Chapter 26
Lydia
Daniel nodded. “Please promise me you’ll call if anything feels wrong. Me, Terry, or Jake, any one of us, just promise.”
“I will.”
He put his hand on my neck and moved his thumb to the bottom of my jaw. Before I could react, he lowered his head and kissed my forehead. It was soft and quick, and I felt a shiver go down my back.
I didn’t move, I didn’t step back. I also didn’t look up at him. He was standing so close, I just kept my eyes on his chest.
“Bye, Lydia.”
Bye, Daniel. That’s what I should have said, what a normal person would do. But I just nodded. He stood there for another second and then turned around to take his backpack and helmet before walking out.
I locked the door quickly behind him and made myself a huge cup of hot coffee with frothy milk and too much sugar, enjoying that first sip that was way too hot and sweet, sending chills up my jaw, where he touched me.
Danny likes you. Becca’s voice sounded like she was using a megaphone in my head.
I took out my new phone and sent Becca a text.
?? Hey, it’s Lydia - new number
?? Hey! Danny texted it to me last night ;)
?? How’s the getaway?
?? Nothing like drinking booze and sunbathing on a private beach to forget a shitty man
?? Men, multiple
?? Right, yeah. God I don’t want to go back to work tomorrow
?? I have the week off so let me know if I can help
?? Ooooh does it have anything to do with why Danny just texted me asking if I can talk?
?? Don’t know
?? Uh huh
I didn’t answer, and she didn’t send anything else, so I assumed Daniel was updating her about Howard.
Why did I even text her to begin with? Since when do I want to reach out to people and just talk?
That never happened, even when I went out, dated, and hung out with a group—I had always preferred to be alone.
But I really liked Becca. I liked how sincere she was, I liked how smart she was, and I liked spending time with her because she never made me feel bad about being me.
And then there was Daniel. Mr. Mason. My boss.
I trusted him too quickly. Even in the beginning, when he chased me outside of the building or when I was alone in his office, my body didn’t react like it did with other people—I touched my ring and prepared myself like I always did, but it felt different.
And he was pushing the line each time. Did he think I didn’t notice?
He stood closer, touched me more… he was testing me, getting me used to him. And it was working.
He’d stop in a heartbeat if I told him to.
I tried to think about all of the times he touched me, and it was all so…
fuck, I don’t know. Anyone else probably wouldn’t have even noticed it.
A hug when I was overwhelmed, putting his hands on my shoulders when I panicked, kissing me on the forehead—it was affectionate, but it would have looked completely normal to see that between friends.
Great, now I’m lying to myself.
His touches with the increased heart rate, the way he stared at me… there was nothing platonic about any of that.
Shit, I hadn’t been with a guy since I smashed Nick’s face in with his helmet and ran off to another state.
I enjoyed the last two years of swearing off all humans and living a mindless routine.
But I also liked riding with Daniel and texting him.
And the touches… It was nice to not feel threatened when they happened or when I was around him, but I wasn’t ready to think about what the actual touches felt like.
My body was blocking that out for now, so I barely felt them at all, and I was fine with that.
I changed clothes and went for a run.