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“Maybe it’s more like a continuation of our arcade date,” I said. “After all, I assume one has to go home to actually end the date before the next one starts.”
The twitch of her lips caused a bolt of satisfaction to go through me. During those twenty-four hours, I had a first-hand look at the real person Quinn was. The stoic mask she had on at the club was slowly starting to drop.
It gave me hope.
Hope that my anxiety was just that—an incessant worry that means nothing. Hope that I could have something, as little as this may be, to myself without fear of what would happen to me or that the rug would be pulled out from under me.
“So…” she trailed. “Going out for coffee at eight a.m. on a weekday… Shouldn’t you be heading to work soon, or is the club…?”
The panic must have been obvious on my face because she trailed off toward the end.
“Actually, I think we should probably talk about that,” I said nervously, looking around. The morning rush hadn’t started yet, so now would be the perfect time to drop any bombs I had. The café itself was large enough that the customers wouldn’t overhear each other, but it didn’t stop my anxiety.
I looked out the windows, trying to search for the familiar black sedans that followed me almost everywhere I went.
There was no sign of them.
But that didn’t mean that theyweren’taround, it just meant that they didn’t want to be found.
“Do you want to go someplace more secluded?” she asked.
I shook my head. This was as safe as it would get, for the both of us. Public with no one around to eavesdrop. “You should probably know that I have a job in the government.”
If the news shocked her, she didn’t show it on her face.
“A job in the government, huh?” she asked, her eyes trailing down my figure.
If she were anyone else, I would have assumed that she was assessing my form. Trying to figure out exactly what I did there.
“Yes,” I said, watching her expression.
“Is that what’s causing you to look over your shoulder every time I’m near? Is there someone watching us that I should know about?”
Her observation caused ice to replace the blood in my veins.
“Yes and no,” I said after a moment. “They are probably keeping tabs on me, but it’s nothing you need to worry about. The only thing you should know is that this job in particular requires the people I bring home to have background checks done on them.”
“You mean me?” she asked, her tone teasing. I averted my gaze to the table.
God.I hated how her teasing, no matter how slight it was, caused my skin to heat.
There was another hope lingering in the back of my mind. One that thought that maybe we could keep this up. Maybe she could not only accept what I do but actively seek out my company even after she found out what a shitshow my life was.
It was the whole reason I brought her here in the first place. Somehow the café seemed like a safe, neutral space. If she wanted to leave she could. If she decided that the baggage was too much for her, she could turn around and walk right out of my life, never to be seen again.
I hope she won’t.
She was the first ever that I brought to my apartment. First ever to meet outside of the club, save for a few run-ins with random people in the real world.
I couldn’t help but feel like after so many years of hiding, meeting her was a sign of… well,something.What that something was, I didn’t quite know yet.
Thiswas the difference between her and Bailey. I had never once felt comfortable introducing Bailey into my life this way.
Bailey was a good introduction to a relationship. It was messy, and we weren’t exclusive, but it wassomething. The perfect something that prepared me for this. She was but a steppingstone. One that decided to fall away at exactly the right moment to prepare me for this.
Maybe the world was finally repaying me for the shit it put me through. Karma and all that, right?
“I didn’t know I let someone famous pop my cherry,” she said with a light laugh.
