Page 52 of Pelvic Flaws

“I’m glad it was the right one and that he’s better. The poor little guy was real sick.”

“Literally,” I replied with a small giggle. “For which I’ll never be able to apologise enough.”

“I told you,” Dex said, in a low, soft voice, “it wasn’t a problem.”

I smiled and turned away from Amy, who suddenly didn’t look so interested in her magazine.

“So what can I do for you?” I asked.

Dex cleared his throat. “Did you speak to Isaac last night?”

“I didn’t, no. He got home after I’d gone to bed.”

“He didn’t tell you he came in to Heaven & Ink?”

“No, he didn’t. When did he do that?” I asked, getting off my seat and moving towards the break room.

“Yesterday, early evening.”

“He never said. Did something happen? Is that why you’re calling me?”

“You could say that,” Dex replied. “I offered him the job that we talked about.”

“Oh my God,” I squealed. “No way. That would be what his text was about that he sent late last night. He said he had something to tell me, but would do it this morning, but he was still asleep when I left for work.”

Dex chuckled. “You’re pleased then?”

“Yes, I’m thrilled.” I gasped. “Was he pleased you’d asked him?”

“Said he was gonna go give his notice in at the record shop and then celebrate with his buddies. So yeah darlin’, he was happy.”

I stopped in my tracks at Dex calling me darlin’ in that drawl of his. It did funny things to my boobs and my vagina. Things that they hadn’t felt in a long time.

“That’s great,” I breathed out. “Thank you so much. I just wish he’d called me straight away.”

“I think he was excited to tell his friends. Told me he was already on his way out to meet them.”

I chewed on my lip as I thought about it, and knew Dex was right. Isaac would have been far too wired to think about telling me first. At least he’d sent me a text, even if it had been hours later.

“Well, all I can say is thank you – from both of us. I’ve been so worried about him, but I think he’ll love working with you.”

“My pleasure,” Dex replied, “but there is somethin’ else I need to talk to you about.”

He sounded a little cautious and dread thundered through me. This was it, this was when he said he didn’t want to see me again. I knew it had only been one date, but at this point I felt I was probably Dex’s biggest fan and if this was the end of our ‘relationship’, it would be awful. I would be back to spending my evenings thinking a bunch of dick heads on a reality TV show were entertaining.

“Oh, okay,” I whispered, plonking down onto a chair, waiting for the news.

“I wanted you to know, when he came in, Debbie was here and I was giving her a hug.”

“Debbie?” I asked.

The name meant something to me, but the fact that Dex was telling me he was hugging her made my brain go to mush. The name simply didn’t register with me.

“The girl I was having a thing with,” Dex explained. “The girl I was taking to dinner the night your car broke down.”

“Oh.”

My hand went to my chest, feeling the heavy drum of my heart as the woman’s pretty face came into my head. The woman who was his ‘fuck buddy’.

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