Page 55 of Carnal

Flex:Are we going drinking?

Me:No. Need your discretion. How far are you?

Flex:Not far. Five minutes maybe?

Me:Okay. Wait for me. Leaving now.

I tell Pedro, "Sizzlers."

"I went there last weekend. Those waitresses are something else," he informs me.

"I heard, but I'm meeting Flex there," I reply, then say nothing else until he drops me off. I get directly in Flex's SUV.

"So what's going on?" he asks.

My chest tightens. I told Pina I wouldn't tell anyone, but I can't keep this under wraps without one of my drivers knowing. Flex is my most trusted man. I turn and state, "This is between us. No one, and I meanno one, can know."

He nods. "You know I've got your back."

"Okay. I need you to take me to Pina's, then drop us off at Teterboro."

Silence fills the car. He cocks his eyebrows at me then asks, "You're seeing Pina?"

I don't say anything.

He whistles then pulls out into traffic, warning, "You better not let Dante catch you two."

10

Pina

The closer itgets to eight, the more I freak out, pacing my condo.

What am I doing?

I need to call this off.

He'll tell Dante.

No, he won't.

What if he does?

I'll go and not let him touch me.

Memories of him pinning me to the conference room table and kissing me won't disappear. My butterflies spread their wings, and I reprimand myself.

Stop feeling attracted to him.

How?

Ugh!

I return to the full-length mirror, picking apart any imperfection I see and trying to correct it. I flick a piece of lint off my dress and peer closer at my face. My eyeliner is a tad uneven, so I move into the bathroom and carefully swipe a Q-tip on my lid. The black line evens out, and I take a deep breath, looking for more flaws.

The doorbell rings, making my pulse skyrocket. I glance at my watch then go to the front door. I open it and attempt to ignore the raging flutters in my stomach, declaring, "You're early."

Tristano drags his eyes over my body, pausing on my cleavage on the way down and up. His dark eyes swirl with fire, which only makes my nerves heighten. He cocks a brow at me and states, "You don't like it when people are late."

---