Chapter 2
Chapter Two
Daphne
As I pull up to my condo, my babies grumble in the back. They know we’re home and going for a walk soon.
Leaning forward, I rest my forehead against the steering wheel. My body has been rioting all day.
For the first time, a man has captured my attention. My nipples have been sensitive and hard all afternoon. My panties are damp, and my clit is throbbing. Darrell’s husky voice, telling me he wants to make me wet, keeps repeating in my head.
The moment our eyes locked, before he even introduced himself, I was attracted to him.
He’s about six feet tall, with dark wavy hair, spiked on top.
His sky-blue eyes and the intense way he looked at me made my heart stop for a moment.
I could barely form words when he finally walked over to me.
The instant he touched me, I was lost. I could barely remember my own name.
The only bad part about the whole encounter and made my day go downhill was when Lyla announced in front of everyone that I would be attending the Regents Gala.
I tried to get out of it, telling her I don’t have anything formal enough for a black-tie event.
She said one of the board members suggested it.
I waited until later to confirm what I already suspected.
Darrell requested me. After that, some of my coworkers were upset with me.
Since I started, some of them have been against me, whispering behind my back that I only got my job because of the reality show.
It’s not true. I told the aquarium I didn’t want any special considerations, and that I didn’t want to do another show, so if that was a factor, they shouldn’t hire me. I got this job on my own merits.
Lyla said she wants to move away from the antiquated system of aquarists only specializing in one species.
She wants cross-training so people can step in when others are out sick or there’s a loss of personnel.
She said they realized during Covid that the current system wasn’t going to work for the future.
I exit the Jeep and let my girls out. After the dive, I changed into khaki shorts and my work polo. I take my babies for a walk in the park. My mind wanders, trying to figure out what to do next. There’s no getting out of attending the gala.
There is only one person who can help me with this.
I dial my sister as we make our way back to the condo. The call goes to voicemail. I don’t leave a message. Instead, I send her a text to call me when she gets a chance.
I also want her opinion on whether or not she thinks Darrell was flirting with me. I honestly don’t know. Fish and my studies have always been my focus. Guys weren’t even on my radar until today. Darrell is definitely on my mind.
We enter the condo, and the girls run around while I slip into soft shorts, a matching cropped tank top, and a cardigan. I pull my hair up into a messy bun and head for the kitchen.
I meal prep every weekend so I don’t have to spend time cooking on work nights.
Working four tens can be exhausting. As I pull out the roasted chicken, steamed veggies, and couscous, I eye the bottle of wine that’s been in my fridge for a couple of days.
I don’t normally drink much, but for some reason I thought the crisp white would be nice while sitting on my balcony at night.
Reaching for a stemless wine glass, I pour a healthy amount, then take a small sip as my phone rings.
“Hey, Daphy, what’s up?” Delphi says.
“Well, first you can tell me what’s this about you moving to Tennessee?”
“First of all, you’re in Tennessee, and I don’t want to pass up on this opportunity. You know I hate the practice here in Maryland. I’m tired of prissy women marrying and having children just for money. Or politicians cheating on their wives with their aids. Ugh.”
Delphi is a family attorney. She’s been handling divorce cases for a while now, and I know she hates it. Even though she goes through men like she does socks, she still believes in true love. But working with these people is slowly hardening her heart.
“There’s a practice in Nashville run by two sisters. I like them a lot. The cases they take on are meaningful. We met on a case where I was third chair, just doing research. They saw my potential and asked me to come work with them.”
“That sounds good. Still family law?”
“Yes. They deal with divorces, but they’re well known for being sharks, and I like that. I want to see some women win once in a while. They also handle divorces involving children, and their practice works with counselors and good custody investigators.”
“Girl, I like that for you. But you know I’m in Chattanooga, not Nashville.”
“I’ll only be two hours from you instead of almost nine.” She points out.
“Okay, that’s much better.”
“Now what did you need?”
“Well, um.” I push the now warm food around the glass dish, unable to figure out how to ask her everything without embarrassing myself. “I have to attend the Regents Gala next weekend. I don’t have anything to wear. It’s black-tie.”
“I can help with that. Isn’t tomorrow your next day off?”
“Yeah,” I answer.
“I’ll take an extended lunch and we can video chat. I’ll research some places for you to go and have them pull some dresses for you.” She pauses for a moment before speaking again. I can feel the wheels turning in her head. “So why are you attending the gala? What else is going on?”
I chew on my lip, unsure how to explain it all to her.
“My manager thought I would be a good representative after a board member requested I attend.”
My phone starts ringing in my hand again, and I look down as the FaceTime comes up. I tap to answer, and my sister appears on screen. She’s sitting in her small office. Working late is another thing she hates about this practice.
She leans back in her chair. Her long hair is up in a tight bun.
Her makeup is over the top and beautiful.
I can make out the upper part of the black dress she’s wearing.
She’s got a red jacket draped over the back of her chair.
Her bosses don’t like her tattoos, so she has to cover them up.
They also don’t like her septum piercing, so she removes it when she’s at the office.
“Okay, spit it out, Daphy. What’s going on?”
I lift my wine glass and take a big gulp of liquid courage before taking a deep breath and spilling it all out.
“How do you know if a man is flirting with you? Would he say he wants you to get wet for him instead of you getting him wet from the pool?” The words tumble out in a rush of word vomit.
“Whoa, slow down. Who flirted? This guy from online? Wet? What the hell?” She leans forward with a huge grin on her face. “My baby sister is becoming a woman.”
“Shut up.” I roll my eyes. “I don’t know what guy online you’re talking about. This man’s name is Darrell Boseman.”
“Wait.” She shakes her head, holding up a hand. “The Darrell Boseman of Boseman Unlimited?”
“I guess. I don’t know.”
“Just a moment.” She clicks away on her phone as the window shrinks.
My phone pings in my hand. I tap the messages open, and my breath wooshes from my body.
“Oh no. No. No. No. I can’t be that. I won’t.” I shake my head, denying what I’m seeing.
Images of Darrell fill my screen. Him with several different women at red carpet celebrity events.
In the Hamptons. Some around Chattanooga and Nashville.
One woman appears repeatedly, and I can tell these are older, maybe almost ten years back.
He still looks handsome as ever, and the woman he’s with looks so much like him that I know in my heart she’s related to him.
It’s the other women and the social settings that drive me heart rate up and start a panic attack.
“The last one is from like five years ago, sis. He hasn’t been on social media since then.”
“I can’t do that. I won’t be subjected to the online bullies again.”
After appearing on an episode of the reality show, I was targeted online. People called me fat and ugly. I received marriage proposals, death threats, rape threats, all of it. It was awful. I won’t go through that again.
“Calm down, Daphy. It’s going to be okay. It’s not a date. He just requested you be there, nothing more.”
“Well, yeah.”
“Don’t get in your head thinking it’s a date. Explain to me exactly what he said to you.”
I tell her about meeting him and his “wet” comment. I don’t tell her about my reaction. As my twin, and because of our bond, she already knows. Since we were little, we could sense each other’s feelings. It’s not something mystical or supernatural. It’s real.
“You like him,” she says.
I look down, and my heart clenches.
“Yeah. I thought he was different. My hand tingled when he touched me.”
“Okay, for now, let’s focus on the event. If something more happens, then we’ll go from there. Got it?”
“Yeah. Delly, I’m scared.”
“It will be okay, Daphy. We can do this. I’ll come down and see you the Saturday after the event, and we can plan a bike trip.
Then you can come up and help me find a new condo in Nashville, although I’m looking at a place out of town.
Maybe it’s time to buy a house. We have the money from Granny I could use. ”
“Momma wanted me to buy instead of rent, but I wanted to see which areas I liked first.”
We talk a moment longer before she needs to get back to work, or she’ll end up spending the night in the office again. I stand up, wobbling slightly from the wine, and feed the girls before grabbing my flashlight, taser, and their leashes to head out into the dark for a walk.
Darrell
As soon as I got back to the office, I pored over Daphne’s file. She’s exactly what I thought she was, an innocent hidden beauty. She lives near the aquarium and is single.