Both Terry and I mentioned in our bios something along the lines of wanting a hookup with a person who isn’t full of expectations but likes having a good time. He probably should have added that he had a weak pull-out game to his as well. Thank God for birth control.
“I’m glad we’re finally getting a chance to hang out.”
“Yeah. This is nice,” I said, gesturing to the restaurant, feigning enthusiasm. At least he had good taste. “You chose well.”
He smirked. “Only wanted the best for a beautiful woman like you.”
I tried not to cringe as I wondered how many women he’d fed that same corny line to.
He’d made a reservation for dinner at a downtown steak house called Portman’s. It was a bitch trying to reach the parking lot with all the construction going on. The Uber driver had to go a different route and dropped me off half a block away. I had to walk a good three minutes just to get to the front door, which caused me to show up ten minutes late.
Terry had thought I was ghosting him. I was starting to regret that I hadn’t.
Our food arrived, and Terry cut into his steak while I dug into my honey-glazed chicken. He spoke about his job being a local barber and how he had a good clientele. But as he chatted about opening his own shop and I sipped my tequila and lime, I heard a bubbly, familiar voice.
The voice of a child.
The voice of a childI nannied.
Giving my head a turn, I spotted Javier standing at the hostess stand with Aleesa behind him. She had one of her hands pressed to the glass of the fish tank, giggling as she tugged at the hem of her daddy’s shirt with the other.
“Oh shit,” I hissed. If I could have sunk and melted into the booth, I would have. It was one thing seeing him at his house, but for your boss to see you on adate... well, that seemed odd.
Please don’t look this way.
Please don’t look this way.
Please don’t look this w—
“You okay?” Terry’s voice cut through my thoughts. He looked me over with a mildly confused expression. “Is the food not good?”
“No, the food is good. Sorry, I just ... I thought I saw someone I knew.”
With a dip between his brows, Terry peered over his shoulder to look around, as if he’d know the person I was talking about. As he performed his scan, I did too.
Javier was still there ... and he was now eyeing both of us.
“Oh, God.” I planted an elbow on the table and used my hand to cover the side of my face.
“What is it?” Terry asked.
I shouldn’t have cared that Javier saw us. Honestly, it was just a date, and my personal life had nothing to do with my job. But Ididcare because he was now walking through the restaurant with the straps of a to-go bag in one hand and his daughter’s hand clasped in the other.
He came straight for our table, eyes dark and hard, a giant among mortals. Everyone stared at him in awe, some whispering and gasping, others snapping pictures on their phones. As always, he wore basketball shorts and a T-shirt. That day, the shorts were navy blue and his white shirt hugged his biceps.
Then Javier did something I did not expect.
He put on a charismatic smile as he approached the table.
“Hi, Octavia.” He looked from Terry to me. “I was not expecting to see you here. Everything okay?”
“Hold on.” Terry cocked a brow, looking from Javier to me. “Who the hell are you?” Before either of us could answer, Terry proceeded with “Are you in a relationship?”
“No, I—”
“No, we are just really good friends,” Javier said, glancing at Terry. Then he focused on me again. “Leesa wanted to come over and say hello. How is your night going so far?”
I dropped my gaze to Aleesa, who slipped her hand out of her father’s so she could hug me. I hugged her back, of course, but it wasn’t my strongest. I was so confused.
