Текст книги "Thief"

Автор книги: Chantal Fernando

сообщить о нарушении

Текущая страница: 4 (всего у книги 8 страниц)

Chapter Nine

“I still can’t believe you’re here right now,” Dash says as he comes to stand next to me at the bar while I’m ordering another drink. “Xander says you’re a real estate agent? His, to be exact.”

I wonder how he was able to ask about me with his girlfriend not leaving his side for a second. She must have gone to the bathroom or something, letting him breathe a little.

I smile at him then duck my head. “I am, yes. After trying a heap of other careers, I settled on real estate.”

He chuckles and orders his drink before saying, “Yeah, I can see you being in real estate. Although, I guess you have to trade in the Converse now, huh?”

“More of a heels girl now. What about you? What do you do for a living?” I find myself asking.

“I’m a mechanic,” he says, taking a sip of the amber liquid in his glass. “I own my own business.”

“Awesome,” I say, finishing my drink and placing the empty glass on the table. Dash suddenly grabs my wrist, turning it over so my palm’s up in the air. I know straight away what he’s looking at, the name ‘Max’ written across my wrist, a tattoo I got the day I turned eighteen.

“You didn’t message me every day,” he suddenly accuses, licking his lips. “When you left, you said you would, but then you didn’t.”

My eyes flare at him bringing this up. “I did for a while, Dash. For about a year, wasn’t it? I think life just got in the way after that, after I finished high school and went to university. It’s a two-way street, you know. You didn’t pick up the phone either.”

A muscle ticks in his jaw, but he leaves the subject alone. “You look good. You’re beautiful, Vi.”

“Thank you,” I reply, looking away from those eyes I’ve missed so damn much. “You look good too. How are your sisters?”

“They’re all good,” he says, smiling fondly. “Still harassing my life, of course.”

I laugh as memories flash through my mind. “You love it. You were always such a good brother.”

“I don’t know about that,” he says, studying me for a few tense seconds. “What are you doing tomorrow?”

“Why?” I ask, scanning the bar. I see his girlfriend exit the bathroom then head in our direction straight away.

“Because I want to catch up with you. Do you know how many times I’ve thought about you over the years? Wondered what you’re doing, how you are?”

Probably not as much as I’ve wondered the same about him.

“Dash, there you are,” Vanessa says, possessively putting her hand on his chest. “Is it okay if we leave now? I’m not feeling too well.”

Dash sighs, and I know he doesn’t want to leave. Why would he? Everyone he loves besides his sisters is in this room.

“Give me a minute,” he tells her. “Why don’t you have a drink while I say bye to everyone?”

She makes a face but stays at the bar while Dash grabs my arm and leads me to the group. “Tomorrow. Meet me here at lunchtime.”

“You have a girlfriend,” I say, putting up my hand. “And before you play the ‘just friends’ card, if it wasn’t an issue, you would have mentioned this in front of her.”

“I’ve dated her for a few months,” he growls, hold tightening on me. “And if I knew you would be coming back into my life, I never would have touched her.”

My eyes widen at his outburst.

“You can’t just say shit like that,” I whisper-yell.

We stop in front of Summer and Reid.

“Dash has to go, because his girlfriend wants to leave,” I blurt out, making Dash’s scowl turn even deeper.

“Is that right?” Summer snarks, crossing her arms over her chest. “Doesn’t your girlfriend like us, Dash? Your family?”

Reid looks like he wants to laugh, but manages to contain it.

“She’s tired,” he says, pursing his lips. “I’m going to drop her at her house and then come back.”

“As if you’re going to come back,” I say, rolling my eyes. I look at Summer. “What’s the bet he’s not coming back?”

“I’m with you on this one,” Summer agrees. “She’ll pull out all the tricks to keep you there. Don’t worry, Dash; we’ll be here, having a good time without you. And Tag’s friend over there hasn’t been able to keep his eyes off Viola. I wonder if he’s going to ask her out on a date.”

Dash’s eyes narrow to slits. “Summer,” he growls, warning in his tone. “Pretty sure you’re meant to be on my side here.”

“There are no sides here,” Summer says, grinning. “But if there were, it would be between Vanessa and Vi, and sorry, but Vi wins hands down.”

I hide my grin behind my hand.

“Summer,” he groans, scrubbing a hand down his face. He then looks at me, eyes softening, and says, “I’ll be back.”

He leaves with his girlfriend, and I can’t help but feel sad, and a little lost.

He should be with me.

Summer wraps her arm around me. “He’ll be back. If not tonight, very, very soon.”

He’s going to go home and have sex with her. How depressing is that?

“I need another drink,” I mutter, exhaling deeply.

Reid looks down at me and speaks to me properly for the first time all night. “Don’t worry about Vanessa. She’s temporary.”

He walks away and I consider his words. Is she temporary? Am I just going to wait for Dash to become available? It sounds like a pretty sad option, if I’m being honest with myself, but at the same time, he definitely is worth the wait.

“Reid’s right,” Summer says, checking out her man. “He usually is, and it’s infuriating.”

“He’s not coming back,” I repeat, nodding my head toward the bar. “Shall we?”

“We shall,” Summer replies, linking her arm through mine.

Dash fucking Edwards.

What am I going to do with you?

*****

I wake up to a pounding head and a dry mouth.

Forcing myself out of bed, I grab a glass of water from the kitchen and swallow two pain killers with it. Sitting on the kitchen counter, I watch my feet dangle as I think over everything that happened last night.

Dash didn’t return.

Big surprise.

I did still have a good night though. All of his friends are amazing people, and I’m glad he has that. Where it leaves the two of us, I have no idea though. I close my eyes and tilt my head back.

I still can’t believe after all these years…

He’s my one who got away. A bold claim, being as young as we were, but it’s the truth. No one has ever compared to Dash, and over the years, I’ve done my fair share of comparing.

Would he break up with his girlfriend?

What if he only sees me as a friend now?

So many possibilities. I expel a deep sigh and shake my head at myself for feeling like a teenager with a crush again. If it is going to happen, it will; there’s no point overthinking and overanalysing all the ‘what ifs’. If Dash wants me, he is going to have to come and get me.

After he gets rid of his girlfriend.

Chapter Ten

I’m walking into my office on Monday morning when I see him leaning against the wall by my door.

“What are you doing here?” I ask, glancing around. I lower my voice. “And how did you even know where to find me?”

“Xander wouldn’t give me your number, so I just did a quick Google search of your name,” he says, pushing off the wall and approaching me. “I’m sorry I didn’t come back on Saturday night.”

“It’s fine. I’m used to being right,” I say, arching my brow at him.

“You look good,” he tells me. “Classy business attire suits you. The heels are sexy.”

“Why are you here, Dash?” I ask, getting to the point. I know he didn’t come here to check out what I wear to work.

I open my office door and walk inside with him following me. He shuts the door behind himself and takes a seat.

“We need to talk,” he says, resting back against the chair and studying me. “About a shitload of things. Let me take you out for lunch today.”

“Why can’t you just say what you have to say now?” I ask, scanning his features. He has sexy stubble on his cheeks that I want to run my fingers over.

“Still difficult, I see,” he grumbles before his expression softens. “I don’t think your office on a Monday morning is the best place to discuss us, or our history, or why the fuck we lost contact in the first place, and what we’re meant to do, now that we’re back in each other’s life.”

My mouth makes the shape of an O.

“Fuck, Vi, it’s you. I still can’t believe it. I just want to spend some time with you to catch up. Let me buy you lunch, or dinner, if that’s better for you.”

I watch him. The fact he’s not mentioning Vanessa has me feeling confused. Does he want us to just be friends? Wouldn’t that get in the way of his relationship with his clearly possessive girlfriend? And if he says he doesn’t care about what she thinks, then why is he with her in the first place?

New Dash confuses me.

Is it my responsibility to worry about his girlfriend though? I mean, I’m no one’s side chick, and I’m not a home wrecker, but she isn’t my girlfriend.

“Okay, we can go to dinner,” I give in, glancing over my schedule. “Does seven work for you?”

He nods quickly and says, “I’ll pick you up from your house.”

My eyes narrow. “I can just meet you there, Dash.”

The less this seems like a date, the better. I don’t need any more disappointment in my life.

“Just let me pick you up, Vi. Stop being so damn stubborn,” he says then smiles. “You know, now that you’re back in my life, I’m never letting you leave it again.”

My expression softens, and I stand up and step to him, opening my arms.

It’s Dash, after all.

He wraps me in his arms, and I bury my face in his chest and close my eyes.

“I missed you,” I admit softly, loving the feeling of being in his arms again.

“I missed you too,” he says, running his hand down my back. “I was so fucking shocked when I saw you standing there next to Summer. I thought I was seeing things.”

“I was shocked too,” I tell him. “You smell good.”

He chuckles, chest shaking. “So do you, Vi. So do you. I’ll see you tonight at seven. Message me your address.” He slides his phone out of his pocket. “What’s your number?”

I tell him my number and he saves it in his phone.

“I still have the same number from high school,” he says, our gazes connected.

“You do?” I ask, eyes widening.

“Yeah,” he says, shrugging a little sheepishly. “Just in case you ever needed me, I wanted to make sure you could contact me.”

“Dash,” I whisper, jumping back into his arms.

That was the sweetest thing I’ve ever heard in my life. He kept his number just in case I wanted to get a hold of him one day?

He kisses my forehead, flashes me his dimples, and then leaves my office.

All I want to do is chase after him and spend the day with him, to talk everything out, but unfortunately, I have to work.  I spend the day thinking about how I’m going to see him tonight and wondering what to wear. Then I tell myself we’re just friends, so it doesn’t matter what I wear.

Why does everything in life have to be so difficult?

*****

I figure jeans is the best option, so I wear blue skinny jeans with a black top. He arrives ten minutes early, and I open the door to his dimpled smile.

“You look beautiful,” he says, offering me his hand. I take it, and he leads me to his expensive-looking black car and opens the passenger side door for me.

“Thank you,” I say before sliding in.

He gets in the driver’s seat and grins at me. “Your house is amazing.”

“Your car is amazing.”

“I didn’t know where you’d want to eat,” he says as we reverse out of my driveway. “The Vi I know would have said ‘fries, lots of fries,’ but I’d think your tastes would be a little different now.”

“Oh, I still love fries,” I tell him. “But maybe as a side, next to a steak or something.”

“Excellent,” he says then reaches over and touches my thigh. “Tell me everything about your life, from the moment your car drove away to right now.”

“Why don’t we first address the two elephants in the room, one named Vanessa,” I say, looking down at his hand on my thigh. “Because I’m really fucking confused right now. And the second, being the whole losing contact thing.

He removes his hand and winces. “I broke up with her on Saturday night. She cried, a lot, which is why I didn’t come back. She cried on Sunday too, and was making a big deal about it, so I was trying to calm her down.”

My eyes widen at that. “Why did you tell her you wanted to break up with her?”

I don’t really know how to take this information. Am I happy he’s single? Yes. Do I necessarily like that he saw me then dumped his girlfriend that same night and possibly broke her heart? No. Can Dash win in this situation? No.

“We weren’t serious or anything,” he explains, fingers tightening on the steering wheel. “That was the first night she’d even met any of my friends, and we’d only been seeing each other a few months. What are the chances the one night I decide to let her meet my friends, you show up?”

“Pretty low,” I reply, cringing. “What a clusterfuck.”

“I don’t care, Vi. What’s the point of me being with her, when as soon as I saw you, I knew I had to be with you? No one compares. Staying with her would have just hurt her more in the long run,” he says, returning his hand to my thigh. “And as for the losing contact thing, yeah, I guess I’m slightly fucking pissed, because it felt like you didn’t give a shit.”

“Of course I gave a shit,” I say quickly. “I’ve never stopped caring about you, Dash.”

He looks straight ahead and says, “After we lost Max, you let me go as well. Almost like you wanted a fresh start, and I was just a reminder of what life was like when we had Max with us. You just fucking let go, Vi. I get Max was everything to you, but I should have meant something to you too.”

Is that what I did?

I consider his words and realise there might be an ounce of truth to them, even if that’s not what I set out to do. Maybe subconsciously I made the decision to do that as a coping mechanism?

“I didn’t mean to hurt you, Dash, and I’m sorry. I didn’t even realise that’s what I did until you just said it.” I pause, swallowing hard. “You always meant something to me. You still do, and you always will.”

“You need to tell me what’s going on in that head of yours. I know we’re both different people now, but at the same time, I feel like I still know you, like not that much time has passed. I just know you, Vi. And I want you.”

“I want you too,” I admit, putting my hand over his. “Everything else is just details.”

He glances at me before looking back to the road. “I think that’s the best thing you could have said.”

“We don’t have to rush into anything,” I say quickly. “I mean, maybe we could go on a few dates and see—”

“I won’t push you, Vi. We can take things slowly. I’m just happy to have you back in my life; you have no idea,” he says, jaw tightening. “It’s just me, you know? The guy you thought was yelling at his girlfriend on the first day back at school for wearing a short dress.”

I laugh at that, remembering that day like it was yesterday. “It was a short skirt, not a short dress. You were an asshole to me at the start.”

“I’d never met anyone like you,” he says, shaking his head. “I didn’t know how to handle it. You were getting to me so much, but I had no idea why. It took me a little while to figure out it was because I liked you.”

“Well, I’m glad you finally figured it out,” I say, squeezing his hand. “Don’t you think it’s weird how comfortable it feels between us? You were right when you said it feels like no time has passed.”

He parks the car and turns to face me. “I know, and I don’t want to freak you out, but I really want to kiss you right now.”

I wanted to kiss him too, yet it did feel weird, considering he only just broke up with his girlfriend.

“Can we wait?” I ask him, shifting in my seat. “You only just broke up with her, and it’s just...”

“I get it,” he says, cupping my cheek. “I said I wouldn’t push you, and I won’t. I’m just fucking greedy for you.” He smirks. “But I can control myself. Don’t move.”

He gets out of the car and opens my door.

“Thank you,” I tell him. “But it’s not necessary, Dash. I can open my own door.”

“And now she’s complaining about me being a gentleman,” he mutters, sounding amused.

He takes my hand in his, lacing our fingers as we walk into the restaurant.

Chapter Eleven

“That’s not how I remember this story at all,” I say to Dash, laughing so hard that people are starting to stare. “I came over to drop your homework off. The teacher asked me; I didn’t volunteer. And how was I meant to know you’d open the door half naked?”

“I was so stressed out that day,” he admits. “The twins were sick and extremely grumpy. I’d had a fight with my mum over me having to miss school because she couldn’t miss work. It was just a really shit day. And then you come in, sort the twins out, feed us all, and get them to sleep without a fuss.” He reaches over and takes my hand. “It was probably one of the nicest things anyone had done for me. And you didn’t even want anything in return.”

“I got a rose, though,” I say, smiling gently at him. “You had so much on your shoulders at such a young age. Honestly, you should be so proud of everything you did for your family. At the time, though, I remember being angry on your behalf and wanting to stick up for you.”

“Always sticking up for the underdog.”

“You were never the underdog,” I say, rolling my eyes at him. “You always overcame everything that was thrown at you.”

“Being weak was a luxury I couldn’t afford,” he says, smiling sadly. “I had to keep everything together for my sisters, and mum had to work to provide for us, so she was always gone. It could have always been worse.”

Not every boy his age would have stepped up to the plate, though. I don’t think he knows just how amazing of a person he truly is.

“What do you want for dessert?” he asks, scanning the menu.

“I’m too full for dessert.”

“We could share one,” he suggests, studying me. “I really don’t want this night to end.”

I duck my head and look at the menu. “How about some cheesecake?”

“Cheesecake sounds perfect to me,” he replies, and I can still feel his gaze on me.

The truth is, I don’t want this night to end either. But it is insane to just start something like this, after not seeing each other for so long, and because of Vanessa. My head and my heart are definitely at war, and I have no idea who will win the battle.

We share a cookies-and-cream cheesecake, and Dash pays the bill. I tell him that I’m paying the next time, which earns me a dirty look I choose to ignore.

“You’re not paying any time,” he says, wrapping his arm around me. “You can argue all you want, but that’s one thing I’m not going to compromise on.”

“Why not?” I ask curiously. “I have a job and earn money too, you know. Equality and all that.”

He kisses my temple. “Come on. You can argue with me in the car.”

I do just that.

When we get back to my house, he walks me to the door. We hug goodbye, and he’s about to leave, when in that split second, I change my mind.

I kiss him.

I think it catches him off guard at first, but then he’s kissing me back, hands in my hair, my back pressed up against the door, our mouths telling each other things that words never could do. He tastes like cheesecake, sweet and delicious, and his kisses are addictive. I run my fingers over the dark stubble on his cheek and suck on his lower lip before pulling away.

“Wow,” is all I can think to say.

He smiles then leans forward for another kiss, this time sweet and soft.

“Do you feel it?” he asks, pushing my hair back behind my ear.

“I feel something,” I blurt out, pushing my body up against his.

He chuckles and kisses just underneath my ear. “Not that. The connection, can’t you feel it?”

I don’t know what exactly it is I feel, but it’s taking over my body, clouding my vision, and sweeping through my senses.

It’s consuming me.

“When will I see you next?” I ask, wrapping my arms around his neck and burying my face in his shoulder.

“Tomorrow,” he says, kissing the top of my head. “I’ll cook for you at my house. How does that sound?”

“It sounds good,” I say then kiss his lips once more. “Goodnight, Dash.”

“Goodnight, Vi,” he says, reluctantly letting go of me and taking a step back.

I close the door and lock it behind me, but just stand there for a few moments, an almost foreign smile on my face.

Oh, how things can change so much in only a few days.

*****

“You’re here!” Summer yells as I walk into Knox Tavern.

“Of course I’m here,” I say, sitting down on one of the barstools. “You rang me a million times. Did Xander give you my number?”

“I stole it from his phone,” she confesses, pouring me a gin and tonic without even asking and sliding it over to me. “I’m on my lunch break.”

“One drink won’t kill you,” she says, leaning on the bar. “Now spill, tell me everything. No detail is too insignificant.”

I give her a brief summary of our date and how he broke up with Vanessa.

“Cutthroat,” she says, eyes widening. “So are the two of you together now?” She puts her hand up. “And don’t give me any of that ‘no labels’ bullshit.”

I smirk, because I was just about to say that. “We’re…dating, I suppose? I don’t know. We’ve only had one date, and I’m seeing him again tonight.”

“Two dates in a row,” she breathes. “Awesome. I’m so happy Dash finally found someone decent. I was starting to worry about him.”

“I kind of feel bad about Vanessa,” I admit, taking a sip of the gin. “Imagine if a guy did that to you.”

“Yeah, but no offence, she seemed like a bitch.” Summer shrugs, tapping her blue nails on the counter. “Don’t feel bad. It’s not on you. It’s on Dash. He made that play. He obviously didn’t care about her that much, or he cared about you more. Either way, you’re winning.”

I shake my head. “You’re crazy, and I have to get back to work.” I try to give her some money for the drink, but she flat out refuses. “Come back tomorrow, and I’ll have some sandwiches and stuff ready for you.”

She leaves to serve another customer.

Sandwiches?

Memories of Max and me bringing each other lunch flashes through my mind, filling me with warmth instead of pain for once.

Reid walks out from the back, and I wave at him before heading back to work.