Page 45 of Last First Date
I was such a tragic figure that I'd savored that last half of her bottle like it was a gift straight from the gods themselves because her lips had beenon the edge of that bottle. And even now, days later, I’m practically drowning in self-pity over losing out on her.
I've already stress cleaned everything at my place and now I’ve scoured the station. My work boots practically sparkle because of my incessant polishing, and every muscle I have is sore.
The good news about my love life going down in flames is that Daniels stopped riding my ass at work, which means the other guys give me some space too. They occasionally give me glances of something that might be pity, but I’m trying to ignore that part.
I know it's because Daniels feels sorry for me because of how everything shook out with Darcy, but I guess I'll take the win on that. I need whatever wins I can get at this point.
And since I’m pushing for wins today, I’ve got a great idea for a fundraiser for the First Impressions program. Now all I have to do is get the other guys on board with helping me out.
I swear, this is the day I can do it. I have to win at everything today because I can’t take any more losses.
"No," says Daniels, his face as flat as his one-word answer.
"Come on, hot stuff. Don't be shy. Do it for the kids." I give him a look that would sell ice cream in the winter, but he's already shaking his head at me and even giving me the stink eye.
"Look Abernathy, I know you’re upset. But no. This is not the answer." He crosses his arms in front of his body, very clearly blocking me out.
I scowl at him. What happened to him having my damn back? As far as I can tell, he's being a coward about this. "You're just chicken, Daniels."
He narrows his eyes at me. "Bawk bawk. But also no."
I throw my arms in the air, frustrated with his outright refusal. I've been absolutely counting on him to say yes and then put the squeeze on the other guys to participate too.
"How is this any different from when you had your half-naked photos taken for that stupid calendar? It's not. And you were perfectly willing to take your clothes off for money during the stupid dance contest here."
Daniels' face squinches up like he's tasting something sour. "I'll take my clothes off for your mom later tonight too. But that doesn't have anything to do with your stupid plans to get me naked. Fuck you." He slams the door to his locker closed and stomps into the common lounge.
"Hey everybody, guess what? The probie here wants us to take our clothes off for some kids." Daniels turns to me and bows theatrically, and honestly I want to hit him in the face.
A dozen sets of eyes immediately turn to me with expressions ranging from disbelief to outright horror. I wave my hand at Daniels. "Just ignore this dirtbag. I'm talking about doing another sexy dance contest, but with paying guests this time."
Bigs pipes up. "You trying to tell me you want us to strip? In front of a bunch of children?" He shakes his head. "What is wrong with you man?"
I smack my own forehead. "Bigs, cripes. No. Nobody should be getting naked in front of children. Stop acting like a bunch of idiots." I take a deep breath. "You guys know I run First Impressions, right?"
A couple of nods from the guys give me the green light to keep going with this whole big speech.
"Well I had a big donor lined up and then the deal ended up going sideways. And I don't want the kids I'm working for to suffer because of some beef I have with that asshole Romig."
Daniels looks over at me again. "Al Romig? Huh. He always seemed so down to earth."
I shrug. I'm definitely not in the mood for the airing of those particular grievances right now. "Yeah, well, you can take my word for it that Romig is trash. I worked with him for years, but even I was surprised at what a total hypocrite he turned out to be." I shake my head.
"At any rate, I'm trying to get something together to raise money for my charity because helping these kids means everything to me. And I want to know if I can count on you guys."
Darcy clears her throat from behind me. "What exactly is going on in here?"
I tense up. Now there's an audience I wasn't anticipating. Stupid, I guess. I've been trying to keep my head down and work out and pretend like her choosing Hesse Kotner over me doesn't make me feel like my entire life is worthless.
"Hey there lieutenant." Daniels plants his beefy arm around my shoulders and gives me a little shake, a bit too forcefully for this to be a friendly gesture. "Abernathy here was just trying to talk us into taking our clothes off for him. You in?"
I elbow him, hard. What a fucking dick. He knows better than anybody else how gone I am over Darcy and here he is, rubbing my face in it in front of all the other guys.
Darcy shakes her head at Daniels, then gives him a dangerous looking smile. "Shut your face up, you tiny-nuts truckie. This is why you can't get a date with anybody other than your right hand." Her lips curl up in satisfaction when she’s done dishing out those barbed words.
The guys nudge each other and make that "ooh" noise. Yeah, she's vicious when provoked. It's one of my favorite things about her.
Well, that and the sexy curves of her body. The perfect weight of her tits in my hands. The way her long, gorgeous hair made a delicious tangle all over my pillows. No, this is beyond pathetic. I've got to get her off my mind. She's not mine. She didn't choose me.
