“Nothing wrong with that.”
“I don’t have a family.” I had nothing to bring to the table in a marriage. She would never inherit a mother-in-law or a father-in-law, no brothers or sisters. I was entirely on my own.
“That’s why you make a family, Atlas.”
I immediately dropped my gaze at the touchy subject being brought up.
He drank from his glass again. “I’m still close with my mom and brother, but at different phases of your life, different people become important to you. My mom is really close with the women in her retirement home. Those are the people she’s closest to now. My brother has his own kids and grandkids. I have my children and grandchildren. Not having those things isn’t a shortcoming.”
Once this subject was broached, I was deeply uncomfortable. He probably had no idea what he’d just brushed up against, but this was something that tormented me every single day of my life. It was always a problem, a problem that wouldn’t be resolved until I was older and the discussion was no longer on the table.
“Besides…you always have me.”
My eyes moved back to him.
“Not as a potential father-in-law, but as a friend…a father figure.”
He said it was fine that I had nothing to bring to the table, but she brought everything that I could ever want. She was the woman of my dreams, and her father was the man I aspired to be.
And I had nothing to reciprocate.
2
Daisy
The music was loud in the bar, and the only reason I knew my phone was ringing was because it vibrated in my clutch. I pulled it out and saw Atlas’s name on the screen. “Look who it is, bitches. My man.”
“Tell him to come!” Meredith yelled across the table.
I took the call. “Hey, what are you doing right now?”
“Uh, just got home. Sounds like you’re out?”
“Uh, yeah. It’s a Friday. Of course I’m out. You should come down and meet my friends.”
Meredith yelled again. “Tell him to bring hot dudes!”
I turned back to the phone. “And bring some good dick.”
“My dick comes with me everywhere I go, so we’re good on that front.”
“No, I meant for my girls. Bring some boys.”
“Oh, gotcha.”
“But yeah, bring him too. We can pop into an alleyway.”
He was quiet for a second, like he wasn’t sure if I was kidding or not. “Text me the details. See you soon.”
“Woo-hoo! He’s coming!”
The girls yelled too.
“This is going to be a crazy night, isn’t it?”
When he walked inside with his guys, he spotted me quickly, probably because I was in a skintight bright-blue dress with cutouts everywhere, showing my bare skin. He looked me up and down, displaying that intensity he showed in the bedroom and sometimes at work when I said something particularly feisty.
I was standing at the table with Meredith while the other girls were dancing. I lifted my hands and motioned an upside-down triangle shape because he looked sexy as hell in his t-shirt and jeans, his jawline having that evening shadow that I liked.
His grin lit up the club.
He motioned to his two guys to follow him to the table.
I came around the table and circled my arms around his neck, kissing him for everyone to see, pressing my body into his so I could feel his hardness through his jeans. I purposely ran my hand over the front of his jeans so I could feel his outline before I pulled away.
“Did you just grab my dick in a public place?”
“So what? You gonna call the cops?” I grabbed his hand and dragged him to my friends. “Ladies, this is the one, the only, Atlas Beaumont.” My arm hooked through his as I stood beside him, a little taller than usual because I wore my sky-high pumps. “The man with a big dick and an even bigger heart.”
He turned to me. “Well, that’s one hell of an introduction.”
I chuckled into his shoulder because I was already a bit drunk.
Atlas shook hands with everyone. “It’s nice to finally meet the crew.” He motioned to the guys he’d brought. “Matthew and Kyle.”
The girls looked over them both, as if they all liked what they saw.
Matthew grinned. “Wow, you’ve got some pretty friends, Daisy.”
Kyle’s eyes were wide open, absolutely astounded by the talent in front of him. “Yeah, wow is the right word.”
I grabbed Atlas and dragged him to the dance floor. “Dance with me.”
“Baby, I don’t dance.”
I raised my arms in the air and rocked my hips, flipping my hair around, having a good time as I disregarded what he said.
He stood there and stared, a slight smile on his lips. “How drunk are you?”
“Drunk enough that I’m loose, but not so drunk that you have to feel guilty for fucking me in the alleyway later.” I grabbed his hands and pulled him close, showing him how to rock his hips, how to move with me like we were in the bedroom. “See? You’re a natural.”
“Only because I’m with you.” His arm hugged the small of my back and kept me close, the music blaring from the speakers, the lights low, people nearby flinging sweat everywhere.
“Wow…what a line.”
His hands grabbed my ass. “Not a line if I mean it.”
Two of the girls paired off with the guys, while Meredith and Tanya found their guys elsewhere in the bar. I sat at the table alone, totally drunk out of my mind, glancing at the bar over and over, waiting for Atlas to come back with more drinks. It was almost two, so if we didn’t get those drinks pronto, we would be cut off.
And I didn’t need to explain why that was totally devastating.
I slammed my hand on the table. “What’s taking so long?”
Jenny and Matthew were making out right beside me, oblivious to me the way I was oblivious to them.
I slid out of the booth, wobbled on my heels for a second, and then marched to the bar.
Atlas was talking to a fine little honey in a black dress at the bar.
I don’t think so, bitch.
I purposely squished myself between them and forced them to break apart. “I’m so sorry, dear. But this fine piece of man is mine. Shoo.” I waved her away with my fingertips then turned to the glasses sitting on the counter. “What the fuck is this shit? Water?”
Atlas looked at her again. “Sorry, my girlfriend is batshit crazy.”
I turned to him, my hand raised. “I prefer crazy-ass bitch. None of that batshit…”
She walked off. “See you tomorrow, Atlas.”
“Tomorrow?” I asked. “What’s tomorrow?”
“Work.”
“You work with that fly honey?” I asked, instantly getting jealous.
Now his look turned perplexed. “How drunk are you?”
“Because I’m jealous, that means I’m drunk?”
“When you’re jealous of a dude, then yeah.”
“What?” I turned back around, seeing the girl in the black dress talking to her friends. “Wait…then who…?”