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She shrugged, rolling her thumbs together. "I didn't want to just tell him on the first date. You can't just spill that information into someone's lap and expect them not to blab to the entire world. I wouldn't want it to get back to the school. God only knows how they would react."
Rose couldn't have the school finding out. She had to keep that from them. She knew that much.
The girls stared at her in concern and shock. Rose knew she was keeping it on the down-low, and she'd been doing it for some time now. Maybe the girls wanted her to be open about it, but she couldn't risk it. There was too much riding on it, too many what-ifs.
"Besides," she waved her hand, "it never came up."
Fire smirked, wiggling her eyebrows. "What do you mean it never came up? Is there something you're not telling us?"
Wind held that mischievous grin as she nodded with Fire. "Did you guys do something? Come on, tell us, Rose."
Rose shook her head, not wanting to tell them that part. She did keep some things private. "The idea to tell him didn't come up until later into the date, and by then, the topic was already spoken about. I wasn't going to just go, 'Hey, by the way, I have another job that I didn't know if I could trust you with, and maybe I could now.'"
"It's not hard," Wind said, waving her drink. "You just tell him. He will either take it or leave it."
"Maybe it would be good for you," Moon said. "He might have been really impressed with it."
Rose's stomach twisted, but what if he hadn't been? That was the problem. She had never told anyone about her night job, and she certainly didn't want the first time to go up in smoke.
She shrugged. "I wouldn't even know how to tell him, guys. He's so … put together and charming that I don't want him to think I'm a freak for keeping it from him. Besides, it isn't like it's that important."
"Wouldn't it be like keeping a secret?" Wind asked, shrugging her arms. "Because it sounds like it is."
"No." Rose shook her head, placing her hands flat on the table. "Do you tell everyone you date every little secret you have?"
"It's different," Moon said. "This is a job. Hiding whether you snore or not is something else entirely. You're hiding an entire person from him, almost. You're only showing him the sweet side of you."
"Come on, guys." Fire shook her head. "It's her decision, and it was the first date. Give her some slack. I wouldn't have told." She gave Rose a reassuring smile. "That's like a third date kind of thing anyway."
Fire looked at Moon and Wind with glares. "I don't recall you two bouncing to tell your ex-boyfriend things about you on the first date. Wind, you refused to tell one of your boyfriends you love porn, and Fire, you didn't tell your last boyfriend your real age until a year into the relationship."
Rose smiled. She honestly had two perfect nights with Dylan and felt there was something serious there. And she was pretty sure Dylan had seen the naughty side of her just fine. But she did worry. Was keeping this secret bad for them? A new relationship couldn't be set on a foundation that was filled with holes. She chewed on her lip and tried to tell herself she would tell him somewhere along the line.
"Anyway," Rose shook her head, wanting to move the conversation along to something else, "what has everyone else been up to?"
NINE
DYLAN
Dylan was riding on cloud nine. He seemed to be looking at the world through a different lens, able to enjoy every aspect of every situation. He couldn't deny it had been a long time since he'd been able to do that. He also felt good about himself for the first time since Jazzy died. He felt proud of where he was and how he got this far.
Dylan took his seat at the board meeting, giving everyone a head nod and a smile as he seated himself. Joshua, a coworker, sat next to him as the boss started talking.
Joshua leaned over. "What's wrong with your face?"
Dylan glanced at him. "What are you talking about?"
"Your face." He waved his hand over his own. "You're all smiley today."
Dylan snorted low and rolled his eyes. "Maybe because I am happy. Are you implying every other day I'm not?"
"Don't need to imply it when it's true." He smirked. "So, whatcha taking?"
"I'm not taking anything." Dylan shook his head, looking up at his boss, trying to take his words in. Joshua persisted, though.
"Seriously, I haven't ever seen you glance at Chad before today. Everyone hates Chad. He's a brown noser, and you smiled at him. So, what are you taking? Some happy pills?"
Dylan looked at Joshua. "I'm just in a good mood today, is all."
