Page 88 of David's Chase

‘Good. Don’t come to me when he puts a hole into your chest filled with crushing pain.’

‘Get lost.’

“All right,” I say to David. “Call me when you get home,” I say in a clipped voice, ready to end the call.

“Hey. Wait," he says, quickly picking up on the fact that my mood has changed.

He looks away for a second as if glimpsing into the room before shifting his focus to me.

“I’ll call you later, yeah? I didn’t want to make you wait, but I’m still here, and it takes longer than I thought.”

“Okay.”

He reads my eyes, a smile curling his lips.

It feels like he doesn’t want to let go of me.

“How was your day?”

“Busy,” I say, still not talking to him the way I normally would.

“All right,” he says, noticing he’s on thin ice with me.

Clamor wafts from inside.

“It’s a big party?” I murmur.

“Yes. It’s one of our annual gatherings.”

“Who is “us”?”

“Us, the business partners.”

I stay quiet.

“And their significant others,” I smile. “And you’re single?”

He nods, amused.

“I hope Pam is not there,” I toss at him.

“She’s not here. I’m here by myself,” he says, grinning.

Men.

They can’t resist a smidgen of flattery.

“Don’t let it go to your head,” I say, a hint of humor woven in my voice. “I was simply asking. That’s all.”

“I wouldn’t dare,” he jokes, his dimple popping up, and I get smitten with him.

His smile fades as he drinks me in.

“I missed you,” he says sincerely, and the pang of honesty dissolves quickly into my awareness, warming my skin.

“You missed this,” I say playfully, quietly begging him to say more things like this.

I point to my body, although he can’t see a thing.

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