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I crossed my arms. “What the hell happened?”
He rolled his eyes. “He says he forgot he asked both of us to come. Apparently, he also forgot that he has some important bonus practice his coach added to the schedule to prep for the next season. He was apologetic, but he needs to be more responsible with other people’s time.”
“Why were you laughing at the end there?”
“Oh…” He chuckled. “Because he said, ‘It’s not like you don’t work enough. Take my sister out to lunch and chill.’”
I’m gonna kill him. I forced myself to take a breath. “Well, that explains the delay.”
Dax let out a long breath. “Anyway…I’m sorry he messed up. Is there somewhere else you should be right now?”
“No. Like you, I took the afternoon off. I had a couple of massage appointments this morning, but nothing for the rest of the day.”
“You want to take Rafe up on his suggestion? Get out of here and get something to eat?”
My stomach did a flip at the prospect of spending time with Dax. It would be platonic, but I’d craved his attention and missed being alone with him.
“Why not?” I shrugged. “I’m starving.”
“Me, too.” He smiled. “I know just the place.”
“Where’s that?” I asked as we took off walking. “Because I was going to suggest something. This area is sort of my domain.”
“Have you ever been to The Tavern?”
My mouth dropped. “That’s where I was going to suggest! It’s one of my favorite places.”
“They have the best beer.”
“I know,” I said. “They brew their own. And the food is great.”
“Well, great minds think alike.” He winked.
When we arrived at the bar and grill, Dax held the door open, and the smell of beer and fried food immediately hit me. As we waited to be seated, I thought about this being only the second time Dax and I had been out together. After the hostess checked us in, I felt the heat of his body behind me as we walked to the table.
As I perused the menu, I looked up to find him staring at me.
My cheeks burned. “What? You’re looking at me funny.”
He set his menu down. “It’s still hard sometimes for me to believe you’re back.”
“Were you hoping I’d stay away?”
“Of course not.”
The waitress came by and took our drink order.
After she left, I laughed. “I won’t ever forget the look on your face when I showed up at your door that night.”
He smiled. “What did it look like?”
“Like a deer in headlights.” I winked.
“I’m sorry if I acted like an idiot. It was surreal to see you right in front of me when the last time we were together before that...” He paused.
“You were inside me,” I finished.
His eyes widened. “Yeah,” he whispered.
Feeling heat wash over me, I closed my menu. “Well, at least Morgan doesn’t suspect anything.”
“No. She doesn’t. She really likes you.”
“You’re not ever going to tell her, are you?”
He was silent a moment. “I haven’t figured that out.”
“I don’t think you should. It wouldn’t serve any purpose.”
“I feel guilty hiding it, but I do think it would hurt her.”
“Exactly. Better that she doesn’t know. Anything you did before you met her doesn’t matter. You don’t list all the other women you’ve slept with, right?”
His expression turned serious. “You were more to me than just someone I slept with, Wren.”
Feeling ready to crawl out of my skin, I looked around. “Where the hell are our drinks?”
The waitress finally appeared with the sampler of beers we’d ordered. She set two trays carefully on the table.
I lifted one of the small glasses. “Cheers.”
Dax lifted his own. “Cheers.”
I decided to add a little toast. “To college tours that turn into awkward meals with your ex.” I downed almost all of the first one. “That should make this a bit easier.” I winked, but noticed he wasn’t laughing. I frowned. “I’m just kidding, Dax.”
“I get it. It’s easy to want to numb it all…” He took a long drink and slammed the glass down. “Speaking of things I need to numb, I know you’ve been out with Dylan a couple of times recently.”
I nodded, licking the remaining beer off my lips. “Does that bother you?”
His ears turned a little red. “It’s complicated, right? It’s not that I don’t want you dating a good guy. But it’s always gonna hurt to see you with someone else. That’s just the way it is. Doesn’t mean I don’t want you to be happy. Please don’t ever think that. Like I told you before, Dylan is a great guy.”
“He is a really nice guy. He checks all the boxes for sure. And he really seems to like me.”
Dax swallowed hard. “Well, good then.”
I raised my brow. “Is it?”
He wiped his forehead. “Why wouldn’t it be?”
Because I still love you. “I don’t know,” I muttered.
The tension in the air dissipated slightly when the waitress came to take our food order. Dax ordered a buffalo chicken burger while I opted for lobster mac and cheese.
