I lean in and kiss her softly on the lips. “You’re welcome, baby.”
CHAPTER 21
ESSENCE
While Dante and I were…enjoyingeach other, Lunchbox had taken it upon himself to go into the bedroom and snuggle up in a corner.
“He’s so peaceful here,” I say quietly.
Dante comes up behind me and wraps his arms around my waist. When he rests his chin on my shoulder, I reach back and tangle my fingers in his hair.
“Well, now you don’t have a choice but to stay here,” he whispers, kissing my neck. “You need a bath.”
Offended, I start to protest, but then I remember that I'm covered in blood.
“Wait here.”
Dante goes into the bathroom and shuts the door behind him. I sit on the edge of the bed and watch Lunchbox with a smile on my face. He’s such a good boy, and I feel like I can finally breathe now that I'm away from Evan. Dante said he’d go back to the house to get my stuff today, but I think he should at least wait until tomorrow. If I’m being honest, I want to try to convince him to go to work so I can pick up my stuff myself. Evan and I have been together for two years, and I feel like I owe him more than a breakup that didn’t even come from me.
Why am I still considering his feelings?
Maybe because you’re not a heartless monster like him, a voice inside my head says.
Speaking of heartless monsters, my mind drifts back to the masked man. In all the craziness of today, I can’t even remember the last time I spoke to him.
I go back into the living room and grab myphone. Peering over my shoulder, I make sure Dante is still preoccupied before bringing up my text thread with the masked man.
Our last conversation was yesterday when he said he’d be waiting for me after work. It just occurred to me that he never showed up, and I can’t help the feeling of dread that’s settling in the pit of my stomach.
Does he know about Dante? He must be so pissed. He’s been watching me for months now, and it completely slipped my mind that he would eventually find out about my other relationship one way or another.
ME:
You didn’t come yesterday. Are you okay?
I chew on my bottom lip as I await his response, but he still doesn’t reply after a few minutes.
No response, no little gray bubble or even a read receipt to let me know he even saw it.
Maybe he lost interest and decided to move on. While a part of me is happy that he possibly found someone else that makes him happy, that selfish part of me wants to be the only person he’s interested in.
This is ridiculous; I’m overthinking everything.
“Essence?”
I let out a surprised squeak and toss my phone back on the couch.
Just go ahead and direct Dante’s attention to the phone, idiot.
“You okay?” Dante asks as he steps out of the room and eyes my phone warily. “Is Evan bothering you?”
I shake my head quickly and run up to him to stand on my tiptoes and press a soft kiss to his lips.
“No. It was just something work-related. Come on.”
I pull him back towards the bathroom where he has a hot bath waiting for us.
CHAPTER 22
