Lisa’s brows furrowed in irritation. “What?”
“He’s miiine.” Delilah started to sway a bit, so I slipped my arm around her waist, holding her up as she said, “You can’t have him.”
Lisa turned to me with a soured expression. “Is she being serious right now?”
“Hell, yeah. I’m being ser-ious.” Delilah held out her hand, trying in vain to point her finger at Lisa as she said, “Look ... I’m sure you’re a lovv-ly girl and all, but you need to ... back ... the ... fuckkkk ... off.”
Lisa looked over to me. “You two have fun.”
When she huffed away, Delilah’s expression quickly grew solemn. “I don’t think she likes me very much.”
It took all I had not to laugh at Delilah’s possessive display. I knew it was just the alcohol talking, letting her insecurities shine through. I leaned down and kissed Delilah on the temple and said, “I think it’s time for us to go.”
“What?” Delilah looked over to me with a pout. “It’s still early.”
“You know, if we stick around much longer, Misty is gonna come looking for you about that lap dance.”
Delilah’s eyes widened, “I don’t wanna lap dance, and she’s got another thing coming if she thinks she’s gonna give you one ... or me one with you ... or both of us together with her, ’cause that’s not gonna happen.”
“Yeah, you’ve definitely had too much to drink.”
“Definitely,” she agreed. “I usually only have one ... maybe two at the most. Nevver threee.”
“Then, let’s get out of here. I’ll catch up with the guys tomorrow.”
As we headed out to the parking lot, Delilah had to hold on to me to keep her footing, making me glad we’d decided to take her car instead of my bike. Once I had her settled in the passenger seat, I got in next to her, and we started home. Delilah’s eyes were closed as she muttered, “It wasn’t what I expected.”
“I didn’t figure it would be.”
“There’s a lot of temptation there ... like a lot.” Her words came painstakingly slow, and I knew she was close to falling asleep as she said, “So many pretty girls ... and they have these great bodies and amazing boobs. No way I can compete with that.”
“There is no competition, Delilah. You’re the only woman I want.”
“You say that now”—her head rolled towards me and she opened her eyes—“but when I’m pregnant and fat with crazy hormones and swollen feet, you might change your mind.”
We’d never actually talked about having kids, but the thought of Delilah being the mother of my children couldn’t have pleased me more. “You want kids?”
“I want your kids,” she answered without hesitation. “One or two, but three would be okay too.”
“I can’t imagine a more beautiful sight than seeing you carrying my kid.”
Her eyes closed once again. “I’ll remind you that you said that when I’m waddling around the house and I’m too fat to put on my own shoes.”
“I won’t need reminding. Damn. You’ll look so fucking hot, I won’t be able to keep my hands off of you.”
When she didn’t respond, I glanced over and noticed she’d fallen sound asleep, leaving me no choice but to continue our conversation later. When we got back home, she never woke up as I carried her inside and put her to bed. While I was glad she’d had a good time at the club, I had no doubt she’d regret that third drink in the morning. I didn’t realize how much so until the following morning.
I was sitting in the kitchen talking to Danny when Delilah came dragging into the room with a pained groan. There were dark circles under her eyes, her hair was a tangled mess, and she looked like she was on her last leg as she hobbled over and sat down on one of the stools. As soon as she was seated, she planted her elbows on the counter and dropped her head in hands. “I think I’m dying.”
“Damn, Dee. I heard you had a good time last night, but I didn’t realize you’d had that good of a time.” Danny teased.
“Can you not talk so loud?” Delilah grumbled. “My head is pounding.”
I reached into the cabinet for a couple of Tylenol, then grabbed a large bottle of water out of the fridge. I slid them over to Delilah and said, “Take these. It’ll help.”
“I think I showed out last night... acted a damn fool.” She tossed the pills in her mouth, then washed them down with a long drink of water. “I don’t know what I was thinking.”
“Don’t worry about it. After everything you’ve been through, you deserved a night out,” Danny tried assure her. “I know you’re hungover now, but have you been making it all right?”
Danny had called every day, checking in to making sure she was handling things with her father. She’d tried to assure him that she was okay, but he had his doubts. He wasn’t the only one. I’d been worried about her, too. It had to be difficult for her to watch her brother kill their father, but just like the times before, Delilah answered, “I’m okay.”