Finally, he puts me back down and kisses my forehead. I push him back and finish my journey to the elevator. Once we’re inside, I finally look at him.
“You know that won’t hold up in court? I was under duress.”
He turns towards me, crosses his arms, and leans against the wall.
“We know damn well you don’t do anything you don’t want to, Monty.”
Cornered with that answer, I just shake my head and tap my foot. He starts dancing in the corner to the sound of my frustration. I try to keep a serious face as he attempts a pirouette. Barely completing one turn, he falls against the door.
“You are terrible.”
“Then teach me.”
I look to see if he is being serious. With a neutral face he looks at me head-on.
“I can’t be shown up at our reception,” he says.
I sigh and am grateful that the doors open.
“I’ll teach you to dance if you teach me to drive the way that you do.” I hold out my hand, ready to shake.
“I think I’m getting the better end of the deal. I get to learn new moves and see you behind the wheel of my car. Do you know what you’re doing to me?”
Does he know what he does to me? The only time I feel a slight stirring in my pants is around him.
“Deal or no deal?” I ask.
He pulls me in for a kiss, sealing it. I may let it linger longer than I should, as his pouty lips move against mine, eliciting a moan. It’s not enough to make me want to have sex, but it’s enough to make me get wet. Stuck between feeling like the vixen I used to be and the version of myself that can’t metaphorically get it up, I lean into whatever urges Callahan is able to raise in me.
His want is even more evident in that beast of a dick he has pressing against my stomach. I move my hand down, ready to rub it through his pants, but he stops me just as the elevator door opens.
“Not that I don’t want this love, but we are about to be in the middle of the hall.”
“Public sex not your thing?”
“With you, I’d have sex in a church, and I’m a devout Catholic. But one, you don’t actually want to; and two, I don’t want to get caught by my sister.”
That is an instant mood killer. The last thing either one of us needs is for Rowan to walk in on something like that.
“You know me not wanting to have sex has nothing to do with you, right?” I ask.
“I know, I did my research.”
I kiss his cheek and then grab his hand, pulling him towards Rowan’s door.
Walking in, the place is already packed full of people. Charlie is here. He looks at us, his eyes widening at our conjoined hands. I feel the urge to go and explain, but I don’t. I don’t actually owe him anything.
Sahara walks over and gives me a little nod of approval before talking to Callahan about some movie they went and saw. They walk off, and I guess Charlie takes that as his chance.
“So, youwereseeing him.”
“I wasn’t, but I am now.” I cross my arms, preparing for an argument.
“Huh, so you went and switched sides. What happened to only dating Black men?” He lifts his eyebrows and smirks, his eyes burning with judgment.
I try not to let it affect me, but I internally flinch at the implication, and the way it might look to other people. But then, I look past Charlie to see Callahan giving me a thumbs up, the question clear in his eyes. I nod and smile at him, reminded of the constant support he provides me. Charlie can judge me the way I would have judged myself, but I know the truth of why this shift was worth it.
“Charlie, I’m not doing this with you. You can get over it and we can go back to being friends, or this all can end here.”
