“I just have a lot of stuff going on, like that dinner on Saturday…stuff like that.”
Daisy went back to eating her tacos and accepted my answer. “You still nailing your old professor?”
I rolled my eyes. “No.”
“Good. That was so gross.”
“She’s only in her midforties—”
“No. It’s gross because she’s your old teacher. That’s…just weird. I’m glad you broke it off.”
“What makes you think I broke it off?”
“Because you aren’t an idiot.” She kept eating. “Why would she want it to end? She’s got this young guy to come at her beck and call. No woman would ever put a stop to that. The only way that was ever going to end was if you pulled the plug.”
I took a drink of my margarita then scanned the restaurant, doing some people watching. “What about you?”
“What about me?”
“Pull the plug on Mason?”
“Why would I pull the plug on that fine piece of man?” she asked in between bites of her chips. “He’s gorgeous, confident, sexy…hell no. I’m not letting him go.”
Damn. I kept my eyes averted and picked up my other taco.
“What about you? Seeing anyone?”
I shook my head. “I never see anyone.”
“So, just pushing those women through the grinder, then?”
“I guess.” I didn’t go out last weekend. I was in a bit of a dry spell, not really interested in women or sex right now. It was like my hormones had changed, and now my sex drive and libido evaporated. Never happened before, but I was almost thirty, so maybe my youth was fading.
“Did Sicily tell you I ran into her the other night?”
I talked to Sicily every day, even Saturdays, and that hadn’t come up once. “No.”
“Yeah, Mason and I were out for dinner, and she was in the same restaurant.”
And I bet she wasn’t alone. I continued to eat my tacos even though I wasn’t even hungry anymore.
Daisy kept carving out the guacamole with her chips before throwing them into her mouth, her eyes on me. “I didn’t know she was seeing anybody.”
“She’s a single woman, not that surprising.” I did my best to deflect Daisy’s observation as much as possible, but she was too fucking smart, and she would eat me alive.
“Does that bother you?”
“Why would it bother me?” I countered.
“Because your face is turning red.” She chewed her chip as she gave me that obnoxious, victorious look, like she had me by the balls and she fucking knew it. “The vein that only pops out when you’re mad, it’s pretty big right now.”
“Maybe it’s big because of you.”
She shook her head. “I doubt it. I’m a delight.”
“You’re a pain in the ass, that’s what you are.”
“If you don’t like it when I call you out on your lies, then join me on the side of truth.”
“What did I lie about?”
“Oh, come on.” She rolled her eyes and ate another chip. “It’s driving you goddamn crazy.”
“It’s not,” I said with confidence, but I could hear the slight drop in my voice.
“Really? So, it wouldn’t bother you if I told you he’s super hot and ripped?”
My eyes narrowed. “Like hotter than me?”
She leaned her head back and laughed as she clapped her hands slowly. “Oh my god, that was so freakin’ easy. Jesus, Dex. You have the worst poker face I’ve ever seen in my life.” She grabbed her margarita and took a drink.
I could feel the vein bulging further on my head, feeling it throbbing.
“Don’t worry, I won’t tell her. Wouldn’t throw you under the bus like that.”
“So, is he actually hot, or…?”
She chuckled with glee. “Yes, unfortunately. I guess he’s a trainer. That’s how they met.”
So, if I hadn’t told her to exercise, she never would have met the guy? This was all my fault, being a doctor and shit.
Daisy stopped the taunts and turned serious. “I don’t understand, Dex. Just go for it.”
I shook my head.
“Why? Give me one good reason—”
“I’m not having this conversation again.” I was tired of repeating myself. My family needed to get off my ass. “Just drop it.”
Daisy recognized my tone and let it slide, grabbing her margarita to take another drink. “Alright…whatever. But in case you haven’t figured it out, hot bitches like that don’t stay single long.”
We finished dinner then walked together on the sidewalk, her penthouse and my apartment in the same direction.
She was bundled up in her thick jacket, her hands deep in her pockets with her scarf around her neck. “Dude, I’m so sick of winter. I want that unbearable humidity to hit me the second I step outside.”
“I’d take the cold over the heat any day.”
“Well, you can’t wear cute sundresses and heels. If you could, trust me, you’d feel differently.”
Really doubt it.
When we approached the entrance to her building, she didn’t dodge inside as quickly as she could. She gave me a quick hug before she pulled away. “So, I was thinking…maybe we could go out to dinner with Mom and Dad in a couple weeks.”