“We’re good,” I confirmed as I unlocked the door, flipping on the light before allowing her to step in first. “I’m sorry I don’t have a lot of time to chat, I’m actually about to hop in the shower to head out for a date.”
Des smiled as she rested against the counter. “Yeah, I know. Tori let it slip when I went to see her a little earlier. I actually stopped at her office, but she had gotten sick so I went back to her apartment with her.”
Sick?
“When was this?” I asked, trying to sound casual.
“A little after two? I don’t know, but she was in bad shape, crying and puking. She’s fine though, so no worries. Actually, she’s the one who got me to see the error of my ways, and I told me I needed to stop being… let’s go with annoying. Anyway, I’m going to head out. My flight back is in an hour, and these little one-day trips are wearing on me now that I’m pregnant. I’ll see you later, brother.” She kissed me on the cheek, then breezed toward the door. “Oh, and the baby is a girl! You’re gonna have a niece!” With a last wink, she was gone, and I was left alone to process my thoughts about Tori getting ‘sick’. Why was she so upset? From the timing, I knew it had been shortly after Maya and I left, but again— what the hell was I supposed to do? I wasn’t forcing Tori to put up walls, and I wasn’t about to chase somebody who didn’t want to be caught.
If Tori wanted to stick to the plan… fine. I was pissed off enough to push my feelings for her to the side and do just that.
— & —
Maya was banging. Physically, she was a ten. She had good manners, a pleasant personality, obvious intelligence, and so far, she hadn’t complained about anything. I was actually enjoying her company, and if my mind would stop drifting to Tori, things would be going even better.
“You seem to be thinking about something pretty hard…I’m not boring you, am I?” I asked, taking a sip of my wine. She had been quiet for the last few minutes, and I hoped she was having a good time.
“No, Avery, not at all.” She gave me a warm smile. “I’m thinking about how I owe Tori lunch or something for setting this up. I am…pleasantly surprised.”
“Pleasantly surprised, huh? What were you expecting?”
“Not much!” She replied with a laugh. “Things like this have a pretty notorious reputation for being…um…let’s say — unsuccessful.”
“You may be on to something. Which is why I took the liberty of googling you beforehand,” I joked, leaning back against my chair.
“Ohh, so you cheated!”
“What can I say, I’m a busy man, can’t leave much to chance. But I’m glad to say the pictures I saw online don’t do you any justice.”
“Not even the nudes?” She asked curiously, fighting to keep a straight face as I choked a little on my water. “I’m kidding!” she admitted, giggling at my reaction.
“You got me with that one.”
“I had to, Mr. Private Investigator!” Maya teased, raising an arched eyebrow at me.
“You’re telling me you didn’t look me up at all?”
“I sure didn’t.” She gave me a smug little smile. “Tori came highly recommended. I knew she wouldn’t disappoint, so, I decided I may as well let myself be surprised.”
“Pleasantly surprised,” I corrected with a wink as I passed my credit card to the server to pay for our meal. Maya glanced around the restaurant, noticing we were among the last patrons.
“Wow, it’s a lot later than I thought!”
“Time flies when you’re having fun.” I said, signing the check with a flourish before I stood up from the table, taking her hand. “Let me walk you out.”
Accepting my hand, she stood, stumbling a little on her platform heels. I quickly steadied her in my arms, looking down with a smile.
“You good?” I asked, feeling a pang in my chest as I remember catching Tori in nearly the same way when she came stumbling out of the bathroom the first time we met.
“Thank you, yes.”
“So…” I said, breaking the silence as I led her to the front of the restaurant. “I hope you enjoyed yourself as much as I did tonight?”