She nods. “Can we make it seven thirty instead? I have some stuff to take care of at the office and then I’m meeting with my lawyer, and I’m not a hundred percent sure how long it’ll take.”
“That works. See you then.” I lean in to hug her and turn my face into her ear. “And if you don’t have any painting clothes that you can get dirty, you can just do it naked. I won’t mind.”
The sexiest little giggle bubbles up from her, and she pushes me away. “That’s really kind of you not to mind.”
I shrug nonchalantly. “I’ll even join you if you’re uncomfortable. I’m that nice a guy.”
“Join her with what?” Dixie asks like the annoying little sister she is.
“See you tonight.” I give Zoey a wink and start toward the door.
“What are you joining her for? What am I missing?” Dixie whines.
“Say good-bye, Dick,” I tell her, using the childhood nickname she hates more than anything on earth. I used to call her that instead of Dix. I did it once in front of some guys in her grade school and it caught on, apparently.
“Jerk,” she hisses but turns and hugs Zoey. “Bye. Feel free to dump a bucket of paint on him tonight. And I’ll see you at the hockey game.”
“See you then!”
We get outside and Dixie asks me again what she missed in there. “I offered to paint naked with her if she didn’t have clothes she wanted to mess up.”
“God, that’s so sleazy. You really just care about getting in her pants.”
“It’s a priority, yes,” I confirm. “And also not your business, Dick.”
“Seriously, you better not call me Dick out in public, like at work or anything,” she warns, her voice as serious as a heart attack.
“Don’t worry, Dick,” I say as I unlock the car doors, and we both get in.
“Stop!”
I laugh and turn and glance out the window, staring at the house we just left.
After a minute Dixie waves her hand in front of my face. “Hello! Let’s go! Is your penis overriding your brain again and you forgot how to drive?”
“I just want to make sure that guy leaves,” I mutter, and as soon as I say it a car parks in front of the house, and a young couple gets out. I hope they’re going to go into the open house too so Zoey isn’t alone in there with the creepy gawker.
Not only does the couple open the gate and start up the path to the front door, but Creepy McStalkerson comes out the front door at the very same time. I actually sigh in relief, then I start the car and glance over at Dixie to make sure she has her seat belt on. She’s scowling at me, hard-core.
“What?” I ask as I put the car in gear and drive away.
“I’m not going with your dumb ass to the paint store. I have to get home.”
“Busy Saturday night Googling spoilers for your Netflix shows and hunting down new cat memes?” I quip and laugh at my own joke because honestly, that was hysterical.
“You know you’re being a total self-destructive idiot.”
“Because I’m making fun of the fact that you clog my email with at least three cat memes a week?” I ask and guide the car up a steep hill toward her apartment. “It’s either laugh or cry.”
“She’s an amazing girl,” Dixie goes on, ignoring my hilarity. “And for some reason she is completely into you. I bet she’d even admit it if I ask her. But you are pretending you don’t feel the same about her, and I don’t get it.”
“I’m not pretending anything. I told you, she’s hot, and I totally want to pick up where we left off, which was moments before sex,” I repeat myself. “And I told you, I don’t want to blow her off afterward or anything. I want to stay friends. Good friends. Hell, she could even replace Levi. I like her that much.”
“She has a vagina. She can never be Levi 2.0,” Dixie remarks flatly and tips her head back against the seat, a frustrated groan escaping her throat. “Stop being a moron. Did you learn nothing from Tessa?”
“I learned I can’t keep a good thing going.” I hit a red light and turn to stare at her. She’s not just being annoying and invasive, she’s being dramatic. Annoying and invasive are kind of her thing, but dramatic normally isn’t. “I think that makes me the opposite of an idiot to accept reality, Dick.”
“Argh!”
