“Whatever. I’m going to take the day off so I can go home and shave things,” Daphne decided as she stood.
“Even better! I could kiss Silas,” Addie declared. She opened her laptop and gestured for Daphne to get going. “Make sure you check in regularly so I know you’re alive,” she called and Daphne held up her thumbs as she backed out of the office. She turned around just in time to avoid Wendy and Iris.
“What’s this about you taking off for a few days with some mystery guy?” Wendy demanded. She was giddy as she held tugged on Daphne’s sleeve.
“I should have just called for a meeting,” Daphne grumbled at them, then looked around. She’d known Iris since freshman year of college and Wendy had been with Isolde Rose since she graduated from design school, almost fifteen years ago. Both were family and knew everything about Daphne and Addieexceptfor their memberships in a certain club. “Don’t say anything toanyonebecause it’s just for tonight and tomorrow. And maybe the night after,” she added because Daphne knew herself and she knew she’d want that second night.
She remembered all the things they’d done when they only had an hour and Daphne’s nipples puckered and there was a rush of desperateneedat the thought of what they could do with two nights and a whole day. She wanted to see Silas’s face as she fucked him hard and deep and she wanted to see his face as he fucked her. Now that Daphne knewwhyhe was so familiar, she wanted to see if their connection in his chamber grew even hotter and if his lips tasted as sweet as she suspected.
“It’s Silas from the coffee shop,” Daphne whispered, stunning Wendy and sending Iris into immediate ecstasy.
“Yes!” Iris shouted. Her hands shot into the air and Iris bounced on her toes as if she’d won a fight. “I was hoping at least one of us would bang the hottie from the coffee shop!”
Wendy moaned lewdly as she bit a knuckle then fanned herself. “I was hoping it would be me but thisalmostas good. Promise you’ll tell us everything,” she said and pointed at Daphne threateningly.
“Hold on!” Iris said. She craned her neck and squinted at Daphne. “How did you and shy, gentle Silas go from barely flirting to spending two nights together?”
“Um.” Daphne went to check her watch but Iris grabbed her wrist. She couldn’t tell them about the club. Exceptions were allowed for the sake of recruitment but the contract Daphne signed threatened serious legal repercussions if the club or any of its members’ identities were exposed. But Daphne really didn’t want to tell them because she’d never make it to her date with Silas. They would have a million questions. “We got to talking about dating and meeting people on apps and…” That was just the sort of thing people who wanted to bang talked about.
“We’ve all been there and it’s a shit show,” Wendy said sympathetically and Iris nodded solemnly in agreement.
“Amen, but how did you two leap over drinks and go straight to spending the night? You never sleepover unless a guy’s made it through two dates without blowing up at any drivers or wait staff and can prove he’s on good terms with at least three of his exes.”
“Well...” Daphne’s teeth scraped over her lip.Is this a fashion label or a detective agency?They weren’t wrong, though, so Daphne pushed her brain to come up with a lie that wouldn’t need a lot of explanation. “We were commiserating about some of our regrets and the ones we wished we could have a second chance with…and realized we’d hooked up years ago.”
“You’re kidding!” Wendy and Iris scoffed in unison but Daphne shook her head slowly.
“It was a while ago, before he started working at the coffee shop. I was dying my hair hot pink and he was wearing his hair in a bun. It was a dark night and we were in a dark place but we had fun so we thought we’d hang out again.” She raised her shoulder and waved casually. “We get along really well and the sex was good so why not?”
“Holy shit. He’s good in bed too. Now I really wish it were me.” Wendy humphed with regret but her lips twitched into a smile and Iris’s condition had progressed to full-on vapors.
“I knew it! You can tell by the way he gives you your coffee. He doesn’t just leave it on the counter and run off to make the next order. Like, “Boom. Here’s your coffee. Get out.” He makes time, even if there’s a line, and gives everyone a fist bump or a friendly little arm squeeze. He’s so warm and attentive,” she said with a dreamy sigh. Daphne smiled and nodded along but her conscience twinged again.
She was so focused on Silas, the consort. Not Silas, the sweetheart. She knew that he’d had a crush on her for a while but stayed away because she didn’t want to be a wrecking ball and hurt him. Silas hadn’t become impervious to that just because she’d found out he was a member of the club.Why couldn’t it have been Keith from the copy shop?He was hot and flirted with Daphne but he was the kind of guy she’d want to stab in the eye before the end of their first date. She could fuckthat guyand not feel like a monster if she had to ghost him after a one-night stand or a weekend.
“Please don’t make a big thing out of this.” Daphne pressed her hands together and gave them pleading looks. “I’m already having doubts. IlikeSilas a lot but I’m not right for him. Not for more than a few nights.”
“But—” Iris started and Daphne threw up a hand, stopping her.
“You ordered me to take some time off and do something for myself. I don’t have the bandwidth for a new relationship right now. Let this be a friends-with-benefits thing or an extended booty call, alright?” She narrowed her eyes at each of them to make sure they understood. They stared her down before Iris grinned at Daphne.
“Twenty bucks says you come back with Silas on a leash like Addie did with Sutton after their ‘just for the weekend’ date.”
“Oh! I’m in!” Wendy said as she rubbed her hands together. “She wouldn’t be this worried about hurting him if she didn’tlike himlike him.” She wiggled her brows at Daphne like a cartoon villain.
“I’m not going to dignify that. But I will be upfront with himbeforeanything happens. I don’t want to hurt Silas.” She stepped around Wendy and went to get her bag and sketchpad from her office. She used her shoulder to push the door open and Daphne paused. “I just have to be upfront,” she repeated because it actually made sense. All Daphne had to do was make sure Silas didn’t have any romantic expectations and they’d be set. She laughed, suddenly relieved and pleasantly nervous. “Ha! This is just like a date but I don’t have to pretend I’m a catch or even all that likable. This might actually work.”
ChapterFour
Daphne wasn’t feeling as confident as she stood outside the coffee shop’s door and watched Silas. She’d been there for close to ten minutes, admiring the way he wiped down the counter and reassembled the espresso machine after he cleaned it for the night.
He just got hotter, the more Daphne allowed herself to truly admire him. She had a habit of mentally blocking Silas, the way people shielded their eyes from the sun. Daphne smiled at Silas and laughed at his jokes but she didn’t let herself get lost in his big brown eyes or stare at his wide, soft lips. Models and actors had paid good money, messing up their faces to get cheek and jaw bones like Silas’s and his wide, sculpted shoulders weren’t bad either. His frame was tall and lean, which was very much Daphne’s type.
She loved a lanky skateboarder but Silas had cut off his long hair and kept his beard trimmed and shorter since he’d started working at the coffee shop. He still skated to work but Silas wore tight black t-shirts and fitted khakis with nicer leather sneakers. Daphne remembered that he was working on a degree in something to do with nature and that got her palms sweating. She’d done her best to ignore how smart he was because Daphne had a weakness for nerds too. And boys who loved nature.
What was I thinking? He’s everything that I’ve been avoiding.
Daphne stepped back and turned to leave but Silas dropped his towel and hurried around the counter.