Page 21

Tina

A s the days pass, Dustin’s mood seems to change like the weather. Today he’s cloudy with a chance of thunderstorms, and if he snaps at me one more time, I’m liable to wring his neck. Or rip his clothes off. Both options seem appealing.

At three p.m. I march into his office and inform him that I’ll be leaving work early. Alone.

He shakes his head. “Ben will drive you.”

It’s been a week since I was drugged, and I haven’t had a moment of peace since. If not Dustin, then either Ben or Rosa has been keeping watch over me, and it’s both sweet and irritating. “Seriously, I can just call for a ride.”

His jaw ticks, but he doesn’t say a word and I know it’s pointless to argue further. I park my ass in a chair and wait, loving how his gaze zeroes in on my legs when I cross them, like he can’t help himself.

Within minutes, Ben arrives, almost like he’s been on standby. He smiles sheepishly and shrugs. “Let’s go, sunshine.”

Sighing, I gather my things and follow Ben out of the office, flipping Dustin a middle finger over my shoulder when he shouts he wants spaghetti and meatballs for dinner.

In the elevator, Ben throws back his head and laughs. “You two are funny.”

“Yeah, hilarious.”

The boy may be a full-grown man now, but one thing hasn’t changed, Dustin Case is barely housebroken. I survey his bedroom, taking in the unmade bed and clothes scattered everywhere. With my finger and thumb, I pick up the third pair of dirty boxers from his floor, tossing them into the laundry basket on my hip. Doing laundry isn’t what I envisioned when I accepted this job, but there are worse ways to make money, right? Besides, Dustin has been making all our meals, so I can’t really complain.

I’ve just set the dial on the washing machine and pushed start when Ben appears in the doorway, thumbing towards Dustin’s room over his shoulder. “I can’t believe such a sexy package is such a slob.” He flips his hair out of his eyes. “I sure dodged that bullet.”

Within minutes of meeting Ben, he told me all about the major crush he had on Dustin. But the second he met Raul it was like, Dustin who? I pat his chest, humoring him. “You sure did.” He follows me to the kitchen and takes a seat at the island, propping his chin in his hands. “You staying for dinner?” I choose the spaghetti and meatballs from the stack of meals Dustin prepped and preheat the oven per his written instructions. What? It sounded good and it doesn’t hurt to appeal to Dustin’s Dr. Jekyll side.

“Wish I could, but I have a date with my hunky fighter.”

“I’m surprised Dustin’s okay with you leaving me alone.”

Ben laughs. “Oh, he flipped his shit when I told him, but I reminded him you were a big girl and could manage to be alone for a few hours.” He bends to search my face. “You can manage, right?”

Can I? I wasn’t okay at first, but as the days went by, I began to feel more like myself. As much as I like my friend’s company, the thought of having some time alone with Dustin tonight is appealing. I try not to seem too eager for Ben to leave as I wave his concern away.

I look at my phone when a text comes through. My heart begins to skip out of control, anticipating some snarky message from Dustin, only to come to a screeching halt when I see it’s not from him.

CLIFF: Hey, girl. You going to the team-building night?

I’m busy trying to figure out why his “hey, girl” is so off-putting, but hearing Dustin call me “mouse” gets me hot and bothered, when Ben proves there are no boundaries in our friendship by reading my message.

He makes a gagging sound. “‘Hey, girl?’ Blech.” I shove him away, but he comes right back, perching his chin on my shoulder.

ME: I think so.

CLIFF: Looking forward to seeing you.

Ben scoffs. “Jeez, get the hint, dude, she’s just not that into you.”

“Shush.”

“What? It’s true. Besides it’s not like he can hear me.” He yanks the phone out of my hands. “Let me handle this, sunshine.” Before I can react, he’s already hitting send with whatever he wrote.

I rub my hand down my face, groaning. “Please tell me you weren’t mean.”

“On the contrary. I told him you were sexually frustrated because your boss hasn’t fucked you and could Cliff please come over and let you ride his dick.”

My jaw drops. “You didn’t.”

He giggles. “No, silly. Here.”

I brace myself before reading the message he sent, sighing in relief when I see it’s a tasteful It will be nice to see you too. “Not bad.”

Ben waves a hand, dismissing me. “I’ve got you.”

For the next few minutes Cliff and I text back and forth mundane things while Ben types away on his own phone, probably sexting with Raul. I lift the pen away from the pad I’ve been scribbling on, seeing Dustin’s name doodled all over it. I huff and toss it into a drawer.

Ben chuckles. “You can’t hide it forever, sunshine.”