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LAETH
I was an asshole.
After Deva had seen me in the throes of my nightmare, I’d been doing everything in my power to avoid her. I worked late or found a reason to close myself in my office at home, even going so far as eating dinner there, until it was time to get Cash ready for bed. Usually, on the nights I was home to handle those tasks, she cleaned the kitchen after dinner, then headed to her own room.
I knew I was being a coward, and I felt like shit for treating her so poorly, but I couldn’t stand the fact that she’d witnessed me at my lowest. It gave me anxiety, so I took the coward’s way out and hid like the chickenshit I was.
There was also the not-so-minor fact that I’d been fucking my own fist to thoughts of her night after night for the past week. If she had any clue the depths of my depraved mind when it came to her, she’d run for the hills.
I’d been dreading the weekend for days, avoidance was going to be so much harder on weekends withbothof us being off work and at the house, so I’d upped my avoidance game by waking up early, getting Cash ready, and taking him out for the day. We hitthe park for a couple hours before heading to the diner in town for some lunch. After that, I killed even more time by putting him in his swim trunks and hanging out at the splash pad in town for the better part of the afternoon, then we had dinner at a local fast-food joint so he could munch on the chicken nuggets and fries he loved more than any other food in existence.
I ran my poor little guy ragged all day just to keep from having to see the woman I couldn’t get out of my goddamn head. It was pathetic.
The house was empty when we got home, and while part of me was relieved, the other part was disappointed. Because I was a fucking mess.
She left a note on the kitchen island, written in delicate, swirly cursive, the beautiful loops fitting her perfectly. It said she was going to dinner over at Myra and Bennett’s and I felt like a million different kinds of shit at the thought of her walking across town to attend a dinner when I could have taken a few minutes to drive her if I’d been man enough to pull my head out of my ass.
That was two hours ago. Cash had been crashed out on the couch watching some singing cartoon that made me want to stab my eardrums, and I’d spent that whole time pacing and worrying about her walking everywhere.
Another glance at the clock showed that two minutes had passed since I last checked it, and still no Deva.
Pulling my phone out of my back pocket, I scrolled through my contacts until I reached her name.
Me:Let me know when you’re done with dinner and I’ll come pick you up.
I stared at my phone like a pathetic loser, the seconds ticking by as I waited for a reply. Finally, those little bubbles popped up at the bottom of the screen, indicating she was typing aresponse, and damn if my stomach didn’t flip at the sight of them.
Then her reply came through and pissed me the hell off.
Deva:Thank you, but that’s not necessary. I’m perfectly capable of walking. Have a good night.
Have a good night? Was she fucking joking? Did she think for one second I’d be able to relax, knowing she was walking across town all by herself? In the fucking dark? Where anything could happen?
Not a chance in hell.
My thumbs flew over my phone’s screen.
Me:Wasn’t a request, Bambi. If I find out you walked home in the dark, there’s going to be hell to pay.
I nearly typed out that I’d tan her ass red, but managed to stop myself.
Deva:Who is Bambi?
Shit. I’d been so consumed with my worry that I’d slipped up and used the nickname I’d been careful to only use in my head for the past week. It was those freaking eyes. Those big, expressive doe eyes that didn’t hide a single thing from the world.
I’d meant to keep that particular card close to the vest.
Me:Don’t worry about it. I mean it, though. Text when you’re wrapping up or I’ll call Myra. You are NOT walking.
Deva:Fine.
I couldn’t help but smile in triumph. I could practically feel her annoyance radiating through the phone with just that one word, and a part of me was eager to find out if I’d see more of that sassy side of her tonight.
Deva:Things are wrapping up, so if you want to leave now, I’ll be ready when you arrive. Although I still think it’s a waste of time.
I really didn’t care if she thought it was a waste of time or not. She’d just have to get used to it.
Me:OMW
