I tried not to laugh. “So, it’s a friendly rivalry?”
“No.” He pulled in front of my house and turned to face me. “We’re polite whenever we see each other, but we don’t get along at all...Between you and me, I really respect him, but it always seems like he has the upper-hand, like he always gets the best stuff first. I feel like no matter what I do, I’m always getting his sloppy seconds.”
Shit...“Umm...”
“I’m so sorry.” He kissed my cheek. “I shouldn’t be talking about my competitor. I should be focusing on you.” He stepped out and opened my door.
Once I was out of the car, he pulled my luggage from his trunk and walked me up to my house.
“You sure you don’t want to come tonight?” He stepped closer to me. “We wouldn’t have to stay the whole time. Actually, if you want, we could go for five minutes and then we could go back to my place. ”
I felt butterflies fluttering in my stomach as he smiled his pearly whites.
See? You can have feelings for someone else...“I’m sure...” I leaned forward to kiss him.
He wrapped his arms around my waist and pulled me even closer, so close that I could feel the large bulge in his pants. Then I felt my stomach’s butterflies fluttering harder, making sounds.
Ugh...These aren’t feelings...I’m just hungry...
“Thank you for picking me up from the airport, Damien.” I pulled away to catch my breath.
“You’re more than welcome.” He stepped back. “Can I ask you something?”
“Of course.”
“Am I being friend-zoned?”
“What do you mean?”
“We’ve been dating for a while now and...You hold back whenever we kiss and you never invite me in.” He looked concerned.
“If we were platonic friends, I wouldn’t be kissing you at all.” I kissed his lips again to make a point. “You’re definitely not being friend-zoned. I just like to wait a while before I invite someone in.” Unless it’s Jonathan Statham...
“I understand. Would you like to be my date to the Juniper conference next week? It’s a week-long event and it’s at a huge resort in the suburbs...I can get you a separate suite if you don’t feel comfortable sharing.”
Maybe it’ll help you move on if you share...“No need for a separate suite.” I stood on my toes and kissed him again. “I’d love to go with you.”
“Okay. Well, I’ll set everything up and give you all the details over dinner Thursday. Good night, Claire.”
“Goodnight Jon—” I cleared my throat. “Damien. Goodnight, Damien.”
Two days later...
I tossed Ashley’s cell phone into a bowl of water and placed it in the freezer. I wasn’t one of those parents who trusted their kids to not use their phone just because I said so. I made sure “no cell phone” really meant “no cell phone.”
I saw tears streaming down her face as I continued my lecture, but they weren’t having a sympathetic effect on me at all.
“What if you’d wrecked my car? What if something had happened to you? And to top it off you’d been drinking? What would have happened if the police pulled you over and you got a DUI—at sixteen? You could’ve ruined your life before it even began! Did you think about that?” My voice was louder than it’d ever been. “I’ve raised you so much better than that, Ashley Marie Gracen. I can’t even...I can’t talk to you right now.” I shook my head. “Go to your room. Get used to being in there for the next four months.”
“I really am sorry...” She sniffled as she walked away.
I leaned against the counter and shook my head, exhaling over and over again. I was beyond furious with her and extremely confused as to why she’d snitched on herself; I would’ve never known about this past weekend if she didn’t mention it—and it wasn’t like her to mention it. That wasn’t her personality at all.
Before I could get through a recap of my vacation, she’d blurted everything out: Late night date. Hotel. Beer. Taking my car without permission.
She’d sobbed as she told me what happened, and even though she emphasized that she brought my car back “without a single scratch” and promised to “never drink again,” I had to punish her to prevent this from ever happening again.
Is four months long enough?
I grabbed a carton of mint chocolate chip ice cream and walked into the living room. I plopped down on the sofa and sifted through the channels, searching for something happy to watch. I needed to clear my brain.
Unfortunately, there was nothing on but late afternoon talk shows; Dr. Phil was a re-run, and I’d seen all the shows on HGTV before. I started flipping through the premium channels and stopped once I saw Harry Potter.