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"Nothing. " She shakes her head.
"It's not nothing," I say. "I might be a lot of things, but I'm sure as hell honest. "
Delaney raises her eyebrows. "Never mind. It was a long time ago, Gaige," she says. "It's all water under the bridge. "
"Darlin', nothing about us is water under the bridge," I say.
"I didn't come back here to restart something with you, Gaige. "
"You and I are the fucking definition of unfinished. " I want to pull that skirt of hers up over that curvy ass and show her exactly how I want to restart things between us.
"It was finished that night," she says, finally looking away.
Now I slide my fingers under the edge of her chin and tilt it up at me. Touching her sends a jolt of electricity ricocheting through my body. I run my thumb along the other side of her jaw, trying to keep my desire for her under control. I'm trying to be reasonable. "The night you never showed up?"
She pulls away from me and steps back, crossing her arms over her chest. "You mean the night I ran into -- what was her name, Bambi or something?"
"What the hell are you talking about?"
"I was on my way to meet you in the guest house that night," she says. "Until I ran into one of your bimbos on the way. "
"I didn't fucking have any bimbos," I say.
"Some girl," she says. "She knew you. " The way she says the last three words, practically spitting them out, tells me everything I need to know. Whatever the hell she misunderstood about whatever girl showed up back then, she's been sitting on that for the past four fucking years.
I hear my voice soften, despite my annoyance at her for being so easily dissuaded back then. "There were no other girls, Delaney. "
She rolls her eyes. "Sure, Gaige," she says. "You're as pure as the driven snow. "
"Exactly the opposite," I say. Before Delaney, there were lots of girls, a parade of girls I displayed partially to make her jealous. But the moment she kissed me that summer, it ruined me for anyone else. There wasn't anyone, as long as she was there. When she left, well, that was a different story. Post-Delaney, I was sure as hell the opposite of pure. I fucked every chick I could find who might possibly erase Delaney from my head. "But when you and I were together back then, there were no other girls. I might be a lot of things, but I'm no cheater. "
"So some chick just shows up at your house, her panties in hand, ready to party?" she asks. She shakes her head again, purses her lips. She doesn't believe me. "Anyway, the entire thing is irrelevant. We weren't together; there was nothing between us. You might not think it's water under the bridge, but I haven't given it a moment's thought since I left Dallas. Chelsea is my boss and your manager at Marlowe. So I'm looking out for you. "
"You're looking out for me, huh?" I ask. "That's it?"
"That's it," she says. "Don't shit where you eat. That's all I'm concerned about. "
"I'm sure that's all it is, darlin'. " She's obviously lying. I'm tempted to kiss her, but I don't.
"Have a nice flight," she says abruptly. My cue to leave.
"I hope you can find a way to entertain yourself while I'm gone," I say. I picture her using the dildo and the thought makes me rock hard. Damn it, there's nothing worse than leaving for a trip with your dick as hard as a fucking rock.
"I will," she says.
I'm down the stairs and on the way to the airport before I realize that her "I will" sounded way too smug. And she was all dressed up, fuck me boots and all. I was so concerned about giving her grief, I didn't even ask where the hell she was going. Trapped in the car on the way to the airport, I can't stop thinking about it. And now I really don't want to be stuck in Vegas with Chelsea.
"Oh my God, how much did you miss real Texas queso when we were in New York?" I dip a chip into the bowl and shove the entire thing into my mouth. "I am absolutely starving. "
"Here are your drinks. " The waitress sets our glasses and silver shakers on the table, and disappears as quickly as she arrived.
"Cheers to your first day at work," Daniel says, holding up his glass. I met Daniel two years ago at Columbia – I literally bumped into him while he was on his way to an audition. It turned out, he was from Dallas, and we became instantaneous friends.