“What does everyone have against sugar? It’s delicious.” Dash popped another crocodile in his mouth to emphasize his point. The candy was already sticky from the heat outside, and he licked his fingers.
“You know I’m not talking about the candy.” Chris stopped under the shade of a blooming jacaranda tree that had littered the sidewalk with wilted purple petals. “You originally wanted to get a new tattoo, which we’re not doing. You and I both know that you need to take change slowly. You’re not erratic, but this new thing with Sophie has thrown you off. And you need to focus on making sure you’re safe from this person who has somehow figured out who you are.”
He had wanted to get a new tattoo of a pixie tangerine, like one of the ones above Sophie’s fireplace. He liked how bright they were, and they reminded him of their Ojai trip.
Dash felt deflated, like all of the steam he’d built up had just been released from his body. Yes, Chris was right: he was kind of flailing. And he didn’t really know what to do about Cindy, the stalker crafter. But he couldn’t delete TikTok, because it was his only way of contacting her, and he didn’t want her to potentially retaliate. He’d just have to take his situation one day at a time.
Eventually he said, “You’re right. I’ll stop seeing Sophie and fix this other problem, too.”
“You’re allowed to date, Dash.”
“But not her.” Dash could not start something—well, more than he already had—with Poppy’s best friend. Not only because he’d be messing up his sister’s friendship but because he respected Sophie too much to drag her into his bullshit.
“Why not?” Chris’s tone had gone from friendly to accusatory. Luna fussed against him, so they started to walk down the street toward Dash’s place. “If you’re going to tell me again that it’s complicated, then I don’t want to hear it.”
Dash licked his lips as he thought on how exactly to answer this. He didn’t want to tell Chris that he was afraid he couldn’t give Sophie everything she deserved—a loving marriage—because Chris had managed to have exactly that. But Chris never really appreciated that they were very different people, and Dash would always be a disappointment. “Because I’m going to fuck it up, the way I always do.”
Chris clicked his tongue at Dash. “You’re being way too hard on yourself.”
They reached Dash’s gate and stood outside. Dash sucked in his bottom lip and leaned against the metal door. “I’m not.” Dash knew his strengths, and being reliable wasn’t one of them.
“What about when you came over the other week to help me and Mira? You’re amazing with Luna. You make shit better—that’s what you do.” Chris’s hands were on his hips, and he gave Dash a look so stern that he could almost see what kind of a dad Chris would be in Luna’s teenage years.
“I also make everything worse. I’ve ruined my parents’ precious Hollywood dynasty.”
“Two things.” Chris held up a finger. “One, your sister isn’t an actress, so if you ruined the dynasty, so did she. And two, your parents don’t know how hard you’ve worked to get to where you are now because you haven’t told them your story. And you know that your story is powerful. Once you share it, you’re going to change lives for the better.”
“If I did tell them, they’d just know me as the jobless alcoholic versus merely the jobless son they already have.” Dash shoved another gummy into his mouth and focused on angrily chewing.
But Chris crossed his arms and leveled Dash with a glare. “You need a meeting.”
Dash swallowed a lump in his throat and looked off. Why had he called Chris? Of course he’d suggest a meeting. But this wasn’t about drinking at all. Dash was fine and in control. He didn’t need a roomful of strangers to help him out of this situation. He wanted to end the line of thought immediately. “I’m fine.”
“You’re not, and if you don’t go to one, then I’ll bring you to one. In fact, let’s just go right now.” Chris was stubborn, always. So stubborn that he’d already started to walk down the street in the direction of the meeting place.
“Fine, I’ll go.” Dash held up his hands, as if in surrender, but he was not going to a meeting. “Just not today. I have to figure out the TikTok thing.”
Chris turned back and released a frustrated sigh. “Then, when?”
“Tomorrow. I’ll go to one tomorrow.” Dash shoved a handful of gummies into his mouth, not caring which ones he was even eating. His brain worked overtime to block out Chris’s words, you need a meeting. He didn’t need anything except to get back in his house and lock the door, the same thing he’d done for all the prior months that had kept him on a straight path.
“I’m going to follow up and make sure you go.”
As Chris stared Dash down, the pedestrian gate opened and Sophie came out. She wore one of her signature dresses that fluttered in the breeze and revealed slivers of dewy skin. Her hair was down, and he smelled the tangerine scent of her.
She looked between Dash and Chris, and a surprised smile flashed across her face, but Dash immediately went cold at the thought that she’d potentially heard them. Maybe she’d heard every single word Chris had said and thought that Dash was on the edge of slipping up. She could be totally disgusted by his lack of control over his addiction issues. She was probably thinking of how lucky she was to not actually be in a relationship with him.
“Hey, are you Chris?” Sophie approached him. Chris nodded, though Dash could tell that his friend was still heated from their conversation. “I’m Sophie. I’ve been hoping we’d meet. Dash has told me so much about you.”
And then, because she was Sophie, she went in for a side hug so as not to disturb Luna. Chris looked to Dash as he quickly hugged her back.
“Nice to meet you, Sophie.” Then Chris gave him a pointed look. “Dash, we’ll talk tomorrow.”
They watched as Chris walked toward his car. Sophie nodded as she said, “That’s an excellent vanity plate.”
Dash looked, too, though he already knew the letters on the plate: DADG ERS. “He used to play left field for the Dodgers before Luna was born. His dad jokes came quickly, as you can see.”
“The real role he was born to play.” Sophie gave a tight smile, then flicked the clear bag of candy at his side with her index finger. “So it was an eventful dude-bro outing, then?”
“Very bro-ish. We watched NASCAR while eating raw steak.” Dash raised an eyebrow at her.
She gave him a withering but amused look back. “Dash, please, easy on the dirty talk.”
Her playfulness made the conversation with Chris melt away. His hand instinctively reached for hers. He thought to pull it back, but then her fingertips traced a little line along his thumb.
“Everything okay?” she asked.
“Yeah, I bought about three pounds of candy, which should last me through dinner.”
She gave a knowing smile. “That sounds right.”
“Where are you headed?” He didn’t want to lose the feel of her next to him. “I have some free time now, if you wanted any video help?”