“I wouldn’t dream of it!” I laughed as she disappeared through the open door, firmly shutting it behind her.
I stood leaning against the door as I thought about what Val said. I understood what she was advocating, but in my heart of hearts, I just couldn’t go down that road. I wanted the life I wanted on my terms, not the terms that my mother had set, but I had a feeling that all of this was going to become more difficult the longer I resisted. In that sense, my mother and I were cut from the same, stubborn cloth, and I knew that neither one of us was likely to cave.
#
I had a stressful couple of days after I talked with Val. I’d been mining my contacts, trying to find a lead on a job and was in the kitchen scrubbing the stainless-steel sink as a means of trying to control my anxiety when my phone rang. I grabbed it and looked at the screen to find that it was a Chicago number I didn’t recognize.
“Hello?” I answered.
“Well, hello,” a man’s voice replied. “I wasn’t expecting you to pick up the phone.”
“Then why did you call?” I asked, irritated that I didn’t recognize who it was.
“I was hoping that I’d get your voicemail and would be able to leave a proper message,” he said.
“Then I’ll hang up and you can try again,” I shot back. “Who is this anyway?”
“See, this was part of the reason I wanted to be able to leave a message,” he said. “I could tell you who I am and then you could decide whether you wanted to call back or not. Now it’s just awkward.”
“Who is this?” I repeated growing more irritated as the joker on the other end continued.
“Please tell me you remember having a conversation with me in the lady’s room at the Black Jack a few nights ago,” he said.
“Dax Connor,” I said flatly, feeling the heat rising in my cheeks as I remembered all too well the way I’d drunkenly grabbed and kissed him in the bathroom.
“Funny, I thought you’d be a little more excited to hear from me,” he said dryly.
“Oh, I’m glad to hear from you,” I replied. “I’m just not sure what I’m supposed to say right now. I’m sorry?”
“Don’t be sorry,” he said helpfully. “I mean, I wasn’t exact
ly clawing at the door to get out, now was I?”
“No, you certainly weren’t,” I replied dryly.
“In fact, if Jack hadn’t been acting as your guard dog, I’m not entirely sure that I would have stopped you at all,” he offered.
“Good to know,” I replied without elaborating. I was annoyed he hadn’t called sooner. It felt like he was playing a game with me and I didn’t like that I didn’t know what it was. “What do you want?”
“Yes, to the point, that’s good,” he chuckled. “Well, I’m calling to ask you out on a date, but by the tone of your voice, that may not be a good thing for me to do right now.”
“Why not?”
“Because you’re obviously irritated and I don’t want to risk you saying no,” he said honestly. Something about the way he said it made me smile.
“You’re quite blunt,” I said.
“Then that makes two of us,” he replied. “I like that about you, Payton Halas Lasky.”
“So you figured it all out, did you?” I asked. “Who I am, where I live, what my phone number is.”
“Well, I know two of the three, so I’m sure I could figure out the third without a whole lot of trouble,” he said. “But I’d rather have you tell me. It’s less stalker-ish, you know?”
“You are hilarious, Dax Connor,” I said chuckling. “If the purpose of your call is to ask me out, then why don’t you ask and we’ll see how it goes?”
“You sure that’s a good idea?”
“Pretty sure. Just ask, jackass,” I urged him.