But she was a bit too anxious to get any decent shots. Or maybe Darcy wasn’t being accommodating. Every picture ended up being Darcy’s backside—which might have been workable since the point here was pictures of her backpack, but it would have been nice to get Darcy’s sweet face, too. Ah well. She shouldn’t try to force it. She could come back another day.
She left Darcy to wander alone in the off-leash and sat on one of the benches—now was a good time to plan what she would say to Rohan. She needed a script so she wouldn’t freeze up again.
After sitting quietly for a few minutes working through the best way to sayI’m sorry I kissed youwithout making it seem like there was any reason why anyone wouldn’t be thrilled to be kissing someone like Rohan, someone sat beside her. Someone who wasn’t Rohan.
“Hi, Kamila!”
“Oh. Hey, Dane.”
“Great to see you here tonight. Alone. You usually have so many friends with you,” he said.
Kamila frowned. To be perfectly honest, while she was still holding out for a match between Maricel and Dane, she wasn’t really in the mood for his brand of butt kissing right now.
She ran her hand through her hair. “I’m actually meeting someone.”
He wagged his eyebrows for a reason Kamila couldn’t decipher. He was sitting a little closer than she’d have liked, and he smelled like beer. Alone at the park on a Wednesday night smelling like a brewery? She frowned again. Had she been wrong in thinking Dane was an upstanding potential boyfriend for her friend?
“A date?” he asked.
“No, not a date.” She didn’t want to mention she was meeting Rohan, because then she’d hear more brownnosing about Rohan’s brilliance. “Just a planning meeting for some work I’m doing for a nonprofit. What are you up to?”
“Nothing. I still don’t have a lot of friends in the neighborhood. My nights are pretty lonely. I assumed meeting you would mean I would have a more active social life.”
Okay, that was rude. Kamila had been inviting this man to her Bollywood parties for weeks and had introduced him to all her friends. What more did he want from her? “You could have called Maricel—she’s working days at the shelter this week. You could have gone to a movie or something.”
He inched closer. “Or I could have called you,” he said.
Her nose wrinkled as she tried to inch away. “I’ve been really busy lately…”
He only inched closer again. His hand landed on her knee. “Did I mention how great it is to see your gorgeous face alone, without your whole squad…finally?”
Holy shoe leather…Dane was totally coming on to her. She removed his hand from her knee. This was because he was drunk. She should divert his attention back to where it belonged. “I mean, I’m not bad, but nowhere close to Maricel. Didn’t she look stunning on Friday night? You love her in pink, right?”
He jerked back. “Really—Maricel? Why would I notice a Maricel when there is a Kamila in the room?” He smiled and leaned close, his hand finding her knee again. Ugh. He wasn’t even good at this.
Kamila’s mind jumbled as she froze, panicked. She had to stop this—now. “Maricel! You printed a picture of her!”
“I printed a picture ofyou. C’mon, Kamila, I know you’re into me, too. You keep inviting me over. I’m fine with going slow, but this is getting ridiculous. Enough of this hard-to-get bullshit. I know you want this.” His hand slid up her knee.
Kamila pushed his hand off as she stood quickly. “You’re mistaken, Dane. I only invited you over because you were into my friendMaricel.”
His face contorted as if he’d smelled Limburger. “Maricel. She what—cleans up after dogs for a living? I was only talking to her because I need a dog trainer.” He stood and reached for her.
She jumped out of the way of his embrace. Yuck. Tech bros were the worst. She knew how to deal with this—firm, with no room for misinterpretation. “I’mnotavailable. Let me be clear, Dane—I’m not interested in anything romantic here. With you, or with anyone else. Please step away from me.”
Now he looked angry, but he took a step forward again. “Be serious, Kamila. You’re going to regret this. I’m going to be a huge deal soon…”
“You heard her. Leave her alone,” another voice said behind her. Rohan. She wasn’t happy to have him rescuing her. She didn’t need him—she’d already put this fire out.
Dane put his hands in front of him. “Rohan, my man, no worries. Kamila and I were just chilling.”
“She asked you to step away from her. Do it. Now.” Rohan’s voice was a clear warning. She’d never heard him so…forceful.
Dane looked at Kamila, venom in his eyes. “This is bullshit. I was so nice to you…fucking tease.” He waved his hands at Rohan as he walked away. “Have at the frigid bitch. She’s just like all the others. C’mon, Byte, we’re leaving.”
Kamila kept her eyes on Dane as he left the enclosure, not relaxing until the gate was closed behind him and his dog.
She fell back on the bench and covered her face with her hands. “I really want to swear,” she mumbled.
