Page 34 of After Midnight

That made Miss Rita laugh, and it helped further ease my own mind about the whole situation. That night, I was anxious tospend some time with Dillon. The more I was around him, the more I liked him. Not only because he was gorgeous, incredibly talented, and funny, but also because he wasn’t part of the chaos that’d engulfed my life. I desperately needed the disconnect being with him gave me. A chance to forget, albeit briefly, all the frustrating, uncertain, and heart-wrenching things going on in my life. All the things I couldn’t control.

After work, Dillon again said he’d drive, and we ended up at a large house on the outskirts of town. “You live here?” I asked, and he shrugged, looking sheepish.

“Home sweet home,” he said quietly. Was he ashamed his family was well-off?

“Holy…” I said when we stepped inside. “Dang. Um, who are you?”

I meant it playfully, though I was genuinely curious now too. Dillon rubbed the back of his neck, and a cute as hell blush had pinkened his cheeks.

“Come on, let’s go swimming. Our pool is heated, and we have extra swim trunks in the guest house out back.”

He tried to hurry me through the entrance hall but I stopped in my tracks. “Dude, give me a minute. This is where you live, and you expect me to just walk in and act like it’s nothing to go swimming in yourheatedpooland change in your freaking guest house?” I didn’t know whether I was about to freak out or laugh. Not that I’d expected him to live in some shitty apartment, but I certainly hadn’t expected this palace of a home, either.

He chuckled. “I live here, yes, but it’s my fathers’ house,” he said, as if its ownership was an important distinction. “And I didn’t mean to rush you. I just thought a nice swim would help relieve some of your stress.”

“Yeah, stress-free until your dads come out and see a Black guy swimming in their pool.”

Dillon frowned and a deep line formed between his eyes. “Man, you make a lot of assumptions. My dads know you’re here, and you’re far from the only Black man to go swimming in our pool. So, get over yourself and have some fun.” Did he just roll his eyes at me?

I shrugged off any lingering concerns. Where was the harm in going for a swim? It’s not like we were even skinny-dipping. Besides, wasn’t this one of the reasons I’d gone out with Dillon tonight? To get out of my own head for a while?

I did everything I could to ignore the grand palace surrounding me, which made my house look like a country cottage by comparison, and focus on Dillon. After I’d changed into a pair of trunks and jumped into the pool, it really felt like hanging out with a friend, and everything else went by the wayside.

All the noise, stress, and chaos that’d swirled in my brain since Margarette filed the lawsuit quieted. My nerves over being a stranger in this palatial house calmed. My entire body relaxed. I’d wanted a distraction and Dillon had found yet another perfect one for me.

We floated, raced each other, and roughhoused by splashing and dunking each other for a few minutes, just enjoying being together in the water. When things began to settle down, Dillon swam up and backed me against the side of the pool before leaning in for a kiss. I sighed inwardly as his hard, half naked body pressed against mine and his hands roamed over my bare skin. When he ground his crotch into mine, I thought I might explode from want and need then and there. I don’t think I’d ever desired someone like I did Dillon. Not that I’d had that much experience, but even if I had… Dillon was special.

When he began to suck on my neck, I moaned. God, how badly I needed to be touched by someone who cared. The fact he was my dream boyfriend just made his attentions that much better.

All my lustful thoughts came to a screeching halt when I looked over his shoulder and saw the face of a man I didn’t recognize. “Shit,” I whispered, reluctantly pulling away from him. “I’m gonna guess that’s one of your dads?” Dillon groaned as he turned around.

“Hi, Dad,” he said, and the man blushed and waved.

“Um, sorry to interrupt, son, but you have a phone call from the club. They said it was urgent.”

Even I felt alarmed. Why would work be calling Dillon at this time of night? The club closed hours ago.

Dillon climbed out of the pool and took the phone from his father. “This is Dillon,” he said. “Oh, hi, Jolie. It’s fine, no worries about calling so late. Is everything okay?” I could see a look of shock come over Dillon’s face as he listened, his eyes darting to me. “I’ll be right down. Oh, I’m bringing Dominic with me. He and Ashton are friends too.”

Hearing Ashton’s name, I immediately tensed up, fearing the worst. “What’s happened?” I asked nervously as Dillon hung up and I climbed out of the pool.

Dillon hesitated, as if searching for the best way to tell me. When he spoke, there was sadness in his voice. “They think Ashton had a heart attack. He’s at the hospital now. For some reason, he asked for me.”

Emotions swirled through me and I said the first thing that popped into my mind. “Do you and Ashton have a thing going?” I cringed as soon as I asked, and deep down, I knew I was wrong. Was I really feeling jealous at a time like this?Damn, I thought to myself.What’s wrong with me?I felt my eyes start to sting.

“Babe, no. I’m guessing it has more to do with the fact I told him I was going out with you tonight. He knew we’d likely be together right now.”

“Yeah, that makes more sense. I’ll give Miss Rita a call,” I said and rushed past Dillon to the guest house for my phone andclothes. I purposefully didn’t look back at him. I knew if our gazes met, I’d lose it if he was showing any emotion at all. I needed to keep myself together. And I sure as shit wasn’t going to start overanalyzing how he’d just called mebabe.

By the time I reached Miss Rita, she told me she’d already heard from the hospital and was on her way. It struck me as a little weird, but then, she’d known Ashton a long time. In fact, I’d met him through Miss Rita when he’d come to the house to pick her up once. He and I had become close over the years when he became a mentor to me through the Big Brothers Big Sisters program, after Miss Rita had talked me into enrolling. He’d also vouched for me when I’d initially applied for the bartending job at the comedy club.

For the life of me, though, I couldn’t understand why the hospital would call her on Ashton’s behalf. Was she simply his emergency contact or was she family? Before I thought better of it, I blurted out, “Miss Rita, how do you know Ashton?”

She sighed and there was a catch in her voice. “That’s a long conversation, one we’ll have later. Right now, you get to the hospital. He’ll want to see you.”

“Yes, ma’am,” I replied and dashed out of the guest house, almost bumping into a waiting Dillon. “You don’t have to go if you don’t want to. I talked to Miss Rita, and she’s already on her way there.”

“No, he asked for me, and I’m going. Besides, your car is still parked at the club.”

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