My Only One

“Well, that’s the price.”

“Fuck it. Fine, but I’m bringing Dally and I’m going to hide behind her skirt the entire night.”

“I wouldn’t expect it to be any other way.”

“I’ll see you in twenty. Oh, and Star, be prepared to talk.”

“About what?” she asks in surprise.

I lay my foot against the pedal. “You’ve been having sex with a woman for years. I want to know every fucking secret you have.”

Chapter 7

Dally

I work all morning in the lab to keep myself busy. I enjoy being hands on and it doesn’t even seem like work at times. Genetics has always fascinated me. I can get lost for hours in my work, which is exactly what I needed today after I pretty much offered myself to Mack on a silver platter with no response from him. I’m not sure if I am more embarrassed or mad that he didn’t even bother to respond. He normally hangs around and bugs me. At least that’s what I tell myself he’s doing.

Maybe I caught him off guard. I know he has as much experience with relationships as I do. I’m sure he had no idea how to even respond to my proposal. Guilt starts to settle over me when I think about this ruining the friendship that we already have established. I sigh internally and continue to work. Sometimes I really wonder what we are. He isn’t like any of my other coworkers or friends and he definitely isn’t my boyfriend. He is in his own little category all to himself that doesn’t have a label and it is starting to drive me crazy.

I finish analyzing my last sample for the crime unit and decide to take a break. I quickly take off my gloves as well as the protective eyewear and throw them away. I proceed to the sink to wash and sanitize my hands. When I’m finished I fish my phone out of my lab coat as I walk toward my office. I see three missed calls and multiple text messages from Mack. The phone begins to vibrate in my hand and Mack’s name appears on the screen. I immediately swipe to answer it. He has been texting. I bite my lip to keep from smiling even though I’m a little nervous to answer it. I really don’t want things to be awkward between us. It’s not like we can avoid each other. We’ll be in each other’s lives forever.

“What’s up?” I take on a little bit of a snarky tone. He seems hesitant, which makes it even more awkward between us. Usually one of us is throwing a jab at the other so the quiet makes me uneasy. What if our friendship is ruined because I couldn’t control my mouth? “Something wrong? I saw you’ve called a bunch of times and texted but this is the first time I’ve gotten a chance to look at my phone.”

“I’ll pick you up,” he finally says. “When you’re done.”

“I have a car,” I remind him.

“I took the car with me. I needed it since I drove you to work.”

“This doesn’t even make any sense. Why lend me Quinn‘s car and not leave it for me to use?” I figured he was having a driver pick him up or something. I guess neither one of us really thought this out. For two people who are supposed to be brilliant we really weren’t being the brightest at the moment.

“I wanted to pick you up so I took it back.” He doesn’t sound sorry about it in the least. “I want you to come to my place after work. I’m going to make us some dinner and we can talk about things.” I hesitate for a moment because I’m not sure how to respond. If this was a few days ago, I would have already said yes because I never turn down Mack’s cooking. You’d have to be crazy to turn down a dinner invitation from him. He learned from the best. His aunt is the Mad Chef and she passed her cooking skills down to him. “I’ll see you after work, darling.” Before I can form any words he disconnects the call.

I don’t know how long I stand there staring down at my phone. He plans on doing this. We are going to have sex. I let out a small gasp when I realize what’s happening. Sure, throwing it out there for us to do was one thing but actually doing it is a whole other thing. I have no idea what to do when it comes to sex. I begin to panic a tiny bit and immediately dial Maisie. She’ll know what to do. As I’m waiting for her to pick up I begin laughing hysterically.

“Hello.” I hear her answer but I can’t catch my breath to respond. I’m calling Maisie who is into woman to ask how to have sex with a guy. I start laughing even harder this time. “Dally. What the hell is going on? Are you okay?”