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“Is there anyone you do think about?”
My lips rolled in, attempting to keep the words inside. I was the type who fell easily for men. With Dash this close, asking me who I thought about, saying honesty is best, it would be simple to tell him he had been on my mind. But I was trying not to follow the same patterns. Not to go down the road I’d been on too many times. The road always ended with me being taken advantage of and upset. Only this time, I didn’t have anywhere to go but back to the home my grandmother owned. I was staying with her while I built my savings account enough to have a deposit for rent. She wasn’t an easy woman to live with.
Being gay was considered a sin, according to her. She told me if I was going to live there, I couldn’t fool around with men. I had to get my act together and find a nice woman to settle down with. The metallic taste of blood had filled my mouth as I bit my tongue and nodded to her. I only needed a couple of months. There were people who would have helped me, although I didn’t want handouts. I wanted to do things on my own again. One more month was all I had to endure her hateful bigotry for.
Dash leaned close, this time not pulling away. “I’m going to let you in on a secret,” he whispered. “I’ve been thinking about you.”
I gasped. “Me?”
“Mmhhmm. You’re different. Sweet. I like it.”
“I’m a doormat.”
His voice grew firmer. “You’re not a doormat. An asshole took advantage of you.”
“What about the assholes before him? Every one of them took my heart. It’s always the wrong guy. Like I’m not good enough to find someone who will love me instead of seeking what I can do for them.” It wasn’t just my personal life either. I worked in retail. Whenever a colleague needed a day off or called out sick, they asked me to fill in. Everyone else would tell the manager if they had plans. Not me. I filled in, came to work sick, and hadn’t taken a vacation in years. They had also passed me over for a promotion repeatedly. I could handle a manager’s job in my sleep at this point.
“You haven’t met the man who will treat you right, with the respect and affection you deserve.”
Blinking up into those beautiful eyes of his, I asked, “What if I never do?”
“What if you have and didn’t realize it?”
“What are you saying?”
“Dash!” someone yelled. “Get over here before your food gets cold!”
Dash cupped my cheek gently, like he was afraid he would break me. “Open your eyes, Tris. And your mouth because if we don’t sit and eat, Slay’s going to come over here and I don’t want to get all possessive of you. Not when I intend to woo you.”
A laugh bubbled up my throat. “You want to woo me?”
“That’s right. I’m a new man and I’m making a plan. A man plan. Hey, have you ever been with two men at once?”
“W-what?”
“Never mind. That’s talk for another day. Let’s eat.” He slid his hand from my cheek, down my arm to my palm, holding it against his to lead me toward the others.
What was happening? My mind spun as Dash took me to a table. Dash put me between Reed and him like he’d said he would. He used his foot to push his brother and the chair he sat in farther away from us.
A large plate of pasta with a creamy mushroom sauce was in front of me, the aroma rich and decadent. I ate, tried to make mental notes of what to tell Cadence when she asked how the food was, but my mind kept running back to what Dash said.
Part of me wondered if he was fucking with me. It wouldn’t be the first time a man had done that. Another part of me—the bigger one—wanted to latch on to what he was saying and hope it was true. That someone like Dash could want me for more than a quick fuck.
But also… Two men? Did he want to have a relationship with me and another man or was this a fling situation?
A palm landed on my thigh beneath the table. I glanced over to find Dash watching me.
“Think later,” he said. “Eat.”
So that was what I did.
4
DASH
Bare feet took over my vision. Not sexy feet either.
“Get your toes out of my face, Slay,” I grumbled at my brother.
