Page 35 of Dash

I take her hands in mine and squeeze them tightly. “See, it’s possible to no longer want someone.”

She nods her head in understanding. “But she won’t give you up. Shit, my dad thinks you two are together.”

“And Rodger is still trying to get you back,” I say. “But we can fix the problem with your dad.”

She eyes me skeptically. “What do you mean?”

“Let’s tell your father.” It’s time to come clean. I can only keep so many secrets.

She starts shaking her head quickly as she pulls away. “Look, you wanted me to prove this to you, let me.”

“You’ll lose everything. We both know that he will drop you.”

“I’ve been telling you from the start that I would risk everything for you, yet

I have risked nothing. We’ve kept it a secret.”

“Because we have no other choice,” she says frustrated.

“We have a choice. I have a choice.” I place my hands in her hair, and she closes her eyes as I tighten my fingers in it. “I choose you, Tabatha. You’re better than any dream I have ever had. Because you are real. You’re right here in front of me.” And with that, I lower my lips to her. She opens her mouth for me, allowing me in, and I take over. Pushing my tongue into her mouth and working our lips together.

When I pull away, I take her by her hand. “Grab your car keys.”

“Why?”

“’Cause I’m still sore as fuck and I should not have ridden my bike over here.”

We pull up to her father’s house, and she reaches over to grab my hand. She squeezes it tightly, and I squeeze it back. “It’s going to be okay,” I reassure her once again.

“You don’t know him the way that I do. And what are we gonna tell him?” Her eyes widen as if she just thought of this. “He’s gonna ask how we met. When it happened? Why you didn’t think of the team first.”

She’s starting to panic. I yank my hand out of hers and place them on her cheeks to make her face me. “It will be fine. Let me do all the talking. Okay?”

“But…?”

“No buts. I will take care of all of it.” She’s reluctant but nods her head.

I let go of her and get out of the car. I go around the car and open her door. I grab her hand and hold on tighter when she tries to pull away. We enter the house, and I close the door quietly behind us. “Dash, is that you?” I hear Mr. Knight call out from down the hall. It sounds like he is already in his office. I told him earlier that I had to run out and do a few things and then would be right back.

“Yes, sir,” I call out as well.

Tabatha comes to a halt, and I yank on her hand to get her to walk again.

“Stop stopping,” I say quietly. We come to the office door, and she pulls me up against the wall.

“I just don’t think we should hold hands. It’s not a smart thing. Let’s see how he reacts first.”

“Okay,” I say running my hand through her soft hair. “Whatever makes you feel better.”

I pull away and walk into his office. I would love to say that I’m as calm as I’m putting on, but I’m not. I’m just as nervous as Tabatha looks.

“Erik…” Johnny starts but cuts himself off the moment that his daughter walks in after me. “What are you doing here, Tabatha?” His voice has an edge to it as if she’s interrupting whatever he wants to talk to me about.

“I…uh…wanted to talk to you about school,” she stumbles as she looks him in the eye.

He waves her off. “Later. I have to speak to Erik alone. I’ll speak to you about your schooling when I’m done.” He then looks away from her. She wastes no time before she turns away and all but runs out of the office.

“What do you need, Mr. Knight?” I ask as I sit down and lean over, placing my elbows on my knees. I feel calmed getting a few extra minutes to collect my thoughts on how I’m gonna tell my boss that I’m with his daughter.

---