Page 72 of Between Desire and Denial
“Oh, is this the dating app guy?” Kee asked. “See, you got Dimitri and the dating app. You’re way better off than most of the women there. Plus, you may be trying to leave me after you finish your thesis, but you’re still my assistant.”
God, my life was a hot mess. I thought back to how my stepmother told me to be a lawyer and wondered if she’d been right. “Keelani Hale, you’re taking a year off. You have a whole damn PR team and marketing team that—”
“I still trust you and Pink more than any of them though.”
My friend was forever loyal. And loyal friends were to always be valued over pride and ego. I opened the ink bottle on the dresser and grabbed a notebook from my nightstand to test out the pen. I drewfriendon it and smiled at the curve of the ink. “I trust you guys more than anyone too. I told you, you can text or call me at any time for advice, and I’ll fly out to do your hair whenever you want free of charge. Or you guys can fly here and—”
“Ihavebeen wondering a bit about this weird-ass community Dimitri is so obsessed with. Wonder if it’s as fucked-up as the gated community I grew up in.” Pink cackled before she said, “But seriously, Bane is acting weird about it too.”
“Why?” I asked, because Bane was her enemy but also maybe her lover, and he was a man of mystery who intrigued every single person who encountered him.
“Probably because he knows how toxic ours was, and now he wants more toxicity in his life. He’ll probably try to buy it out from under the Hardys.”
“Good luck,” Kee grumbled. “Even if Dimitri isn’t answering me half the time, I know how invested he is in Paradise Grove.Which makes me curious. What are you two doing over there other than faking a relationship?”
“Nothing,” I blurted out as I dropped the pen and screwed the ink bottle back on tight. I needed to finish getting ready for the grill out anyway. I grabbed my purse and shuffled through it to find my lip gloss so I could put some on as I looked at myself in the full-length mirror next to the dresser. “We’re not doing anything at all.”
And of course that was the exact moment Dimitri came to stand in the primary bedroom’s doorway. I saw him leaning against the frame looking like a tall drink of water in the middle of a desert with condensation dotted across the clear glass and maybe some ice cubes thrown in. I was suddenly hot and thirsty. “A suit?” I whispered to him.
He smirked at my lie and then whispered back, “It makes a lasting impression.”
“He didn’t answer when I called him yesterday,” Kee told me. “And he hasn’t called me back. It’s unlike him.”
“He works a lot,” I murmured as Dimitri pushed off the doorframe and came to stand behind me. I was fiddling with tying my green halter crop top. It was a knitted fabric that had tiny gold strands threaded throughout. It was as close to the forest theme as I was getting and I was happy it matched my bikini bottoms along with bringing out the gold flecks of my eyes. Supposedly, we were all supposed to dress for her pool too. With loose wide leg pants over my bikini and sheer cardigan cover-up to match, I felt confident enough.
But then Dimitri’s hand slid under the cover-up and around my waist, I gasped, and he took the phone as I heard Kee say, “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing’s wrong, Kee,” Dimitri said as his hand moved over my stomach. I could barely make out what he was saying as my body reacted to his calloused hand, how it felt so rough but sogentle against my skin. We hadn’t been touching like this, hadn’t been putting our skin right up against one another’s. “We’re going to a grill out. So, we need to go and get ready.”
He paused for a moment, just his thumb moving up and down on my hip now. And I almost whimpered, “Dimitri…”
“I haven’t gotten back to you because I’m working, but we’re fine. I’m taking care of your girl.” More silence. Then, “Should I be?” He chuckled and I looked up at him with question. “I’m kidding, Kee. She’s safe with me.”
He frowned at her next question. “Well, I fly out of town tomorrow. So, you can imagine. And she’ll call you all next week. Just don’t worry so much.” Another pause, then he said their best friend phrase, “Not if, always when.” Finally, he placed my phone on the dresser next to the mirror.
“I love that phrase,” I told him because I saw how good of friends they were, that they’d become family over the years.
He chuckled. “Really? You used to repeat it every time I said it to her like you thought it was ridiculous.”
“No.” I shook my head. “I thought it was nice that she had a friend like you. You’ve always provided unwavering support to her.”
“I always do for people I care about.”
“What did she ask you?” I said softly.
“If I’m taking care of you in more ways than one.”
“Oh,” I whispered and tried to step forward, but his hand was still at my waist and held me there suddenly. “Well, like you said, I’m safe with you, right?” I almost squeaked out.
“Safe like I’m going to protect you from getting hurt forever, or safe like I’m not going to touch you all night?”
“Both?” I squeaked, trying my best not to lean into his touch.
“My hands are already wandering all over you, Honeybee, and we’re not even in public yet. So you should probably change if you don’t want me touching you all night.” He took a deepbreath, then slid his hand away, like he was employing restraint just for me.
I felt instantly colder, like I was missing something that should have been on my skin always. “Actually, tonight would be a great time for you to be touching me to make things between us more…believable,” I said, as I pulled my hair up in a bun. “We should really look like we’ve been together awhile for everyone to witness.”
He stuck his hands in his pockets, his eyes scanning me again, as he sucked on his teeth. “If I don’t mind touching you,justtonight, Olive?”
