She stands at the sink, filling a vase with water. “Have I done something to upset you?”
“No, of course not! Why would you say that?” She laughs off my question.
I lean back against the counter and cross my arms. “Because you’ve hugged me every time I’ve seen you for years, and the last few times I’ve seen you, you act like I’m contaminated. I thought I must’ve done something wrong.”
She puts the vase down and looks at me, her dark brows furrowed into a V. She steps forward and puts her fingertips on my forearm.
“Of course you haven’t done anything wrong, Dex. We’re solid—you’re the most solid person in my life. It’s just, well, you have a girlfriend now, and I didn’t want to be disrespectful, so…,” As she trails off, I turn and pull her into a tight embrace.
I say the words quietly, my lips just grazing her hair as it cascades down in front of her ear. “I don’t care if I have a girlfriend, or you have a boyfriend. You’re still my best friend in the world, and anyone who has a problem with that has no place in my life.”
Her reply is a whisper. “Love you, Dex.”
“Love you back.”
I don’t know why things have been so tense with Clair the past few weeks, but I need my friend. She’s my safe harbor in any storm. She’s my home. I’m enjoying the moment so much, feeling like we used to, that I don’t even flinch when I hear Cole walk in.
“Whoa, what’s up with this? Dexter! You’re not trying to steal my girl, are you?” He laughs, patting me on the shoulder as I release Clair.
You’re the one who stole her.
He steps toward the refrigerator, retrieves a bottle of wine, and opens the drawer for the corkscrew. It’s clear he’s comfortable here in Clair’s home. It’s obvious he has spent time here.
As I leave the kitchen, Cole sweeps Clair into his arms, kissing her neck and eliciting a giggle.
They’re a couple. This is what a couple looks like.
In Dexland, that would be me holding Clair. Those smiles and laughs would be for me, and I would own the taste of her lips. It’s Cole that’s getting that part of her, though.
Walking into the living room, there is a spectacular woman just a few feet in front of me. She’s the one who deserves all of my attention. She’s the one I should be falling in love with.
I need Tabitha. I need to remind myself how spectacularly lucky I am that she wants to be with me, and how lucky I am to have found a sweet, amazing woman like her.
I find her in an oversized chair in the living room. When I walk up, she immediately stands, gestures for me to sit, and makes herself comfortable on my lap, one arm around my shoulders. She’s chatting with Anna and Lily so easily that an onlooker would think she had been part of this circle for years.
Cole and Clair return a moment later with a fresh bottle of wine, giving a glass to Tabitha. I wave it off, knowing I’ll be driving.
Anna introduces us to the guy with her as Brian, an otolaryngologist finishing his residency at Mercy Hospital. I’ve been looking for someone to take a look at the bone conduction audio device now we’ve pared down the size, and he says I can give him a call.
“Sinclair!” Jorge, Cole’s teammate, claps his hands together. “Why do you torture me, bella? All these beautiful women, and you have no dance music playing.” He turns and glances at Lily. “How can I try to impress this flower with my Latin style if you don’t have music for us to dance to?”
Sinclair glances at Lily who is turning the darkest shade of crimson I’ve ever seen, and smiles.
“You’re right, Jorge. I’ll put on some music. Cole, why don’t you boys move the furniture to the lawn and we can dance on the patio? It’s beautiful out tonight.” She smiles as she touches his arm affectionately.
“You got it, babe.” He grazes his palm across the top of her ass as he walks away. “Come on guys,” he waves his arm as he looks from Jorge to me and opens the French doors. Clair joins us outside a moment later with along with the rest of the girls, and sets up a Bluetooth speaker on the window ledge.
As the Cuban beats play, we pair off and begin dancing. I know how much Tabitha loves to dance, and we’ve gone out dancing a few times since we started dating. We move together, stepping forward and back, and when I spin her and pull her close, her smile is beaming. I dip my head and brush my lips to hers.
“Ahh, Dexter!” Jorge and Lily dance beside us. “I can see you are a quick study! Those lessons I gave you have paid off. I could take you home with me to Cuba and you would look like a native, my friend.” He laughs that big, gregarious laugh of his.
I’ve hung out with Jorge a few times. He’s a good guy, loves life, and seems like he has doesn’t take himself too seriously.
“So you’re responsible for these dance moves, huh?” Tabitha asks, smiling up at Jorge. “Then I owe you thanks. Dexter is an amazing dancer!”
I smile at the compliment, then take the opportunity to do something I never would’ve been bold enough to do before. I spin her again, and pull her arms above her head, crossing her arms with mine as our hips sway and we step in time with the music. I dip her, and she squeals with delight, beaming as I pull her back upright to face me.
“Ha! See, my friend, you are a natural!” Jorge says before spinning Lily across the floor.
After a few more songs, Tabitha excuses herself to the restroom, and Cole ducks inside for another drink.
“May I have this dance?” A smirk paints Clair’s full lips.
“The pleasure is all mine.” I take her hand.
“Tabitha is crazy about you.” She smiles as we step across the space.
“She’s great. She’s one of the most thoughtful people I’ve ever met. Maybe I’m kind of crazy about her.”
“I think I might be a little jealous.” She furrows her brow.
“What do you mean? Cole is nuts about you, Clair.”
“I mean…I don’t know,” she shakes her head back and forth and averts her gaze from mine. “I used to feel like the most important woman in your life. Call me selfish, but I liked being your number one girl.” She shrugs.
I spin her and pull her close. “Clair,” I look at her over my glasses, and she turns her gaze away. I tip her chin back to face me. “I’m not going anywhere. Besides…you could’ve…,” I don’t get to finish the thought, and that’s probably a good thing.
“Can I cut in?” Cole is standing beside us.
“Sure.” I pat my friend on the shoulder.
I hit the bathroom, and when I return, I find Tabitha standing, her shoulder resting against the doorframe, watching everyone dance.
“Can I ask you something kinda crazy?” Tabitha leans a shoulder back against me.
I slide my arms around her waist and nuzzle her neck as I pull her close. “You know kinda crazy is my jam. Fire away.”
She giggles as she leans into me. “Did you and Sinclair ever go out?”
“What?!” I ask more abruptly than I mean to. “Why would you ask that?”
“I don’t know. She was talking to you before, and something about the way she looked at you just felt…heavy, I guess.” She shrugs and looks over her shoulder at me.
“No way.” My reply is firm. “We’ve been friends a long time. There’s no telling what sort of looks she gives me.” I shrug and pull Tab closer.
She crosses her arms over mine, and I feel her shift her hips so her ass is grazing my crotch. My cock immediately starts to respond. She turns her face toward me and I kiss her cheek as she whispers, “I’ve had fun, but are you okay with leaving?”
I pull her closer against me and smile. She smiles too, my response clear without needing words.
We say our goodbyes to everyone, and before we leave, Cole pulls me aside.
“I know it was a hard sell, man, but…I just can’t thank you enough for hooking me up with Sinclair. What do you think? You know her better than anyone. Does she seem happy?”
I glance over his shoulder a
t Sinclair as she talks with Lily and Anna. Her gazes catches us, and she smiles shyly, her eyes glistening.
“She does, Cole. She does seem happy. How about you?”
“Shit!” He rolls his eyes and tousles the back of his hair. “I dunno man…I might be falling for her. I’m crazy about her. She’s exactly what I need…exactly what I’ve been looking for.”
I take his palm to shake as I slap his shoulder with the other hand. “Okay, then. Just don’t fuck up.”
“I promise.”
.-- --- -. -.. . .-.
Rather than staying at Tabitha’s, we pick up the puppies and the playpen, and she throws a few things in a bag to spend the rest of the weekend at my place.
“You’re sure you don’t mind? I mean, these guys can get messy.” She pats each of them on the head as she puts the carrier in the back of the SUV.
“I don’t own a thing that they could damage that can’t be cleaned or replaced. Besides, I want you to feel comfortable at my place, too.”
Later that night, after we make love, Tabitha says something that wrenches at my heart.
“I like your friends, Dexter. Cole and Sinclair are a great couple.” I’m glad she can’t see my wince in the dark. “I like her girlfriends, too.
“They are great,” I agree. Clair is right—Anna and Lily have calmed down a lot over the last couple of years, and they seem far more tolerant of me than they used to be.
“Hey, Dexter?”
“Hmm?”
“I’m…,” she lets out a sigh, and continues. “I’m really starting to get used to this.” She squeezes my arm as it’s wrapped around her. “So if you don’t feel the same way…please don’t let me fall in love with you if you aren’t available.”
I crane my neck to look down at her, tipping her face up toward me with my fingertip.
“What do you mean?”
“Well, it’s just…I don’t know. I feel like we’re turning into something, and the more we’re together, the scarier it gets.” Her shoulders shrug up a little, then fall.
I slide down and roll her over so I’m looking down at her, facing her. “Tabitha, I…I’m crazy about you. If I seem apprehensive, well…maybe it’s because I can’t believe how lucky we are to have found each other. I don’t know what this is going to be between us, but I want to find out. I want to see what we could have together, because what we have already is pretty spectacular.”
“Yeah?” She asks, her lips pursed as she strokes my jaw with her fingers.
“Hell yeah.” I lock my fingers with hers, pinning her hands to the mattress on either side of her head, and lean down to nip at her lips with mine.
She makes a sweet, soft sigh of surrender that causes my dick to harden in response. A few minutes later, when we’re finding our rhythm together, I feel more than the adrenaline of sex. I feel content, knowing that I have the right woman in my arms, and knowing she wants me as much as I want her. When Tabitha looks up at me, her eyes filled with passion, desire, and something that looks like the beginnings of a lot more, I know that I’m right where I belong.
CHAPTER 23
Dexter
“I THINK YOU’RE READY.” Brian looks through the magnifier at the latest prototype. He’s been working with me the past few months since we first met at Sinclair’s housewarming party. He’s still seeing Anna, and we’ve all started to become pretty good friends.
Using some new microchip technology and a coated carbon fiber casing, we’ve been able to reduce the size of the conduction speaker to make it implantable. We’re about to submit our prototype design to the FDA for preliminary approvals.
We’re chatting about how far the research has come, and what a help he’s been as we wrap up a final walk-through of our application for FDA approval on the hearing device.
As I close my laptop, there’s a tap on the lab door. We look up to see Clair walking in. We’ve gotten back to our old routine in the past few months. We try to get together for lunch at least every other week, now, just the two of us. Like old times.
“Uh-oh, am I interrupting the brain trust?” She grins widely.
When she gets to where we’re standing, she gives us each a one-armed hug.
“We’re just wrapping up. Dexter here is about to set the world of hearing implants on fire.”
“I don’t know about that, but it could definitely help people.”
“So what is this thing?” Clair points to the prototype.
“It uses bone conductive technology to transmit sound, so for someone with outer-ear hearing loss, this could allow them to hear again. We started off with a set of over-ear headphones to let people exercise outdoors more safely, still being able to hear traffic, etc., and it evolved into this implantable version.” I hand Clair the implantable prototype, which is in a small, cellophane bag.
“Are you kidding me? Dex, this is…incredible. Just think what this could mean to someone who can’t hear.” She shakes her head and touches my arm with her fingertips. “You must be so proud of this work.”
“I admit, I am. It wasn’t just me, though. Brian has been a big help, and my team is the best, of course. I could never have done this alone.”
“Can I see how it works?”
“Here, let’s show her the first one.” Brian pulls one of the original speaker and over-the-ear holders from the box of prototypes and hands it to Clair. “Actually, didn’t Cole help you with this one?”
Brian asks the question, and my heart feels like it will stop beating. I had completely put the first evolution out of my mind from that perspective. It’s the one that gave me a front row seat to their first several dates—the one I used to put words in his mouth. It’s what allowed me to coach Cole on how to win Clair over.
Clair puts the earpiece on, and my stomach lurches, remembering how it felt to listen in on their first dates…remembering how my heart broke when she kissed him that first time.
“Okay, now what?” Clair puts her purse on the counter and looking from Brian to me, wide-eyed with anticipation.
I move my hand to Clair’s cheek and press my finger to the power button on the device. “Go stand over on the far side of the lab.” She walks several feet away. I turn on my phone, and cue up Come Away with Me on my phone.
Clair’s lips part, and her eyes widen as she turns back to me. Her head cocks to the side, and her expression softens into a wide grin, her eyes slightly moist with emotion. “It’s…amazing.” She walks back toward us.
“I don’t toss the term around lightly, but Dexter here really is a genius.” Brian claps a hand to my back and laughs.
Clair pulls the earpiece off and hands it to me. She watches me pop the earpiece out and put the prototype back in the box with the other evolutions of the device. I thank Brian again and he heads back to his office.
“You must be hungry. Ready for lunch?”
“Yeah, let’s go.” She grabs her bag.
In the car on the way to the restaurant, Clair is quiet, but I catch her grinning at me.
“What?” I look at her over my prescription sunglasses.
“Come Away with Me? That reminded me of that night I taught you how to slow dance for your date with…what was her name? Claudia?” She smirks.
“Yes, Claudia. Boy, was that a disaster.” I shake my head and chuckle. I was so sure she liked me, but as it turned out, she had just heard about my deal with Lovell Electronics, and she was just seeing dollar signs. It took me longer to realize than I’d like to admit. Claudia was the woman who taught me that not everyone is as they appear to be.
We pull into the parking lot of the restaurant, and I turn off the car. I grab the keys and my wallet, but Clair doesn’t move.
“What’s wrong?” She looks down at her lap.
“I don’t know why I never told you this…in fact, I’m not sure why it’s on my mind now. Except, maybe because you seem so happy with Tabitha. I feel like you guys are getting pretty serious.” She shrugs.
“Sh
e’s great. I mean, I don’t know what that means for the future, but right now? Yeah, things are really good. You and Cole are the ones who seem to be getting serious.” I’ve never seen him as serious about anyone as he seems to be about her.
“Maybe…but anyway, it’s been on my mind, so I thought I’d tell you.”
“What is it, Clair? You can tell me anything, you know that.” I turn to face her in my seat.
Clair casts her eyes at me sheepishly from the side. “It’s just…back then, when I was teaching you to dance that night…I know it was a long time ago, but,” she pauses, sucking in her bottom lip and raking her teeth across it before continuing. “I was jealous of her, ya know.”
“Claudia? Why on earth would you be jealous of her?”
“Because, she was going on a date with you, Dex. I…might’ve had a little crush on you back then.” She looks up and shakes her head back and forth. “I know, it’s dumb. You never saw me that way, and we’re so good as friends. I just…I don’t know why, but I just wanted you to know that.”
For a moment, as I look into her beautiful blue eyes, the whole world stops spinning. I am having trouble processing her words, and I think, for just a moment, I forget how to breathe.
“You…,” I shake my head. “I’m sorry, say that again?”
“You heard me.” She chuckles softly. “It’s just that, well, I guess I wanted to be sure you knew that, even back then, I always thought you were the same good-looking, funny, sexy guy that Tabitha sees today.”
Clair doesn’t look at me, but reaches over and squeezes my hand. “Was that weird to say? Should I not have told you that?”
I tug on her hand and reach up, turning her face to meet my gaze. “It’s not weird. You know I’ve always cared about you, Clair. It means a lot to me that you’d share that. Just so I understand, though, that was just in the past? You’re happy with Cole?”
She smiles. “We’re…good. I don’t know why I even told you that.”
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