading my expression, her mouth dropped open and her eyes widened. “Oh, my god. It was him!! You banged the hot guy from the other day!”
“I have no idea who or what you’re talking about.”
“Oh please.” She shook her head. “I don’t know why you’re trying to keep it a secret. You know you’ve never been able to lie to me.”
“I know. It’s not that I’m trying to lie about it. It’s just ... It’s umm ... complicated.”
“Why is it complicated?”
“Because he isn’t a good guy.”
“All the better,” she snickered. “Bad boys are always good in bed.”
“Krissy, it’s not that simple.”
“It could be if you’d just let it.” Krissy crossed her arms and smirked. “Just have a little fun with the guy and leave all the complicated crap out of it.”
“I don’t know if that’s possible, Krissy. Not with this guy. Besides, I haven’t seen or heard from him since that night.”
“Maybe he’s been busy or ... he doesn’t want to come off too eager.”
“Um-hmm.” I rolled my eyes. “I doubt that’s the case.”
A warm smile crossed her face as she said, “I tell you what ... let’s go out tonight. We’ll have a few drinks, dance a little, and we’ll figure this thing out together.”
I always had a great time whenever I went out with Krissy, but I’d never been able to keep secrets from her, especially when I was drinking. I was scared I might say something I shouldn’t. “I don’t know. I’m really tired and—”
“No excuses.” She cut me off. “We’re going.”
“Ugh ... okay, fine.”
“Great. I’ll be over at your place around eight to pick you up, and wear something cute—maybe one of those little dresses you never want to wear.”
“You mean the ones that make me look like a hooker with my ass hanging out?”
“Yep.” As she started to walk away, she argued, “You don’t look like a hooker. You look amazing, and you know it.”
She disappeared into one of the resident’s room, and I didn’t see her again until our shift was over.
As we made our way out to the parking lot, Krissy reminded me that she’d be at my place at eight, and before I had a chance to back out, she hopped in her car and started the engine.
After she pulled out of the parking lot, I took a quick look around and checked to see if there was any sign of Zander.
When there wasn’t, I grumbled under my breath and dragged myself to my car, then drove back to my apartment to get ready.
Even though I was in no mood to go out barhopping, I took a shower, fixed my hair and makeup, and put on one of those little dresses like Krissy had requested.
I’d just finished getting ready when she knocked on the door.
As soon as I answered, her eyes widened with approval as she said, “Ooh, la la, mamasita. You are looking fine tonight.”
“I take it you approve?”
“Girl, you know I do. Give me a twirl.” I turned around in a circle, showing off the fitted red dress I’d only worn once before. It wasn’t something I would typically wear since it was so short, but Krissy clearly approved. “You look amazing.”
“Thank you. You look great too.” Krissy never failed to look incredible whenever we went out.
Tonight was no different. Her blonde hair was pulled back, and she wore a black miniskirt with a sparkly halter top that showed off just the right amount of cleavage.
“The guys are gonna be all over you in that.”
A mischievous smirk crossed her face as she said, “I certainly hope so.”
Once I grabbed my things, I followed her downstairs and out to the cab she had waiting for us.
Once again, I saw no sign of Zander as we pulled out of the parking lot and headed downtown.
We had the cab drop us off at a corner near one of our favorite little diners.
After we were seated, we ordered a quick bite, chatted about work while we ate, then walked down to Music Row.
There were several great bars along the strip, and as always, each one of them was packed.
As we started making our way through the crowd, Krissy took my hand, and in a matter of minutes, we were sitting at the bar of one of the more popular places in town.
When the bartender came over, Krissy ordered us each two double shots of tequila.
“What the hell, Krissy!” I fussed. “I have to work tomorrow.”
“Oh, come on. When’s the last time you had a couple of drinks,” she argued as she handed me one of the tall shot glasses. “Live a little.”
“Okay, but no complaining when my ass is dragging tomorrow.”
“I won’t say a word,” she lied.
She tilted her head back, downing the double shot with one big chug, then watched as I did the same.
Once we’d done it again with the second, she ordered us a couple of mixed drinks.
After a little searching, we found a table in the back and quickly claimed it as our own.
The alcohol was just starting to take effect when Krissy leaned towards me and said, “Tell me all about him.”
“Honestly, I don’t know much about him.”
“Well, you had to know something ... you slept with the guy.”
“Yeah, but I think we just got caught up in the moment or something.”
“That wouldn’t be hard to do, especially with a guy as hot as him.” She giggled as she questioned, “Where did you meet him anyway?”
I’d never been able to lie to her, so I tried bending the truth instead.
“We crossed paths the night I went to check on Danny. I kind of thought he was an asshole at the time, but that day he came to work and talked to Mr. McClanahan ... I saw a different side to him, a side I really liked, but like I said, I haven’t heard from him since we slept together. ”
“So, he’s a player, huh?”
“I don’t know, but so far, he hasn’t proven otherwise.”
“Well, two can play that game.” Krissy slid my drink over to me and said, “There are plenty of hot guys here tonight. It’s time to party.”
“I think that’s a great idea.”
We both finished off our drinks, then headed out to the dance floor.
It was the first time since the night we were together that I wasn’t thinking about Zander or why I hadn’t seen or heard from him.
Instead, I danced with my friend and let go of all those thoughts that’d been weighing on me.
The two of us had broken out in a sweat, so we went back to our table and ordered another round of drinks.
We were just about to finish them off when I reached into my purse for my phone.
I had no idea what had possessed me to check my messages, but I got quite a surprise when I noticed a text from a number I didn’t recognize.
Unknown Number:
What are you doing?