If he even wanted to get intimate. I just don’t know where we’d do it at, especially if Shay and Kyle came back here. Darius was up in the air. I didn’t know where I stood with him. But it was well past time I found out.
With that in mind, I got up. I had worked all day, and if I was gonna get lucky, I’d need to do a little cleaning up. The little clean up turned into a full-on shower, with scrubbing and shaving all for the mere possibility of the night ending the way I wanted it to.
There was a good chance that I was insatiable. Especially if just the idea of sex had pushed me to do all this. Should I feel bad about that?
Then my phone rang. I was still in the shower with shaving cream up to my thighs when I heard it. I nearly tripped over the wall of the tub when I went for my ringing phone. It was Darius, and I reached into the tub to cut off the water before I answered. “Hey.” I was immediately embarrassed when my voice notably echoed.
“Hey,” he said warily. “You’re not going all out for this, are you?”
“No, no,” I said too fast. “I was just cleaning up. My day wasn’t necessarily strenuous, but I built up a sweat. Plus, there’s thismotor oil smell that’s not really pleasant, and I can’t figure out why it’s rubbing off on me.” I sat down on the lid of the toilet and found my razer so I could finish the job that I had started. “Did you not want to get dinner?”
“Yeah, I definitely need to eat,” Darius said over the line. “I wouldn’t mind spending a little time with you. I just don’t know that I have the energy for anything extravagant. Do you know what I mean?”
“So nothing fancy?” I asked.
“Yeah,” he said. “I cleaned up, but I’ve got to tell you it was a chore to put pants back on.”
I snorted. “I feel you. So, what are you thinking? Fast food? Or do you want to go somewhere chill?”
Darius hummed, and it went right through me. It made me hope he wasn’t gonna shoot down the prospect of sex. It almost made me stop shaving.
“I could go for a beer,” he said after a beat. “Maybe some wings.”
“That sounds like a good idea,” I agreed, though it wasn’t something that I necessarily wanted. “Do you have a specific place in mind?”
“There’s a place we usually go to. It’s a sports bar that’s got great wings,” he said easily. “We could include Adam and Cam in this too.”
“We could,” I said, rinsing off the razor. “I’m pretty sure that Cameron wants us to do something together this weekend. So I thought this was something that should be just me and you.”
“Do something this weekend?” he asked.
I cleared my throat. “Yeah.Something. With all four of us.” I shifted so I sat on the edge of the tub, having easier access to water so I could rinse the shaving cream off my legs. “Unless you don’t want to be included in that?”
“I haven’t even thought about it,” he admitted. A door closed over the line. “And I’m not against it being everyone all in.” He paused and cleared his throat. “I’m assuming this is something that’s gonna be at their place?”
“It’s easiest for us to stay there,” I explained as I finished up shaving. “My room is tiny, and my bed barely fits two people. I can’t imagine trying to fit four. Plus—” I paused and considered my brother. If Shay and him were out now, that meant they would want to be together this weekend too. “There’s less of a chance of drama if it’s at their place.”
He hummed, and I was sure he was nodding. “That’s probably a good idea.” He quieted. “Your brother’s been there, I take it.” He went quiet again. “I need you to promise me that this isn’t part of the game.”
I dropped the washcloth. “This started out as a game—well, not even that, revenge isn’t supposed to be a game. It was supposed to be me and you, and Adam, and Cam once. It turned into more than that. It turned into something that I needed,” I explained uneasily. I didn’t know why it felt like I needed to say it, but I hoped it would be enough for him to understand. “If Shay did anything with this mess we were doing, she used it as an opportunity to get involved with Kyle. She’s intent on having a relationship with him. She’s not leading him on.”
“Okay,” he said slowly. “You need me to come get you?” he asked.
“I can meet you at the restaurant,” I said as I got out of the tub. I dried off. “What restaurant was it?”
“I’ll just come get you. You’re on the way,” he said, and a car door opened. “It shouldn’t take long for me to get there. So, maybe get dressed.”
“Thanks for that warning. I’ll keep it casual, since we’re just keeping it simple.” I ended the call and went to rush to get dressed.
Jeans were the most obvious solution, but I was hung up on what shirt to wear. I ended up going with a cute, low-cut blouse that was something more than the simple I suggested. But it was better than a plain tee. I blow-dried my hair and was putting on makeup when I heard a knock at the door.
I’d have to be satisfied with how I looked.
When I opened the door, Darius was poised to knock again. He looked surprised and glanced down at me. “I thought you said we were keeping it simple.”
I shrugged and lied, “This is simple.”
Darius raised an eyebrow, but was kind enough to not call me on it. “Come on,” he said, offering me a hand. “I’m starving.”