“Just give it a little more time.”
His hands moved to his hips, and he glared at me. “It’s been nine months—”
“Just a little more time.”
“Then I get to talk to Denise and tell her I want to ask her out, but I’m waiting for Kat’s fucking permission.”
“We can’t do that.”
“Why the hell not?”
“Because then you really are sneaking around behind her back.”
He pressed his palms over his eyes then slowly dragged them down. “You’re killing me here, Carson. She’s gonna go out with that neurologist unless I step up.”
“She said she’s probably gonna cancel that.”
“And then some other guy will ask her out. She’s fucking gorgeous, Carson. I’m surprised she’s been single as long as she has.”
“Chill.” I lowered my hands.
His nostrils flared. “You’ve talked to Kat twice, and she hasn’t come around. And honestly, if she doesn’t come around, it’s not going to stop me. I’ve tried to do the right thing and be as sensitive as possible, but I’m getting tired…really tired.”
I wasn’t sure if Kat would ever be on board. She was making some progress, but not enough. “If it really comes down to it, I know one thing that will get her on board…but I don’t want to take that option.”
“What is it?”
“We tell her the real reason you ended things.”
His eyes shifted back and forth as he looked into mine.
“Because she doesn’t understand why you can’t just find someone else and Denise can’t find someone else. There are a million women out there, and it doesn’t need to be Denise. So if I tell her the reason why this is so important to you, she would definitely bow out…but be eternally heartbroken.”
He sighed, like his lungs ached. “Yeah…I don’t want to do that.”
“I don’t either. But it might come down to it.”
“That’s just cruel, Carson.”
“I know. But if there’s no other way…”
“If it comes down to it, then she should hear it from me.”
“I don’t know. That might make it worse.”
“But if you tell her, then she’ll know you knew the whole time. And that will put you in a really tough position.”
“I know, but it’ll still hurt a lot less.”
Nineteen
Carson
Charlie and I were the first ones there.
He got me a lemon drop and grabbed himself a beer. We stood at the table together, him dressed in jeans and a t-shirt, me in a black dress that had slits in the material, showing the side of my stomach and my upper thigh. My hair was pulled back slightly, the curls pinned in an elegant updo. A lot of the guys stared at me but didn’t make a pass because they assumed I was with Charlie.
Charlie was totally immune to my looks. He never showed a hint of attraction for me, looked at me like I was the little sister he both loved and hated. Our personalities meshed together so well that we’d felt like family the moment we met, but that romantic connection, like what I felt with Dax, had never been there. Sometimes people said Charlie and I would be perfect together, but those urges weren’t present…for either of us.
“Fuck.” Charlie straightened and bought his beer to his lips, his eyes on the door.
“What?” I turned to see Denise walk inside in a deep green dress with one sleeve, her curled hair down one shoulder with her clutch hanging from her wrist on a string. Her makeup was fully done, and there wasn’t a guy in that bar who didn’t notice her the way Charlie did.
Charlie quickly stuck his fist into his mouth and bit down, like he needed to express his frustration in some way. He dropped his hand and straightened. “Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.”
“Keep it together, man.” I nudged him in the side.
He sighed and tried to look casual.
Denise noticed us and came to our table, a smile spreading on her lips when she reached us. “Hey.” She hugged me. “You look hot. Trying to give Dax a heart attack?”
“You’re the one giving people a heart attack…” If only she knew how much.
She turned to Charlie next, her smile growing, her eyes wearing a special shine. “Hey.”
“Hey.” He hesitated for a brief second before he wrapped his arm around her and hugged her to his chest, his fingers spread out over her back, his eyes closed as he held her. When he released her, he took his time letting go, his hand sliding over her back and to her hip before he finally dropped his embrace. “Can I get you something to drink?”
“Sure. Surprise me.”
“Be right back.” He walked away and headed to the bar.
Denise turned back to me as if nothing happened.
“Now I know the real reason you canceled that date with the neurologist.” I brought the glass to my lips and took a drink.
Denise rolled her eyes. “Coincidence.”
“Girl, you’re so full of shit.”
She shrugged. “Charlie is so hot. How have you guys never hooked up?”
“Because there’s zero attraction,” I said. “Seriously.”
“Seriously?” she asked incredulously. “He’s gorgeous.”
“Eh.” I shrugged. “I disagree. Now, Dax…he’s gorgeous.”
“Well, of course he is,” she said. “But so is Charlie.”
“It’s never happened, and it never will happen.”
“That’s amazing,” she said. “I’ve never had a guy friend who wasn’t gay.”
Charlie returned a moment later, getting her a lemon drop. He stepped away from her and pivoted his body, facing her completely, ignoring everyone else in the room—including me. “How was your day?”
“I slept in since I was off, so it was amazing.” She grabbed her glass and took a drink. “And thanks for this.”
I stood on the other side of the table, basically a loner because they had obviously paired off. I hoped Kat wouldn’t read too much into it when she walked inside.
Dax entered a moment later, and the only reason I knew that was because the women in my vicinity all turned to the entryway like someone famous had just walked inside. I turned to look at him, seeing him push through the crowd in black jeans and a gray t-shirt. His sexy stubble was on his jawline, and his short hair was styled. His eyes scanned the bar, ignoring the attention cast on him, and stopped when he saw me.
I gave him a gentle wave with my fingers.
He stood there for a second, his eyes roaming over my appearance in the tight black dress. They moved all the way down, to my feet in my pumps. When he raised his gaze to look at my face once more, his chest rose visibly, like he needed to take a breath before he continued toward me.
A man had never made me feel so sexy just by looking at me.
He approached the table, his arm circling my waist as he bent his head down to kiss my lips, to seal his mouth over mine and take a deep breath when he felt the spark. His hand groped my ass like always, and he kissed me harder, just as he did last time we were here. Then his lips moved to my ear, where he breathed hard. “Jesus fucking Christ.” His hand squeezed my ass hard before he walked away and headed to the bar to get himself a drink.