Dex: You too.His sudden change of attitude seemed weird. I almost wondered if he was practicing reverse psychology, although I would never really know for sure.
When I returned to the table, Eamon had devoured his ball and paid the bill.
“Was it good?” I asked.
He licked his lips. “It was great.”
A few minutes later, I looked down at the time and said, “This has been really fun. But I have to be up early in the morning, so I think I’m going to head home if that’s okay.”
“Can we share a cab?”
“Actually, I have to stop somewhere on the way back, so I’m going to just head out alone.”
“Okay, sure.”
He seemed very disappointed, but truly, it was better not to lead him on. I really shouldn’t have gone on the date in the first place if my heart wasn’t in it.
I told Eamon I needed to stop back in the bathroom on the way out, so that he would exit the restaurant first.
Once outside, sure enough, I noticed the Town Car parked across the street.
I waved. “Hello, Sam.”
“Good evening, Ms. George,” he said as he opened the door for me.
I nearly had a heart attack when I saw who was in the backseat.
At first, I thought it was Dex. But no. It was the Liza Minnelli statue. Sinking back into the leather seat, I began to laugh hysterically.
“Sorry about that, Miss. He made me do it,” I heard Sam say. “Where to?”
Where was I going?
There was only one place I wanted to go tonight.
“Mr. Truitt’s place, please.”Bandit was barking like crazy. I twisted the shower handle to turn off the water so that I could hear what was making him go nuts. He wasn’t generally a barker. In between his ruffs, the faint sound of the doorbell buzzing echoed under the bathroom door.
Shit.
Stepping out, I grabbed a towel, wrapped it around my waist, and headed to the front door. When I looked through the peephole, no one was on the other side. But Bandit was still going crazy, so I opened the door and poked my head out into the hallway. My heart started pounding when I found Bianca standing in front of the elevator doors looking down.
“Bianca?”
She looked up. “Dex. You didn’t answer. I thought you were out.”
“I was in the shower.” The doors to the elevator she was standing in front of slid open, and she turned to face them, then glanced back at me, and then back at the waiting car. She was clearly pondering her departure. After a few heartbeats, she made her decision. “I should go. It was a mistake coming over here. I’m sorry.”
“Bianca! Wait!”
She froze with one foot inside the elevator car. I didn’t give a fuck that I was still dripping wet and only wearing a towel, I ran down the hall after her. “Don’t leave. Please.” I caught her elbow and waited as she again deliberated. When she finally nodded, I let out a deep breath. There was no way I was giving her any time to change her mind again, so I quickly steered her away from any available escape and into my apartment.
Although I’d managed to get her into my place and close the door behind her, she stayed just barely inside and looked down at her feet. “Well, this is a nice surprise,” I said.
“I shouldn’t be here.”
“I think you’re wrong. This is exactly where you should be. Where you shouldn’t have been tonight, was on that date.”
Bandit had been standing near my side and chose that moment to walk to Bianca. He sat down directly on her feet and pushed his head into her crotch. She smiled and scratched the top of his head. Good boy. Remind me to buy you a bone. From an elephant.
“Our dog seems to agree with me.”
Her head whipped up. “Our dog?”
“Yes. I feel like he belongs to both of us since he helped bring us together.”
“If I’m not mistaken, he actually helped break us apart. I saw you at the shelter. That’s how I uncovered who you really were, remember?”
I took a step closer. “I don’t see it that way.”
She scoffed. “Then you need glasses, Truitt.”
Another step. “I don’t need glasses to know you look beautiful right now.” Her hair was down and had a wavy, windblown look to it. She looked absolutely breathtaking wearing a simple, black strapless dress. Her lips were painted a blood red and when her tongue darted out to wet them, I was unable to stop staring.
“Dex…” Her voice was low but there was a warning tone to it. She must have known how much looking at her was affecting me.
“Bianca…” I mimicked her and took a hesitant step closer. When she didn’t run, not that she had anywhere to actually run with her back against the front door, I took that as a sign to keep moving in. She looked down, and I got the sense that she was trying to maintain her control. Too bad I wanted nothing more than to make her lose it. “Your date ended early. Did Eamon not do it for you, the way I do?”