Page 16 of Unstoppable You (Sapph in the City #6)

Chapter Sixteen

James

Our plates were empty, but we hadn’t stopped talking. Once Delaney had gotten started telling me about some of her favorite very strange romances, I was riveted. Not just on what she said, but the way her mouth moved and her eyes and the sound of her laugh. I drank her in, barely letting my eyes leave her face even to blink. I had to keep reminding myself that any time she could decide to tell me to fuck off and I might never see her again. I had to make the most of every moment.

Our server came and asked about dessert and I wasn’t necessarily in the mood for something sweet, but if it would keep Delaney here with me, I’d eat an entire cake by myself. One bite at a time.

“Yeah, I think I need something sweet. If that’s okay with you?” she asked me.

“As long as we split it.”

I let Delaney select the s’mores cookie skillet which arrived piled high with ice cream, drenched in chocolate and marshmallow sauce, and with sprinkles and crushed graham crackers.

It was a masterpiece and it made my teeth hurt just to look at it.

“Oh my god, it’s huge,” Delaney said, her eyes going adorably wide as she picked up her spoon. “This is going to be a challenge.”

She gazed at me with determination burning in her eyes.

“Are you up for it?”

I picked up my spoon and held it in the air like a sword. “Bring it.”

We didn’t manage to finish the whole thing, so Delaney asked for a box and I said she could have the leftovers.

When the bill arrived, Delaney snatched it.

“We could have split it,” I said as she shoved her card in the book and set it back on the table for our server.

“Next time,” she said. I couldn’t stop my eyebrows from going up.

“Next time?” I asked.

“Next time,” she nodded.

Oh.

* * *

Delaney and I walked back toward the gym together. “Where are you parked?”

“I walked,” she said.

“Do you want a ride? My car is right there.” I pointed a few spaces away where I’d somehow managed to snag an on-street spot.

She shrugged. “Sure.”

For the few steps it took to reach my car, I panicked that there was something embarrassing inside.

I unlocked the doors and blurted out “sorry, it’s a mess,” before Delaney shoved herself into the passenger seat with her bag and her rolled up yoga mat.

Chucking my stuff in the backseat, I winced at the amount of random crap scattered around. A bag of old clothes I intended to donate to the thrift store, a box with something I was supposed to return but had forgotten about, more than a few receipts and spare napkins. My car wasn’t dirty, but it was messy. There was a difference.

Delaney didn’t seem to mind, and she hummed softly to herself as I pulled out of the space and onto the street.

“So, um, where do you live?” I asked, realizing I hadn’t asked her.

“Oh, sorry.” She gave me the address and I put it into my phone that I set in the holder attached to the dash. A detached British voice told me to turn left at the next intersection.

I was going to see where Delaney lived, and I was trying not to read too much into that. She wasn’t going to be inviting me up for coffee or anything, so it wasn’t that big a deal. Still. It was another peek into her life. Another layer of her that I was getting a peek at.

Less than three minutes later, we had arrived. She really did live close to the gym.

Her building was brick and rectangular and pretty nondescript, but it looked homier and nicer than so many of the newer construction gray boxes that had popped up around the city.

“It’s not the best, but it’s not the worst,” Delaney said, her hand on the door. “Um, thanks for the ride. I guess… I’ll see you later?”

I gripped the steering wheel with both hands and told my heart to calm the fuck down. It had gotten confused and had decided this was the end of a date and there was the possibility of a kiss.

There was absolutely not going to be a kiss. Not in a million years.

“Yeah, you’re welcome. And thanks for the burger. It was just what I needed.”

“Okay, bye.” She pushed the door open and I watched her walk into her building. I stayed in my spot until I was sure she was safe inside.

My phone lit up with a message.

Going to eat this in bed later Delaney sent with a picture of the box with the leftover cookie in it.

I’m jealous I responded before I put on my blinker and drove back to my own apartment.

* * *

I found myself at Sapph a few hours later moping about Delaney. And the only reason I knew I was moping about Delaney was because the bartender asked me why I looked so down.

“Do you have a drink for when you’ve developed a devastating crush on a straight girl?” I yelled over the music. She gave me a sad smile and said she’d take care of me.

“It’s called the Heartbreaker,” she told me when she pushed the deep red drink in front of me.

“Perfect,” I told her and opened a tab.

Usually, I’d be scoping out a cutie to dance with at this point in my night, but Delaney had ruined me for everyone else. No matter who I looked at, I couldn’t help but compare everyone with Delaney and she always came out as the better choice.

Except she wasn’t a choice because she was straight .

I caught the eye of a pretty woman with curly hair who looked like she was going to come over to me, but I broke eye contact and sipped at my drink. It was rich and a little smoky. Different than what I would have ordered, but I liked it. And it was appropriate, given the circumstances.

She’d find someone else who wasn’t falling for a straight girl like me.

Maybe I shouldn’t have come out tonight. My time might have been better spent at home on the couch with one of the bizarre romance books Delaney had told me about. I’d downloaded a bunch of them and was truly skeptical, but I could have live-reacted to them in her messages.

Sighing, I finished my drink and decided I might as well make it an early night when I turned around and saw a flash of blonde hair. Just another Delaney Doppelg?nger. She had many, but no one was as stunning as she was.

Except…this person was definitely a similar height to Delaney. I pushed my way through the crowd without seeing anyone else but the person who was paying her cover and looking around the bar with a little bit of fear and apprehension under the neon lights of the Sapph sign at the front.

Holy fucking shit.

It was Delaney Budreau.