CHAPTER ELEVEN #2
“Oh, yeah?” I wanted to know more, but I didn’t want to appear overly eager.
“Yeah. Myers Harris. Real asshole. He’s rich and good-looking, and he cheated on her the whole time they were together. With her friends.”
I felt sick at my stomach for her. That had to hurt so badly when she found out. “That’s awful.”
He nodded. “Word is that she lost all her scholarships because she was torn up about it and now she has to work two or three jobs.”
“What?” My voice came out louder than I’d meant for it to, but that tends to happen when you almost have a heart attack. “What are you talking about? I know she works at Dinardo’s Deli, but where else does she work?” Please don’t say one of Nico Salazar’s gentleman’s clubs.
He chose that moment to glance up at me. And frowned. “Who are you anyway? You look familiar…” he looked me up and down, “and kinda old. Why are you asking about Daisy? You some sort of creep?”
“Nope. And I’m only thirty.”
He narrowed his eyes at me. “Dude. That’s old.”
I decided it was time to move on. “Thanks.” I hurried onto the sidewalk and got as far away from the guy as I could.
He looked like he probably played CaveSphere.
Of course, most college-aged guys did. But he looked as if he might be a ‘Spherical,’ which is what our more extreme fanbase called themselves.
I couldn’t have him recognize me. I was wearing sunglasses, a backwards ball cap, athletic shorts and a T-shirt, but you never knew. There aren’t many handsome, built video game designers who are six-four and carry themselves well.
I got into the Camster. That’s what my sister had called my car when we were young, and it stuck.
It was like a Camry mixed with a hamster.
It was during her hamster phase, when she’d had a complicated habitrail that took up much of her room.
Still, some of the little guys found a way to escape.
It wasn’t weird in those days to wake up to a hamster sitting on my chest, staring at me. Horrifying, but not weird.
Now here I was on another weekday, heading away from campus after solidifying what I knew of her schedule.
It was crazy around campus right now. The fall semester had just started back up, the football team was set to have its season opener in a couple of weeks, and I looked around somewhat fondly at my old stomping grounds.
I’d gone to college so early, so young, that I didn’t have the typical college memories.
By the time I graduated, I’d finally been old enough to mess around with girls, which had been great.
But other than that, Tallon and I had just gone to classes, excelled in school, and worked on CaveSphere.
There had been little time for fun. I shook the memories off, started up the car, and pulled out into traffic.
I saw her biking along but knew better than to stop and offer her a ride. I couldn’t have her knowing I was stalking her. Besides, stalking was too strong a term for what I was doing. I was just following her around, buying a house near hers, and trying to find out anything I could about her.
Hmm. That sounded exactly like stalking if I was being honest with myself.
Now I knew where she lived, I knew where and when all her classes were, I knew she was a business marketing major in her last semester of school, and I knew she’d had a bad breakup with a shitty ex who’d cheated on her.
And I knew she worked nights at one of the Salazar clubs.
One of the private ones. That thought kind of made me want to go all caveman and drag her home with me to keep her away from any and all men.
I almost hooted with laughter at that. Sexual jealousy had never been my thing.
In fact, Tallon and I had spent many a night back at my condo.
He’d fuck his date in one of the big bedrooms while I’d fuck my date in a different one.
Then we’d switch. It hadn’t been a big deal.
Neither of us had minded a bit, nor had the women, obviously or we wouldn’t have done it.
But imagining doing that with Daisy? Yeah. Not going to happen. I wondered which club she worked at. I already knew so much about her, but I had to know this bit of intel. It might be one of the most important pieces of information. And I had to know more about the clubs themselves.
I shoved a hand through my hair, as I pulled into the parking garage under the Lancaster building. Time to go to work.
It was the first time in my life I’d been reluctant to work, I thought as I got in the elevator and rode to the top floor of the building that bore my name. I just wanted to spend the time finding out more about Daisy.
This was ridiculous. I had to get this under control. I sucked in a deep breath and then blew it out slowly. I needed to focus all of my energy on CaveSphere 4 for the rest of the day. I could do it.
Hours later, I was still at it. I’d only come out of my office for a brief time when the new delivery girl brought my lunch in from Dinardo’s. I’d hung around awkwardly while she’d chatted easily with Grandma and Tallon.
We spoke little beyond saying hello to each other. But I noticed she kept casting glances my way. It gave me hope Daisy had been talking about me.
Hopefully not in a bad way.