Lina wasn’t sure if she was more disappointed with herself or with Dillon. It was stupid to go over there and drop Brenda’s invitation in his lap with Trent listening in. What had she expected Dillon to say? Lina usually prided herself on her no-nonsense communication skills, and then she’d let herself get mad at something Dillon didn’t know she wanted. Yes, she actually did want to go to Sunday dinner with his family. Why hadn’t she just told him that? But it was embarrassing. It was embarrassing that she even wanted it. This was a totally different kind of rejection than any breakup she’d ever had before.
She threw open the cupboard below the sink and got out cleaning spray and gloves. Might as well fuel her frustration into scrubbing. She started on the kitchen and worked her way toward the bathroom. Accomplishing something always made her feel better, and her apartment could certainly use it. At times like this, she missed having Ashley as a roommate. Ashley had always enjoyed cleaning, and yet, didn’t seem to mind all of Lina’s messy projects. It was too quiet in here without her.
After dropping into an exhausted heap next to the vacuum an hour later, Lina pulled out her phone. There were two missed calls from Dillon. Darn. Her phone had been on silent from work, and she’d forgotten to turn the ringer back on. But there was something she had to do first before she changed her mind.
Lina went to her messages and texted Corrie.I’m game for a setup date with that guy you know. Just don’t get your hopes up.
Corrie’s response came minutes later.Try not to sound so excited.That was followed up with:Is everything okay?
I’m just having an off day. We’ll talk later.
Love ya.
Right back at ya.
Lina called Dillon next, feeling like if they didn’t talk about this, it would only get worse. She had agreed to the favor he asked of her, and he didn’t want it to get out of hand. It made perfect sense. She needed to accept it.
He answered on the third ring, with the droning sound of an engine in the background.
“Are you on a tractor?” she asked. It hadn’t been that long since he had left her apartment, and he’d been dressed like he wouldn’t be going out for the rest of the night.
“The repairs were done on the tractor we’ve been waiting on. We’re testing it out before we take it home, but it’s working fine. I’m about to get in my truck.” She heard a truck door shut and then the background noise muffled to a low buzz.
“Dillon, I’m fine with Sunday dinner with your family. It’s not some torturous thing you’ve tricked me into.”
“The fact that you’re fine with it is not comforting me. I have my own people-pleaser addiction, so it kills me to have you keep saying yes to all these things you don’t have to do.”
Ah, that made so much sense, and made her like him even more. Which was not good. Not when this wasn’t going anywhere. “Then let’s find a way back to our uncomplicated gym-buddy relationship.” It sounded good coming out of her mouth, but felt like disappointment anyway. “So, how do we do that? Stage a breakup?”
“I don’t think we need to get that dramatic.” He blew out a long breath. “Let me rephrase that. I’m incapable of getting that dramatic. I ran off the stage of our fifth grade play because it was too much pressure to recite my one line. Please don’t make me act out a breakup. Maybe I should go alone on Sunday and tell them we’re not together anymore.”
Lina thought about his mom, already a nervous wreck, coming in for her cavity fillings. “No, we need to wait until your mom has all her dental work done. Neither of us needs that awkwardness when she comes in, and I’m afraid she’ll cancel and not reschedule somewhere else.”
“Lina, I’m so sorry.”
“I’m not sorry, Dillon. I’m not sorry for caring about your mom, so don’t apologize about that. And I think I should come to Sunday dinner, too. But if you don’t want me there, I understand.”
“If you promise you’re not doing this because you feel obligated, then yes. Come.”
“Obligation is just what ties us to other people. Our attitude determines whether it’s a burden or not.”
He was quiet for a minute. She’d been waxing philosophical and probably confusing the heck out of him. But then he said, “I couldn’t agree more. Sorry, I’m not used to dating someone with such a good attitude.” He coughed. “Not that we’re dating.”
“Dillon.” She had to interrupt him before he could further freak out about his accidental insinuation. “I’ll see you at the gym bright and early tomorrow. Drive safe.” She hung up and groaned. “What a doofus.” A lovable, sweet doofus with amazing biceps and an irritating habit of backtracking from anything that sounded like interest in her. She could tell he liked her, but whoever he’d dated in the past had done a number on him, making him feel insecure about the amazing guy he was. She wasn’t sure if it was that, or something else holding him back from pursuing her in earnest, but either way, it wasn’t exactly a good omen.
OceanofPDF.com
Chapter 10
On Sunday, Trent rode with them to Mom’s house, as his car was in the shop. Again. Trent liked to buy old foreign luxury cars that were as high maintenance as they were beautiful. Lina took the middle seat, leaning in towards Dillon as a real girlfriend would. He rolled his stiff neck, and she automatically ran a hand over the back of his hair, stopping to rub her thumb and pointer finger into the pressure points at the top of his neck. She was so naturally thoughtful, and once again he wished he’d never asked her for this favor. He wanted to know what she’d be like without the pretense, and whether she really liked him. But how did you ask something like that?
If he told Lina he wanted to start over and date her for real, would he freak her out? He hadn’t thought anything could faze her, but yesterday morning during their workout, she’d given him a bit more detail about how things had gone at the dentist office with Mom and Lina’s boss, Kirby, and his unwanted advances.
The last thing Dillon wanted was to bethatguy.
It was better to take things slow and be sure. It wasn’t like their pretend breakup meant they couldn’t see each other anymore. They’d still be gym buddies. There would be time for their relationship to grow without worrying about faking it in front of his family.
“Dude, are you two always this quiet in here?” Trent looked over at them, continuing to tap his fingers against the door panel.
