I nod and smile softly, “She’ll say yes.”
Suddenly serious, he sits on the edge of my desk and says, “Okay. Cool. I want to take her somewhere nice. Mr. T already said I can have use of the company driver. I want to take her somewhere fancy.”
Ugh. No.
“Mickey, Tahlia isn’t the type of girl who wants to go somewhere fancy. A fancy place would just make her feel awkward and would make it look like you’re trying too hard. Tahlia would like somewhere homey.” I shrug. “Say, an Italian restaurant.” My brain pings and my eyes widen in excitement. “I know just the place! Hold on.”
Grabbing my cell, I quickly type a message.
Me: I need the address for the Italian restaurant you took me to the other night.
The reply comes almost immediately. I’m surprised there’s no hostility showing, being that we ended our visit yesterday in a rather abrupt way.
Twitch: Already booked for the kid and his girl. I’ll give him the address when he gets in. Tell him to move his ass. He’s gonna be late for work.
Smiling like a loon, I fire back a response.
Me: You are so getting laid tonight. Love you x Twitch: I get laid every night, Angel. x
He doesn’t lie. He does get laid every night.
I’ve all but been living with Twitch for a few weeks now. I’ve only been home to get clothes and check my mail. And whenever I bring clothes from home, he glares holes in my head for not using the closet he’s designated for me. But I keep telling him the closet is creepy!
“You’re all booked, sunshine. Twitch has the details. You’ll get them when you make it to work, which, by the way, you’re going to be late for,” I tell him as I glance at my watch.
Checking his own watch, he hisses, “Shit!” then shoots out of the door. Not a second later, he runs back and pants, “How do I ask her out?”
I tell him what I’d like to hear. “Tell her you’ve been waiting for the right time to ask and that you’ve wanted to for a long time but didn’t know how. Bring her flowers. Daisies, I think. She’ll say yes.”
“I don’t know what I’d do without you, Ms. Ballentine.”
I shrug. “You’re one of my kids. I’m going to lose you soon enough. I have to help where I can.”
He blinks at me a moment before dipping his chin. “I’ll always be your kid.”
Then he’s gone.
Leaving me a blubbering mess in my office.
You’re nobody ‘til somebody loves you.
At least that’s how I feel now that I have Lexi. I always thought I needed her because it’s what my mind told me I needed. Because my mind is broken in more ways than one, my interest in her turned into an obsession. Add in a hardcore drug addiction and you’re bound to have trouble. By that point, my mind had advised me that I didn’t just need Lexi, I needed to make her suffer for making me believe there would be a point in my life when things would get better for me…as long as I had her.
When I was eight, I had her. For one night. Fate is a cruel ass bitch, and that night changed everything for me.
I can make excuses.
I could say I was just a damaged kid that grew up to be a broken man.
I could.
But I won’t.
I don’t like labels. I won’t be defined by words like normal, unbalanced, or damaged. There’s so much more to me than words. I have layers, just like the next person, and if you picked me apart layer-by-layer, you’d find a blackened crust where my heart should be. But ever since Lexi came into my life, a thin bud of greenery sprouted there, giving me hope that even I could be the person who makes someone’s day better.
It’s growing every day. And I’ll be damned if anyone tries to take her away from me. I’d kill anyone who tried.
Running a hand through my hair, I swallow hard as my gut sinks.
A decision has to be made. No one would dare take her from me, so why am I risking losing her by telling her the truth?
I know what I did was unforgivable. I could tell her. I know what the result would be, though. My girl would walk out on me in a second flat.
The sinking feeling grows.
There’s a lot that needs to be said. And Nox was right…the noose around my neck is tightening. I can hardly breathe.
“You okay, boss?” The concerned voice coming from the doorway snags my attention.
The kid. “I’m good.” Smirking, I ask, “Are you? You ask your girl out yet or what?”
He half-glares at me. “I would’ve if I didn’t think I’d have been late for work.”
There are just some things that can’t wait. I know this now.
Picking up my cell, I type out a text, press send, and wait. Michael looks more and more nervous by the second, and I smile. I like knowing he still fears me when he shouldn’t. It’s funny.
Happy appears at the office door behind Michael. “’Sup?”