42. Dante
CHAPTER 42
Dante
I slid a chair out from under the table and set my briefcase down. The girls were back in town and had started up the group meetings again. They were deep in conversation, though I couldn’t tell what they were talking about. Not that I cared.
My mind was preoccupied. I hadn’t seen or spoken to Faith since we rang in the New Year together last week. My day job had grown more demanding over the past few days. I was ramping up to take on new projects and bigger clients, making it even harder to find time to spend with my favorite distraction.
Before I had a chance to settle in my seat, Brittany threw her hands up. “How can you even think that, Bailey? He’s perfect for her. She’s just too stupid to see it.”
“Oh, I think she sees it,” Bethany said. “How can she not? She’s just protecting herself. She’s been so hurt before.”
“What the hell are you talking about?” I asked, eager to get the meeting over with so I could get back to work.
“It’s this book.” Brittany tossed a hardcover book on the table.
My cheeks burned. I grabbed my bag and felt around inside for my copy of Carnal Knowledge . Satisfied they hadn’t found me out, I played it off. “What’s the problem?”
Brittany continued. “It’s this couple. They have hot, amazing, mind-blowing sex, and she won’t let him get close to her. Finally, he starts romancing her, pulling out all the stops, and she?—”
“Don’t tell me. I haven’t made it that far yet.” Bailey covered her ears with her hands.
“Wow, that good, huh?” I’d started reading it at the hospital. They were right, it had some pretty incredible sex scenes. I’d put it down when Meemaw woke up and hadn’t looked at it since.
“It’s amazing,” Bailey said. “I can’t wait until her next book comes out.”
“What makes him this book so special?” I asked.
Brittany grinned. “You want to borrow my copy?”
“No.” I shook my head, dismissing her suggestion with what I hoped was an acceptable and believable level of disdain.
“Okay.” Brittany leaned back in her seat. “If you change your mind?—”
“Can we go ahead and get started?” I asked. “I’ve got to get back to work.”
Brittany grabbed the book off the table. “Fine. What have you got?”
We spent the next forty-five minutes going over the holiday sales figures for the Sashay Salon. I opted not to mention my free haircut. We divided up some tasks for the next week and wrapped up.
I walked out, making sure to pass the study carrel Faith usually used. It was empty. Where could she be hiding out these days? Things seemed to be going well between us. Hell, if she didn’t want to be found, I wasn’t going to start looking. I had enough to keep me busy with work, my side gig at the bar, and trying to get home to check on Meemaw a couple of times a week.
As I left the library, I saw Jess talking to some girls in the lobby. She said her goodbyes and caught up to me.
“Hey, Dante,” she called out.
“Hi. How’s it going?”
“Pretty good. Just wrapping up a study session with some undergrads. Were we ever that na?ve?”
I laughed. “You’re probably only a couple of years older than them, you know.”
“Yeah. But in their case, I think a couple of years makes a world of difference.”
I slowed my pace to match hers. “So, have you seen Faith around?”
Jess glanced over at me, a sly smile spreading across her lips. “You two still seeing each other?”
I cleared my throat. I didn’t like talking about my love life with Jess, but if I wanted to find out where Faith had been hiding, it was worth a shot. “I just haven’t seen her around for a while.”
“I talked to her the other day. She’s sick. I think she got a bad cold. She’s had a sub covering her classes.”
“Oh.” That explained it. I didn’t know much about Faith, but I knew she was serious about her career. If she was too sick to make it to class, she must be in bad shape. Maybe I should stop by.
We’d reached the doors, and Jess turned to head left while I needed to go right.
“She sent me a text saying she’s running out of tissues. Maybe you could bring her a box.”
Tissues, huh? At least I could stop by tomorrow after work to make sure she was okay. “Maybe I will. Thanks.”
“Any time. Good luck.”
I hunkered down against the cold and trudged across the quad to the parking lot. I’d better get a move on, or I’d be late for my day job. They’d be announcing promotions and new assignments in the next month or two. If I wanted to fast track, I needed to make every moment, every effort, every project count.
Tameka had given me a rave review for the work I’d been doing in the salon with my team from Tempest. Now, if my current clients could be as generous with the praise, I ought to be in good shape.
Maybe I could find a stretch of land outside of DC or somewhere in upstate New York where Meemaw would feel at home. It would put her closer to whatever new office I’d be working from. I could have the best of both worlds. The one thing I hadn’t quite figured out yet was how Faith might fit into those plans.
The bar had been unusually quiet for a Thursday night. I powered through my shift and made my way upstairs to my place to heat up some leftover Chinese food. I was always too wired to go straight to bed when I got done working. It was two in the morning, but I didn’t have any meetings the next day, so I planned on working from home.
Faith had been on my mind all night. Hell, all week. It didn’t help that Meemaw kept calling and asking when I would bring Faith down for another dinner. She probably just wanted to make sure Cheryl didn’t try to sink her claws into me again. Like I’d ever let that happen.
This whole thing with Faith had me on edge. I was used to being in complete control, never letting anyone get close. But Faith had somehow breached the razor wire I’d erected around my heart, and I found myself wanting to be a little bit more to her than just a twice-weekly booty call.
I yanked the copy of Carnal Knowledge out of my backpack and sat down at the table to dig into my leftover chow mein. If Brittany was right and the guy eventually turned on the charm and won the girl over, that’s the part I wanted to find.
I got a little distracted when I came across the sex in the mailroom closet. Yeah, that part was pretty good. How many women read this kind of stuff? Did they get as turned on as I did just by reading a couple hundred words on a page? Based on the heated conversation between the women this afternoon, that had to be a yes.
As I shoveled forkful after forkful of noodles into my mouth, my eyes devoured the inner workings of a woman’s mind. It was awesome stuff, and I knew Faith wouldn’t be able to resist it. But was I willing to try? Something more than just great sex existed between us, whether she was ready to admit it or not. It wasn’t like I was looking for a long-term commitment.
If Meemaw had taught me one thing over the years, it was to take my chances when they came up. My dad provided a perfect example of that. Meemaw’s words played through my head. “You never know how much time you have left, my boy, but you can choose who you want to spend it with.”
The whole ordeal with her being in the hospital had thrown me for a real loop. Meemaw wasn’t going to be around forever. As much as I didn’t want to think about that, it was a fact. Maybe it was time for me to open up a sliver and think about letting someone else in. I’d been protecting myself for so long though, would I even know how?
I got up, put my dirty dishes in the sink, and grabbed a notebook and pen. If I was thinking about launching an assault to win Faith over, I’d have to take some very good notes.