Chasing Him (Dark Love 4)

Lex flew to Manhattan due to some big mess. I’m not listening, to tell you the truth. It’s what happens when Charlie rambles on about her husband.

The restaurant is a family-friendly eatery, bugging the shit out of Eric. Amelia and Andy are happily playing in the kids’ corner as the waiter stands beside our table to take our order.

“I’ll have the ham and pea soup for starters with a side of garlic bread, the steak and mixed salad for my entree. Oh, wait, can you add potatoes to that and sour cream?” The waiter nods, quickly writing on his pad. “Great, and for dessert I’ll have the chef’s surprise, but make sure it comes with two scoops of vanilla ice cream… oh, what the hell, make it three.” I place my menu down to be met with gaping mouths.

“Adriana, are you feeding Africa?” Charlie asks.

“No, just famished,” I practically sing out loud.

“That’s a mighty big meal. Sounds like you had a busy day.” Eric snickers.

I shoot him an annoyed look. What the fuck is he thinking? At least Tristan has the decency to keep his trap shut.

“Oh, for Christ’s sake. Amelia has spilled some water.” A fretful Charlie excuses herself to attend to her daughter.

“Okay, you better fess up, missy, because you look freshly fucked in every orifice,” Eric points out.

“Eric, honestly. That’s so crass,” Tristan scolds him.

My cheeks begin to flush, no doubt visibly red from Eric’s observation. “Yes, all right. Keep your big mouth shut or no deets.”

“Geez, don’t get all nasty on me,” Eric gripes. “Look at you, you’ve got that glow. You know that jizz-splashed-all-over-your-face glow.”

My shoulders rise and fall as I chuckle at his comment. Even Tristan isn’t immune to Eric’s humor.

“Tristan, maybe you need to block your ears for this,” I warn.

“Please, I live with Eric. I can handle the smut talk.”

“Okay, Julian is so fucki

ng unbelievable I can’t walk. I mean literally, I think my vagina is broken,” I blurt out.

“Oh, hell no, you could’ve warned me, Adriana,” Tristan complains.

“I did!”

He rambles uncomfortably about needing to leave the table and uses Andy and Amelia as an excuse to heads over.

“Oh, sweetie, I’m so happy for you!” Eric claps his hands and stands up to hug me.

“What’s going on?” Charlie returns, eyeing us cautiously.

“Finally finished a design, that’s all,” I lie. “I had this creative block for months, and now it’s all coming together.

“Right, I thought you were going to finally tell me who you’ve been fucking because I swear, Adriana, it’s written all over your face.” She chugs on her drink while waiting for my response.

Crap!

I can’t tell her the whole truth, only because it will affect her marriage. Instead, I decide to give her a few tidbits, leaving out the most important part—Julian.

“Okay. Look, Charlie, it’s not serious. It was a one-night fling, not even a fling just a make-out session, and please don’t tell Lex. And I mean best friend pinky swear, sister-code swear on the Bible and your firstborn.”

“Aww, Adriana, don’t make me do all that.” She frowns, letting out a breath. “What if he asks me?”

“You tell him you can answer the question, but you won’t be held accountable for sexual images of his sister which may creep into his brain and require a gallon of brain bleach.”

“Great response.” She rubs her hands together in delight. “Okay, so gimme all the goss.”