"I'm here to take you to dinner." I pocket my phone again. "I want to talk about the weekend."
"It's over." She squints as another occupied taxi whizzes past us.
Panic bubbles in my chest, seeping into my lungs. I exhale and try to draw in a deep breath.
"The weekend is over, not us." She turns to look at me. "I was surprised by the fact that you were engaged once. You. Engaged. Who would have thought?"
"She means nothing to me now, Adley."
Her hand jumps to my arm. "I know and I'm glad, but a part of me is freaking out about that."
"Why?" I grab her wrist and pin her hand to my cheek. "Why are you freaking out over the fact that I dumped Damaris?"
She opens her palm and cradles my face. I close my eyes because the touch is almost too much. I've been starving for her all day and this small morsel of her attention isn't enough to satiate the hunger.
"You were friends once, you fucked, fell in love and then you broke up."
I get it. She's terrified that we're going to travel down that same road. What she doesn't understand is that what I felt for Damaris was a dim light compared to the blinding sunshine that surrounds me whenever she's near me. "I never cared about her the way I care about you."
"We'll figure this out." She brushes her fingertips over my cheek. "We'll take this slowly and if it feels like too much for either of us, we stop, we talk and we decide together whether it's still the right thing."
"Agreed," I say because I can't tell her that it's never going to feel like it's too much. She's not ready to hear that yet.
"Is that Bill?" She points at a black SUV coming up the street.
"He's right on time." I smile as he approaches. "I just sent him a text. He's going to take you where you need to go."
The car pulls up on the street next to us. She waves to Bill before she turns back to me. "You know I could have gone to see John without your help."
John, fucking John.
"Tell John to keep his dick in his pants."
Her eyes lock on my mouth before they drift to my eyes. "He's twice my age. It's not like that."
"Tell me what it's like." I step closer to her and rest my hands on her shoulders.
"I'm not ready to." The fingers on her left hand tap dance over the front of her neck. "When I'm ready to talk about it, you'll be the first person I tell."
It stings. It fucking stings but a secret isn't just hers to hold. I have my own share that I've kept hidden from her for the past two years.
"I'll call you tonight," I say before I press my lips to her forehead.
She looks up at me. "You're still the best friend I've ever had."
I know it. I'm also the man who is falling in love with her.
Chapter 31
Adley
I watch Crew when I walk in the club. He has two favorite spots. The first is up on the VIP level. He stands there, usually dressed all in black, with a glass of something amber in his hand and a woman next to him. He'll kiss her before his hand inches down her back.
I always know the exact moment when his fingers reach their final destination. Her mouth will curve into an 'O,' her head will rock back onto his chest, and she'll start to move her hips in small circles.
To anyone else, it looks like they're dancing. His hand will be in the air balancing the glass and her hands will grip tightly to the metal railing in front of her. She'll close her eyes and move slowly.
As the tempo of the music increases, so do her movements.