She opens her eyes and drops a kiss into the palm of my hand. “Okay,” she says with a sigh. I help her out, and then we head into the elegant sushi restaurant, the dark walnut wood paneling embracing me like an old friend. I’ve taken a lot of clients and a lot of dates out to MASA because they never fail to impress, but tonight…
To
night, I’m happier than I’ve ever been. Sure, Di’s friends finding out isn’t ideal, but having Daphne on my arm as we wind our way through the restaurant, back to the secluded alcove in the back that is reserved for regular patrons like me, is the best feeling in the world. I never want to leave her side.
The waiter seats us and with a bow, goes to retrieve Nikka Taketsuru malt whiskey, what I always order when I come. $3700 per bottle but damn, is it worth it.
Daphne looks at me, worry in her eyes, and I reach across the table to clasp her hands in mine.
“Listen, it’s going to be fine,” I say, running my thumb over her knuckles. “They were going to figure it out at some point, right?”
“Were they?” she asks, biting her lip hesitantly. “Were you thinking we’re going to be together long enough for someone to find out?”
Oh. Now we’re getting into The Talk territory. How serious is this? Where is our relationship going? Normally, I’m sweating bullets right about now. I'll dive into bathrooms or dive out of vehicles to get out of this talk.
But with Daphne? Instead of feeling a sheen of sweat build up on my forehead, I’m just feeling…happy. Confident.
Being with her is what I want, no matter who finds out.
Apparently, my moment of self-reflection is scaring Daph because she blurts out, “Because I’m okay just being fuck buddies. I mean, who doesn’t want to have a fuck buddy? I can tell Carla that’s all we are. It’s okay, really it—”
“I don’t want to just be fuck buddies with you,” I say, interrupting her avalanche of words. It didn’t seem like she was going to be stopping on her own anytime soon.
“You don’t? You want…more?”
“Yeah, I do,” I say, squeezing her hand tightly, in lieu of fucking her on top of our table. Sad choice to make, but even as much as they love me here, I’m pretty sure they wouldn’t be okay with me fucking Daph right here on the tabletop.
“You do?” she repeats in a breathy whisper, staring at me as if she isn’t quite sure I’m real. “But Heather…you said that she got too clingy, that you felt smothered by her. I don’t want to smother you.”
The waiter comes back just then to pour our whiskey, and after the little ceremony, which includes me swirling and tasting it and giving my approval to the waiter, he disappears again.
“Hold on, don’t we need to order?” Daph says, staring after our waiter. I shrug.
“I’ve been here often enough. They know what I like.”
“Oh. Right. Well…” she stops and just stares at me, and I can see it in her eyes; she isn’t sure she can believe me.
“I really do want to be with you, Daph. I know it’s fast, but at the same time, I’ve known you for so long. It’s like I’ve always known you. I don’t want to walk away now. I want to be in your life…if you’ll have me.”
She nods, not saying a word, pressing a fist into her mouth as she stares at me. “Yeah, I’d really like that,” she finally whispers. “But Dominic, we have to tell Mom. I can’t hide you from her. She’s not going to be happy, but she is my mom. She should know.”
“You’re right,” I say with a confident smile. “And how can you be so sure that she won’t be happy? I think she’s going to be thrilled. You know we parted on good terms, and she still calls me for financial advice.”
“She does? I didn’t know that.”
I shrug. “I like helping her out however I can. I set her up for life when we divorced, but she’s starting to enjoy learning how to play the stock market, and I give her hot tips whenever I come across them.”
“How is it that I didn’t know that?” she asks me wonderingly.
“I don’t know. It isn’t like I’ve tried to hide it from you. I guess your mom just didn’t think she needed to tell you.”
Which is when our plates of sushi arrive, and I smile to myself.
Time to hand-feed Daphne.
47
Daphne