“Damn, I didn’t know you knew how to do manual labor,” Davin teased.
“Very funny. I shouldn’t have to be doing this. I pay people to do this, and I’m still stuck doing it.”
“I guarantee you this wasn’t in my job description either,” he said with a laugh.
The cavalry showed up about an hour into the crisis. The plumbers went to work looking for the source while the remediation team brought in wet vacs and fans. Davin and I went to the bar and sat down. He handed me a clean bar towel. “Thanks,” I said and wiped the sweat from my face. “My feet are soaked.”
“Mine too,” he said. “Think we’re closed for the day?”
I sighed and slowly nodded. “At least. Hopefully, they get it taken care of by the end of the day.”
“How are things going with the other place?” he asked.
“I don’t know.”
“What does that mean?” he asked.
“It means she has not spoken to me since Tuesday. She barely looks at me.”
He sucked in a breath through his teeth before kicking off his shoes and peeling off his soaked socks. He walked around the bar barefoot and poured us each a drink. I took it from him, ignoring the fact he had just touched his feet.
“Do you think she’s pissed at you?” he asked.
“I don’t know why she would be,” I replied.
“Maybe you weren’t very good and she’s disappointed,” he said with a smirk.
“Trust me, I was plenty good, and she was satisfied.”
“Do you think she’s embarrassed?” he suggested.
“I don’t know why. It isn’t like we haven’t done it before.”
“Maybe she expected you to call her,” he said.
I frowned. “Why would I call her?”
He slapped a hand to his head. “You really suck at understanding females.”
“She made it very clear she didn’t want anything from me,” I said. “She said, and I quote, ‘this cannot happen again,’ which tells me she didn’t want me to call her.”
He wrinkled his nose. “I’m not sure that’s what she really meant.”
“Are you suggesting she is speaking in code?” I asked.
“I’m saying she’s pissed about something.”
I shrugged. “I don’t think she’s pissed. She just seemed indifferent. Like she doesn’t hate me but doesn’t like me either.”
“If you are going to work with her, you better fix this,” he said. “Maybe you need to ask her out to dinner. She probably feels a little used.”
“Again, I could say the same thing,” I told him. “She initiated it.”
“She attacked you?”
“No, but she gave me the look, and when I kissed her, she didn’t pull away. She was into it.”
“What would it hurt to take her out?” he asked.
I shook my head. “That’s not what this is.”
“Sex is sex, and if she’s acting differently, it’s for a reason. Take her out, away from the office. Go somewhere that you don’t have to worry about your clothes falling off. Talk to her and let her know what you expect. She’ll tell you what she expects. It’s called adulting.”
“I’ll think about it,” I said and looked around the empty bar. “I’ve got bigger things to deal with right now.”
“Yeah, you do. I need to call the staff and let them know we’re shut down for the day.”
“I’m going to find the plumber and find out what the damage is and just how long we’re going to be down.”
“Hey,” he said before I walked out.
“What?”
“This isn’t the end of the world. A weekend off isn’t a terrible thing. We all know you can afford a few days down.”
“Yes, but I don’t like it.”
“Take a break and go out to the Hamptons. Relax. Think about this girl problem you’ve got and come back Monday ready to make a move.”
“Thanks, but I don’t need to worry about the girl problem. It’s not really a problem.”
“Suit yourself, but you better fix it before it blows up in your face.”
I smirked, and with my shoes squeaking, I walked out in search of the plumber. I hoped it wasn’t as bad as it looked.
Chapter 21
Saige
“Let’s go kid!” I shouted down the hall.
“I can’t find my helmet,” he called back.
“It’s in your closet,” I said. I finished stuffing sandwiches into plastic baggies and added them to our lunch bag. We were spending the afternoon with Joss and Caitlyn again. It was how we usually spent our weekends.
“Found it,” he hollered and bounced into the kitchen.
“All right, go get in the car. I’m grabbing my purse and I’ll be right out.”
It took me a few minutes to get his bike loaded on the rack mounted to the back of my car. I was glad Caitlyn rode with him. I wasn’t very good at committing to regular rides. I had my bike, and we did go for a few rides, but it wasn’t my favorite activity.
We got to Joss’s house to find Caitlyn waiting outside on the front porch. “Jace!” she shouted when he climbed out of the car. They were chattering away as I unloaded his bike.
“Let’s go,” Caitlyn hollered.
“Helmets,” Joss and I said at the same time.
There was some grumbling, but the kids suited up and rode up and down the road. I sat down in the lawn chair in her front yard. “He was so excited to get to ride today,” I said. “Thank you for suggesting it.”
“I guess him and Caitlyn talked about it at school this week.”
“Your neighborhood is much safer for riding bikes,” I said with a laugh. “I don’t dare let him out on his own in my area.”
“He’s always welcome here. Why don’t you leave his bike here and they can ride after school?”
“Are you sure?” I asked.
“Yes. Absolutely. It’s good for them.”
“Thanks.”
“Has it been another wild week?” she asked as she sipped on her lemonade.
“That’s an understatement. I have a confession to make. A really, really bad confession.”
“Uh oh, that sounds bad.”
“It is,” I said. I couldn’t look at her. I was so ashamed of what I did.
“What’s going on?”
“I slept with Nash.”
Her mouth dropped open. “How? When? Why?”
I sighed and hung my head for a minute. “I think the how is pretty clear. It was Tuesday morning in his office.”
“Oh my god. Give me a second to get my head around this.”
“I’m terrible,” I moaned.
“I don’t understand how this happens. You hated him the last time we talked.”
“I don’t know that I hate him, but I don’t like him.”
“Same thing,” she said. “How did you fall into bed with him?”
“It was on his desk actually.”