“Because I was crazy about you,” I correct her.
“What?”
“I was crazy about you,” I repeat. “I had a huge crush on you, and I didn’t think I was good enough for you.”
Mallory looks at me for a very long time, and then she looks down at her food and shakes her head.
“Funny,” she finally says.
“What is?”
She looks up at me, and there are tears in her eyes.
“It would have been nice if we’d talked about this, oh, about ten years ago,” she says sadly.
“I’m sorry I didn’t communicate with you.”
“Me too,” she tells me. “I didn’t know how to talk to people. I didn’t know how to talk to anyone, really. Things are different now. I’m...well, I’m still not perfect at communicating, but I think it’s fair to say that I’m better.”
“Because of the club?”
“Because of the lifestyle it entails,” she says. “Honestly and communication go hand-in-hand there, you know. You can’t exactly have,” she lowers her voice, “a submissive that you don’t talk to, or a Dom you don’t talk to. Talking is key.”
“Hey,” I say, suddenly no longer hungry. “What do you say we get out of here?”
“Yeah,” she agrees. She reaches for the lid and covers her burrito bowl. “But I’m taking my food. I’m not going to waste perfectly good Chipotle.”
Chapter Seven
Mallory
So Aaron liked me.
Apparently, quite a bit.
He liked me and I had no idea and...wow.
I’m guessing that Matthew knew. He had to, didn’t he? How could he not? But he never said anything. He respected both of us enough to let us keep our secrets to ourselves. Aaron and I leave the restaurant and start walking down the road, but we’re both quiet for a long time. I’m completely lost in my thoughts, and I realize that if I’m not careful, I’m going to make the same mistake I did last time.
If Aaron cared about me back then, is there a chance he cares about me now?
I stop in the middle of the sidewalk and turn to him.
“Why did you come into Club Shadows?”
“Straight to the point,” he says. “To find you.”
“How’d you know I was there?”
“Everest Hampton.”
“Everest? The owner?” I’m a little surprised. Everest is an administrator at the school I work at, which is how we met. He’s also very, very discreet. In fact, he’s private almost to a fault. The fact that I discovered his interest in BDSM or his private club was, to be honest, a total shock. I was babysitting for him and his wife one night and while tidying up their kitchen, I happened to see a note about the club. I was brazen enough to ask about it, and I guess Everest thought I was worth trusting because he extended an invitation.
They have a new babysitter now, and I’m a full-fledged member of the club.
“The one and only.”
“How do you know Everest?”