Page 12 of What About Love

He glanced at the couple in the concluded scene. Ed had Emily well in hand, had released her, and was helping her from the bench. And thankfully, he wasn’t yapping through the aftercare.

Clearly done here, without giving them another thought, he stepped beyond the velvet ropes. He only had one thing on his mind now. Finding out what the fuck was going on with Angie.

***

CLAIMING A HEADACHEshe didn’t have, she let Dan lead her down a rear hallway past the restrooms to a small employee lounge.

“Technically, I’m not supposed to bring you back here, but for a sip of water and a few aspirins, there isn’t any sense returning to the bar.”

“Would it be all right if we called it a night?” To her dismay, her voice broke slightly.

“Hurts that bad, huh?”

As he handed her two tablets and a glass of water, she felt a small twinge of guilt for her little white lie. But she desperately needed a quiet moment to regroup. She didn’t know T was back in town, and the sight of him taking another woman from behind was staggering, like a sucker punch to the chin.

“I get migraines sometimes.” She offered this as an excuse to Dan who watched her closely. It was true; she had a prescription for them at home. But the pain was more localized to her chest at the moment—specifically dead center over her heart. “I’ll bring my medicine with me from here on out. It usually works in thirty minutes.”

“Decadence can be overwhelming the first time out of the gate.”

She looked up into his dark, discerning eyes and saw she hadn’t fooled him in the slightest.

“You got a taste tonight. Go home, process what you saw, and in the morning, we’ll discuss it. Tomorrow, I’ll have to push you for more though. We don’t have much time before we head out to LA.”

He took the empty glass from her trembling fingers and set it on the counter.

“I’ll be ready for more tomorrow. Thank you for being as patient as time allows.”

“No worries, kid.” With a gentle smile, proving he was the nice guy everyone claimed, he clasped her hand and pulled her out into the hall once again. “We’ll leave by the rear exit. It leads to where I parked.”

“Dano, hold up.”

He stopped at the sound of his name and turned, while Angie only stopped. She knew who it was without looking.

Dan filled the silence as T walked down the long, dimly lit hallway toward them. “Good to see you back, bud.”

“I’m glad to be back. It was an exhausting few months.”

“Was there trouble?”

“Nothing out of the ordinary,” T replied.

Standing stiffly, her gaze glued to the floor, Angie wondered if she’d ever be able to look at him again. Emblazoned on her brain was the image of him half naked, a thin sheen of sweat on his cut chest, abs rippling hypnotically as he slammed repeatedly into the lucky recipient of his more than generous cock.

She put an end to her envy and longing right there. It accomplished nothing.

As she stood awkwardly by, trying to maintain her composure, Angie prayed he wouldn’t talk to her. Hoping he needed something from Dan and was the reason he’d pursued them.

“I wanted to check on Angie.”Dammit! No such luck.“The last time I saw her, she wasn’t feeling so hot.”

Feeling both men’s attention, she answered reluctantly. Although she didn’t quite meet T’s gaze, focusing on his chin instead.

“I’m good. I went back to work a few weeks ago.”

“She works for Rossi now,” Dan stated. “Did you hear?”

“Yeah, I found out today.”

Another silence. Dan shifted this time. “You know, I left my keys in security. If you’re good here with T, Ang, I’ll run up and grab them. I’ll pick up your shoes on my way back.” To T, he asked, “Have you got a few minutes to watch her for me, man?”