Chapter Four
“ Y ou haven’t once asked me how my day went.”
“Hmm….” He was munching away on my neck. “What’s that now?”
“Dre!” I pushed him away. I was pissed off. “Don’t you even care enough to at least pretend to care?”
He gave me a dopey look, then tried diving back in. I didn’t want his slobber all over me. I scooted my chair over and he sighed, running his hand through his hair.
“I thought you said you’d be back to your regular self after resting up for the weekend. I’m not sure what’s the problem here.”
“The problem is that you haven’t taken one little minute to ask about my first official day at work. This is a big deal for me.”
I swear if that was an eye roll I’m going to slam his head into the basket of wings sitting in front of him. Tabasco sauce couldn’t feel too good on the corneas .
“You’ve already been there for two weeks.”
“That was just training. But now that I think about it, you didn’t ask me about that either.”
He chugged down the rest of his beer. I was sure he was using that time to figure out what the hell was going on with me. I knew he was frustrated, for many reasons, but was it too much to expect him to give me some attention before I gave him some?
He’d picked me up at home after work, never asking how my first day had gone. He’d tried for a quickie, but I’d pushed him off. He’d tried again, and I’d pushed him off again. Had he bothered to ask about my day yet? Nope. We came into Wengo’s and got a table. Ordered some wings for him and some mozzie sticks for me. Sat there for a half hour making small talk. Anything still? Nada. It wasn’t much longer after that before he was all over me like he hadn’t gotten laid in months.
All that and still not a fucking “Hey, how’s the job?” or “Did you have a good first day?”
Stu had texted in the first five minutes. Christa had written ‘good luck’ in lipstick and left smooches on the bathroom mirror. But a single gesture from my boyfriend ? That’d be a big fat zero.
God, I was turning into one of those girls, but fuck….
I shoved a wad of breaded cheese into my mouth. If he planned to have sex with only me from now on, then he’d better get used to showing me a little consideration or he might as well apply to that monastery over on Route 67.
I dropped my head, nauseated. The cheese was sticking in my throat, so I washed it down with my peach daiquiri. Yeah, I was irritated by his lack of concern over my new job, but so what? I didn’t know why I seemed to be punishing him for wanting to be with me and only me. What did that say about my priorities?
“Look, Perry.” He pulled my chair closer to his. “I’m sorry, okay. I didn’t know this was such a big thing for you. You’re switching jobs all the time and, uh, this one probably isn’t going to last too long anyway.”
I gritted my teeth. “That’s not the point. You could still ask. And I want this one to last.”
I was trying to do things differently. I made that promise to myself. It wasn’t my dream job to answer phones in a call center, but I was crossing my fingers that I’d stick it out a while. I was determined to give my life a makeover.
“You know, you could just come work for me at the gym. I’d be flexible enough so you could go to college.”
“I don’t want to go to college, Dre, and I don’t want to work for you. I want to do my own thing.”
Whether or not I wanted to go to school in the future was entirely up in the air. But if I did, it’d be my decision and mine alone.
“Don’t you want to… be someone someday?”
“Are you saying I’m not someone now? So, what exactly am I, then?”
“Jesus, Perry. That’s not what I’m saying.”
“Never mind.” This night was starting off with a kick that’d leave us both sore in the ass. I grabbed my purse. “I’ll be back. I’m going to the bathroom.”
I hopped off my chair and weaved through tables to get to the restroom. My head was cloudy. I wasn’t sure how I was feeling, but it wasn’t even close to normal. Whatever the hell that was anymore.
After spending too much time zoning out in front of the mirror, trying to decipher what had changed about me and coming up short, I left to go back to Dre. Maybe Christa was right. Maybe we weren’t cut out for this shit.
Someone caught my arm as I brushed past a table. I glanced down to see a hand circled around it and then up to see whom it belonged to. My mouth dropped.
“I thought that was you. ”
Blue eyes zeroed in on me. Oh hell no. Not now. I had enough craziness swirling around inside.
“Yes, it’s me. You can remove your hand now.”
His lips curved and I tried to act unimpressed. But damn, he had a nice smile. He released his grip slowly, and that’s when I noticed the woman attached to his side. She gave him a kiss and it grazed the side of his mouth. “I’ll be back in a few.”
He nodded, his eyes still on me. The redhead made sure to brush her tits against his back as she was leaving, heading towards the hall where I’d just come from.
“If that was her way of marking her territory, she didn’t need to bother.”
He laughed. “No, that’s just Lisa being Lisa.”
“Okay, then. See you around.”
I took a deep breath. That was stupid. I didn’t want to see him around. Anywhere. In fact, if we would’ve just gone to Lucky’s like Dre originally suggested, this would’ve never happened. Did I need to mark this place off-limits too? Maybe I should start a list.
Fuck that. From now on, I was going to go wherever I damn well pleased. I turned to leave but he touched my wrist. “Is it all nice and pink again?”
I gave my head a sharp shake. “What?”
“Your shirt. Did the stain come out?”
“Uh… yeah. It did. Thanks.” Why the fuck was my heart hammering so hard?
“So, is that the loser?” He nodded towards Dre. Our tables weren’t close, but close enough to see him through the crowd. Dre had his eyes planted on one of the big screens and didn’t appear to have noticed us yet.
“What did you say?”
“The guy you’re with tonight. Is he the one wetting his dick in anything with a pulse?” My eyes widened. Ho-ly fuck. He remembered exactly what Christa had said. “I still say he’s not good enough for you.”
I snapped out of it. “You’re one to talk, Mr. Kettle calling the pot black.”
“I believe it’s the other way around.”
Okay, so I sucked at my expressions. So what? I was getting flustered, and that did not bode well with me. At all. His smile was so damn wide and perfect. I wished he’d just drink some red wine already. Then throw in some food dye to muck it up further.
“And you still don’t have my name right. Don’t you want to know?”
“No.”
“Can I know yours?”
“No.” My anger climbed higher. “Don’t talk shit about the guy I’m with, okay? You have no right. Because the woman you’re with tonight sure doesn’t look like the same one you were with the other night.”
“That’s because she’s not.”
“At least Dre doesn’t cheat.”
“Neither do I. I don’t make false promises to anyone. But at least I make them happy.”
“What the hell does that mean?”
“It means that you haven’t looked too happy since you walked in with that loser. I can only assume he’s not doing a whole lot for you.”
“You’re fucking spying on me now?”
I clenched my fists and spun around. His current flavor was nearing the table, and I’d already stayed there way too long. I made brief eye contact with her before storming back. Take him. He’s all yours.
I found myself muttering under my breath the whole way. What an arrogant prick. There were tons of reasons for someone to be unhappy. What business was it of his to assume it had anything to do with Dre?
I got to my table, and before I could sit down, Dre grabbed my waist and trapped me between his legs. “That took a while.”
“Yeah, sorry about that.”
“No problem, baby.” He stroked underneath my shirt, slipping his fingers inside the waistband of my jeans. “I’m sorry about before. Can we just drop all that and pretend it never happened?”
“Sounds good.” It really did. I didn’t want to argue or be pissed off all night. I just wanted to be… happy.
He continued touching my bare skin while I leaned against him. It wasn’t turning me on, but it wasn’t bothering me either. I considered that a score. I rested my hands on the tops of his thighs and he smiled.
“Do you know what I want, baby?” I shook my head. “How do you feel about getting a tat?”
“You know I like them. I just wouldn’t know what to get.”
He ran his hand up my back. “I could decide for you. We could get one together.”
I laughed. “Don’t you have enough already?”
“Nah, I’m always looking for another, and this one would mean something different. I want it to show that we belong to each other.”
Okay, wow. What the hell was happening here? It suddenly felt a little too warm nestled between his legs—stifling even. I ducked out from his arms and went back to my chair, downing the rest of my drink.
Blech. It was warm. My tongue now had a nasty aftertaste all over it. I began digging through my purse for mints.
“Did I do something wrong?” he asked.
I didn’t look up. “Not wrong but…. You’re just moving a little fast, don’t you think?”
“Fast? We’ve known each other five years, Perry.”
“But not like this. ”
This wasn’t the Dre I knew, and I’d have to get to know this side much better before even considering a tattoo. Something that permanent? My stomach churned.
“Just think about it and—”
“I can’t believe it!” His voice shocked me senseless and my purse tumbled off my lap. “It really is you.”
Fuck. Fuckety fuck fuck fuck. The contents spilled all over the ground. I gave him an ‘eat shit and die’ look and squatted to the floor.
“And you must be Dre. She’s mentioned you before.”
I flicked my eyes up and saw them shaking hands, Dre looking stupefied. He didn’t ask for his name, and it wasn’t offered. I didn’t know what game this man was playing, but if this was his way of making a woman happy….
“Let me help you with that.” He bent down and picked up a package of mints. Now those little fuckers decide to make an appearance?
“I’ve got it just fine, thanks,” I said through clenched teeth. The fact that Dre hadn’t offered to help hadn’t gone unnoticed by someone other than me, I was sure of it. It made me want to knock his ass off the chair, then beat him with it.
As if sensing the vibes fuming off me, Dre said, “Oh, hey, babe. Need some help down there?”
I looked up and smiled sweetly. “No, thank you.” I would have preferred him to help without asking, but I’d take it.
“Nice necklace. Where’d you get it? ”
When I moved my eyes from Dre to Thor, I closed mine tightly for a moment and breathed deeply. The grin on his face showed how pleased he was. I snatched it back and stuffed it in my purse.
“This dollar store piece of junk?”
He laughed as I quickly shoved the rest of my shit back into my bag. What was I thinking bringing something akin to a suitcase when I could’ve just used a tiny clutch? Not only that, why did I carry around this ridiculous shamrock necklace? The guy must think I care about it or something. I just hoped Dre wouldn’t notice the one item that was missing amongst all the crap—his truck emblem. If he did mention it, I could say that it was holding a place of honor on my bedroom dresser. The only reason it wasn’t—
Yeah, right. No reason to worry—he wasn’t paying attention to anything I was doing. But he was staring at the unwanted visitor by our table, who in turn was looking intently at the object in his hand.
It didn’t take long before I realized what he was holding. Shit . It was the last thing to go back into my purse and the one thing I didn’t want him to see.
Blue eyes’ expression was unreadable until his face almost cracked in two. I swore those fucking irises twinkled as he extended his arm, handing the badge to me.
My work badge. My employee identification that I needed to carry with me at all times in order to gain access to the building. Shit .
“It was a pleasure seeing you again, Perry Sommers. Enjoy the rest of your evening.”
I didn’t respond as I slid it into my purse. My throat was too tight to do anything except watch him walk back to his table and rejoin the woman waiting there for him. I forced down a swallow.
That smug fucker now knew my full name and where I worked.