I’d even take Gable. A hate-fuck is preferable over a tepid one.
“He seems nice,” I say. “And at least it gets Barnaby out of the building.”
“They’re in Barnaby’s apartment?”
“Yeah, his mom is sick.”
“He better be out of the state,” Guy says. “I wish you’d told me about his antics earlier.”
If I had told my dad about the drone incident, Barnaby would be bone fragments somewhere. Not literally. My dad is a law abiding to a T.
“Well, what’s done is done,” I sing. “No more Barnaby, no more Deacon, all work, all the time. Just the way I like it.”
My dad beams. “I’m so proud of you. How’s the first draft looking?”
I dance in my seat. It’s almost perfect. Once I fix the final chapter, it’ll freakin’ glow. Every time I read it, I buzz with excitement because it’s just what I want it to be. The words flow, the characters are great, the murders are gruesome, and the sex is hot. A perfect book.
Thank God my dad never reads them.
“It’s great,” I say. “Just gotta read it five hundred more times and I’ll be ready to send it.”
My dad drops me off at home after dinner, and as the elevator climbs to my floor, I smile. I really should go out more. I like wearing heels and nice dresses and ordering food. As much as sweats and takeout are comfortable, I felt alive tonight, and that’s exactly what I needed.
The elevator stops a floor below mine, and my stomach flutters as Asher steps in.
“Hi.” He grins. “It’s my nurse.”
I wish.
“Hey.”
“You look nice,” he says, his gaze drifting down my outfit. “Hot date with RoboCop?”
“Dinner with my dad,” I say. “RoboCop is done.”
He raises his eyebrows and presses for the lobby. “Oh yeah?”
Oh yeah.
The elevator, for some reason, goes down instead of to my floor, but I take that as a sign.
“Where are you off to?” I ask, silently praying he isn’t going on a date. “You look nice, too.”
“Oh.” He shrugs. “Just a walk. I want to get a feel for the neighborhood.”
This is what he wears on a walk? He’s in a shirt and pants again, his shirt white instead of black, looking casually sexy. I go for walks in my pajamas.
“Is your dad meeting you downstairs?”
“No, I’ve just actually come back.” I look at the elevator numbers. “But for some reason, the elevator doesn’t want me to go home.”
“That makes two of us,” he says, and my stomach explodes into a thousand goddamn butterflies. “So … if RoboCop is done, I can ask you out, right?”
YES! Ride him, Ella.
I tap my temple as subtly as I can. “I mean …” I laugh and twist the skirt of my dress between my fingers. “I haven’t even toldhimyet.”
“He’s a cop. He’ll figure it out. Come for a walk with me.”
