“That’s where you’re going with this?”
He threw his hands up in disgust and walked away from me as I followed him back into the kitchen. He got himself another beer since the first one was now too flat since he’d shaken it.
“You know what? I don’t know. You guys have chemistry, or whatever the hell you two have. If you’re worried about hurting her? Then don’t date her. You don’t want to have to deal with Dakota and the bunch if you fuck her over.”
I didn’t fail to notice the fact that he had said Dakota rather than Hazel, but I wasn’t going to mention it.
If I had sparks or angry chemistry with Paris, his with Dakota was tenfold. I didn’t think any of us dared to comment on it. At least, not yet.
“I don’t want to screw things up, mess them up, or ruin anything.”
“Those all mean the same thing,” Macon said.
“See? I’m so flustered, I don’t know how to speak.”
“Okay, what’s making you not want to do this?”
“I don’t want to hurt her.”
“Not a good enough reason. You don’t want to hurt anyone you’re in a relationship with, even Allison. Even though she cheated on you.”
“Fine,” I said, sighing.
“If things get weird between Paris and me, I don’t want them to be weird in the group.”
“The girls don’t hang out with us all the time, and it’s not like she used to date one of us or anything. We have other friends. We can make this work. And as long as you don’t screw her over or hurt her too badly, it won’t be a problem. And you wouldn’t do that. You’re a good guy.”
That warmed me, and I grinned. “Thanks.”
“You’re welcome. Now I’m going to flip you off so we stop being all warm and brotherly.” He flipped me off, and I grinned, liking that he was a bit back to his old self, even though I knew the tension running just under the surface was about ready to explode at any minute.
I only hoped to hell that one of us was there when it happened.
I didn’t want him to be alone.
“What else?” Macon asked, pulling me out of my thoughts.
“We work together.”
“That could be an issue.”
“However, she said that she looked it up and it’s not against the rules. Plus, I won’t be there for much longer.”
Macon grinned, his eyes bright. “She looked it up?”
“Yes,” I said, grinning right back.
“Well. It’s not like you guys are going to flaunt it at work anyway. So, I don’t think that’s going to be a big deal. Just don’t fuck her on your desk at work and you’ll be fine.”
Now, images of that filled my mind, and I let out an oof as Macon punched me in my other shoulder.
“Stop thinking about it. Because then that image is going to get inside my mind, and I don’t have any bleach right now to take care of it.”
“Hey, you’re the one who said it.”
“And I regret it already.”
“Anyway, I don’t know.”
“You’re never going to know if you keep pussyfooting around it.”
“You’re so good with the words, so wise and sage.”
“You came to me, not Cross or even Hazel.”
“Make that Arden.”
“I noticed you didn’t mention Nate.”
“Why would I mention him?” Macon asked, and I laughed.
“He’s not here to defend himself. Don’t be mean.” I sighed.
“I don’t know what to do,” I whispered.
“Yes, you do. Take a chance. You never know when you’re going to get another.”
I frowned, looking at Macon, wondering what to say. “Are you okay?” I asked, the words leaving my mouth before I’d even fully thought them.
Macon froze for a bare instant, but I saw it. The fear, the stress, the worry.
And I didn’t know how to help.
“Everything’s fine. Just waiting to see what happens between you and Paris. Y’all are starting to get paired off. Eventually, Nate will find someone, and then hell will freeze over.”
I wanted to say: What about you?
I didn’t ask though, because he had purposely not mentioned himself, and I wasn’t going to push. Not now.
“So, can I have another beer?” I asked, and Macon’s shoulders lowered a bit, relief covering him.
I wasn’t going to broach the subject, not again, at least not for now.
I had my second beer, as well as a glass of water and dinner before I headed back home, feeling lighter, if a bit more worried about my brother. I was going to keep an eye on him, just like I knew the rest of my siblings would. And we’d be there when he needed us.
I only hoped to hell he reached out.
I pulled into my garage and got out of the car, rolling back my shoulders, knowing that I needed a little bit of courage to do what I was about to do next.
I let out a breath, got to my living room, and sat down on the couch, pulling out my phone.
Me: I know we need to talk. How about we do that over dinner?
I had been thinking about what I needed to say to her, and when I would reach out, and yet I wasn’t very good at this.
The little bubble telling me she was messaging me back appeared almost immediately, and I didn’t know whether to be relieved that she had seen the text, or worried that she was going to say no very quickly.
Paris: Is that your weird way of asking me out?
Me: What’s so weird about it?
I hadn’t been this nervous to ask someone out since I was a teenager, and even then, I’d had so many hormones and inexperience flooding through me that I had jumped headfirst into most things.
Paris: You should probably work on your moves.
Me: Well, I could either ask you to teach me, or I could show you what my moves are in person.
Paris: That’s a little smoother.
Me: So what do you say? Let me take you out.
Paris: And what if this is a mistake?
I let out a breath, knowing that she was right.
Me: Then we’ll figure it out together.
She was silent for so long, I was afraid she was going to say no or find a nice way to let me down easy.
I didn’t want nice. I wanted Paris.
I laughed at that and hoped to hell I never said it aloud to her face. Because that had not come out right in my head.
Paris: We’d better.
Paris: I expect romance, I’m just saying.
Relief flooded through me, and my cock twitched at the thought of our date.
“Down boy,” I muttered.
Me: I can do that. I promise.
Paris: And a Brady always keeps his promises?
Me: Always.
I set my phone down, waiting for her to respond back. We’d plan our date.
I only hoped to hell this wasn’t another mistake.
Chapter 12
Prior
I was nervous.
Why was I so nervous?
Could it be the fact that I was going on a date with a woman that I worked with, a woman who I thought I knew but still wanted to know better? Someone I couldn’t stop thinking about?
Probably.
I needed to stop thinking so hard about this and let it flow. That’s how we had gotten where we were today, by living in the moment, and simply being. If I kept overthinking things, I would only make everything worse.