Daphne snorted. “And that’s romantichow? You’re both just going to end up disgusting messes.”
I guess laundry had been placed on the back burner recently. Years of losing one sock to the washing machine really lowered my total count of socks owned.
“I like Macey as a disgusting mess as much—if not more—than I do when she’s dressed up,” I said, finally fishing out a pair of socks. Clean? Debatable. Not actively offensive to my nose? Good enough.
As I slipped them on, Daphne leaned against the doorframe, clearly unimpressed. “Have you considered if she feels the same?”
“She saw me fall off the side of a boat,” I replied, straightening up. “Pretty sure sweat won’t be a dealbreaker.”
Daphne froze mid-sip of her water. Her metal bottle slipped from her grasp, clanged against the floor, and rolled until it hit the wall. “Wait—what?”
Oh, right. Had I never mentioned that?
The look on her face was pure gold, and I braced myself for the endless stream of mockery this revelation would undoubtedly inspire. Daphne didn’t disappoint. “Youfell off a boat?!”
I shrugged, casually tying my laces like I hadn’t just unleashed an eternal inside joke upon myself. “You heard me.”
Instead of picking up the water bottle, she collapsed to the ground and stayed there. “I never understood your fake relationship, and every day I realize I understand the two of you even less.”
“You don’t need to understand.” I grinned, taking a quick look in the mirror. Hair? Ready to get wind swept. Outfit? All black, no leather jacket. “Besides, you’re too young to date.”
“What?” Daphne rushed to her feet, banging her knee on the nightstand in the process. The banging sound didn’t faze me, though. I was going on a real date with Macey, and nothing was going to ruin my mood. “I’ve already dated like?—”
I shoved my hands over my ears. “Don’t tell me.” A panicked thought just occurred to me. “Oh, fuck. We never talked about…”
This time Daphne was the one to shove her hands over her ears. “Oh my God. Are you going to say sex? Stop it. Stop it right now.”
Did I mess this up as a caregiver? I never once brought up safe sex or…intimacy in any sense of the word. What if Daphne had gotten pregnant? Did schools still teach kids how to roll a condom onto a banana?
I cleared my throat, probably looking as awkward as I felt. “It’s important to stay safe?—”
“I know!” She waved her hands up in a ‘stop there’ gesture. “Igrew up with social media and went to public school. You think I don’t know how to use a condom?”
The flush on her cheeks mirrored the one I felt on mine. “Okay, I just wanted to make sure. I should have brought it up earlier.”
Her eyes softened. “First of all, I’m glad you didn’t. Saved us both the embarrassment. Second, not having this talk with me doesn’t make you a bad caregiver. You know you’re the best, right?” Her nose twisted. “Even when you’re a disgusting mess who doesn’t have clean socks.”
I swung an arm around her. “Thank you.”
“Okay, get out of here before you have to tell Macey you were late because you tried to give your little sister the sex talk four years too late.”
Halfway to the door, I nearly tripped. “Four years?”
“Go!”
Chuckling on the elevator ride down, I attempted to scrub this conversation from my memory forever.
Macey and I agreed to meet at the park halfway between us, the same place we’d run into each other months ago. This time, I’d be running with a recovered ankle and with a pretty girl by my side. What else could I ask for?
She was already there by the time I jogged to the entrance. I couldn’t fathom how Daphne jumped ahead to the “disgusting messes” phase because right now all I saw was beauty blinding me. Not to mention, those leggings did wonders for her ass. All I wanted to do was peel them off her and take her to?—
Focus, Noah.
That could wait.
I couldn’t risk screwing up the first real date between me and Macey.
“I’ve got to say,” Macey said as I neared, “this feels a little like you copied the first fake date I planned.”
