AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Well now you have to tell me.”
“Sorry, honeybee,” he said throatily. “It’s privileged information.”
“Friends don’t call friends ‘honeybee,’” I pointed out.
“Sure they do.”
“It’s flirtatious.”
“You can’t possibly think that I don’t flirt with my female friends.”
“You shouldn’t,” I breathed. “You might give them the wrong idea.”
“And what idea is that?”
I flushed at the many wrong ideas that occurred to me.
“It’s okay,” he said when I didn’t respond. “You don’t have to tell me. I can guess based on your pretty pink cheeks.”
I narrowed my eyes at him, angry that my fair complexion was giving me away. “Now you’re intentionally misbehaving.”
He laughed wolfishly. “This is not misbehaving. There’s a whole world of misbehaving that we’re not doing.”
Goddamn if I couldn’t help the way my body shuddered. “You didn’t answer my earlier question. Why is it like this when we’re doing something as simple as just walking together?”
His face turned serious. “Are you really prepared to have this talk?”
I hadn’t realized, but my heart was pounding. I shifted the keys in my sweaty palm. I knew I should look away, but my eyes wouldn’t obey. “What talk?”
“You know what talk, Olivia.”
The talk, I guessed, was about us. About what we were doing. And about why just taking a walk was so nice, but also so wrong. He was leaning closer now. His gaze lingered at the base of my neck, and his tongue flickered over his lips. Just on the other side of the door was an empty apartment, our own private escape. On the other side of the door was the potential to make mistakes – over and over again . . . . I touched my fingers to the base of my neck, sure that he could see my pulse racing.
“Answer me. Are you prepared for what I have to say?”
“No,” I blurted. “I’m not ready.”
He pushed off the doorjamb with aplomb. “Well when you are, let me know.”
He turned and walked back down the hall. I fumbled with the keys, cursing when I dropped them at my feet. I wanted to call after him, invite him in and drown in the fantasy of us, just for one night.
Instead, I entered the apartment before I made an enormous mistake. I slammed the door shut with both hands, bracing myself against the barrier between us.
CHAPTER 12
LATE SUNDAY MORNING, I slid behind our breakfast bar and grinned at Bill.
“You’re in a good mood,” he said cautiously.
“I’m going to the shelter.”
“Great, babe, you haven’t been in forever.”
“Come with me.”
“Nah, you go have fun. I should catch up on some stuff.”
“Come on,” I prodded. “It will be fun. We can get lunch after.”
“I don’t think so. Sounds nice, but I really can’t blow this off,” he said, waving an overstuffed folder in my direction.
“But you’ve never even been.”
“Well, that’s because I’m swamped,” he said angrily. “There are no breaks when it comes to this job. And because of the fishing trip, I have to get as much done as possible this week.”
“All right.” I held up my palms in defeat and bent over to lace up my tennis shoes. “I just think you’d enjoy it. You work so much.”
“So do you.”
“I know,” I called from below. “But I’m going to try and cut back, now that I’m more settled in this promotion.”
“You know I don’t have that option. The partners expect us to bust our asses.”
I sat back up. “Okay. I get it. I’m going to go then. Don’t work too hard.”
He kissed my forehead and tossed the folder on the kitchen table. “I’ll try not to.”
Twenty minutes and five M83 songs later, I had arrived at my destination. The manager, George, greeted me with a warm smile and told me they’d missed me the past few months. He set me up with an older golden Labrador mix, who lovingly nudged me with her snout when I asked if she was ready for her walk.
Out front, I threw my hair into a quick ponytail and led her toward the park. I pulled my phone out twice on the way, only to put it away again. Finally, I took it out a last time
and opened the text message David had sent me the day before.
Sep 15, 2012 3:30 PM
Meet us in the park tomorrow.
I hadn’t responded, and now I bit my nail nervously as I stared at it.
Sep 16, 2012 12:22 PM
How was the zoo?
As soon as I had sent it, I cringed. My nerves flared, knotting my stomach and causing me to pull hard on my earlobe. What was I thinking? And what if he had brought Dani after all? What if he didn’t want to see me? Why should I care if he did or didn’t?
Sep 16, 2012 12:25 PM
Chaotic. Are you in LP?
Sep 16, 2012 12:26 PM
Yes.
Sep 16, 2012 12:28 PM
Come to the Lily Pool, Fullerton entrance. On my way.
I looked down at the dog. “Don’t judge me,” I told her.
At the gates to Alfred Caldwell Lily Pool, we waited. My heart rate accelerated when I saw David in the distance. As soon as he spotted me, his long legs moved in considerably quicker strides. His muscles stretched a short-sleeved black t-shirt. I stole a glance at his brawny, bronzed legs, wondering how he was able to maintain such a stellar tan.
“Hey,” he said, a smile spreading across his handsome face.
I squinted up and returned his smile. “Hey.”
“Who’s this?”
“Sofie from the shelter.”
“Hello, Sofie from the shelter.” He crouched down and took the dog’s head in his hands, scratching behind her ears. “Canyon’s with us, they can play.”
“She’s sort of old.”
“Canyon too. Have you been inside?” he asked, motioning to the Lily Pool.
“No.” I looked at him sheepishly. “I’ve walked by but never noticed it. I had to look it up on my phone,” I admitted.
He took the leash from me and looped it around the nearest tree. “Come inside with me. Sofie’ll be fine here for a minute.” With a hand on my shoulder, he guided me through the gates and into a peaceful, rustic oasis. A sprawling pond was dotted with floating lily pads and bordered by large stone slabs.
