Page 46 of The Single Dad Dilemma

I play with her between my fingers, dipping one finger and then two inside her. I listen to her moan all the way to theparking lot of the bar, then I pull my hand away and cut the engine.

“Why’d you stop?” She pouts.

“We’re here,” I say simply.

“You’re such a tease,” she says in a whiny voice.

And maybe I am, but I really like doing it to her. The way she reacts to me makes everything so much fun.

I wrap my arm around her as we make our way inside. She spots Lyric at a table in the back, so we weave through groups of people until we reach her.

Darcy breaks away from me to embrace her friend, then introduces us.

“Lyric, this is Ridge. Ridge, this is my macabre best friend and roommate, Lyric,” she says.

Lyric takes my outstretched hand into hers and we shake.

“It’s nice to meet you,” she says. “I was really excited to meet the hot tattooed dad Darcy keeps talking about.”

“Lyric!” Darcy snaps before covering her mouth as she laughs.

Lyric shrugs and takes a sip of her bright pink drink. I can tell immediately that I’m going to like her. She’s got dark hair cut into a short bob and pale skin. Her left forearm has a tattoo of a raven, while her right one has a snake. Both are beautifully done. And her dress and shoes are somewhat reminiscent of Wednesday Addams, except for the light pink details. Her shoelaces, for example. And the little clips in her hair. It’s like an adult version of Wednesday but with a pastel touch. I don’t know how else to explain it.

“I’m very interested in what you do for work,” I admit to her.

“Do you want a tour?” she asks excitedly, her eyes growing wide.

“I would love that!”

After we high-five and listen to all the reasons Darcy won’t be joining me for the tour, I break away to the bar to get us drinks.

I couldn’t have been gone more than five minutes, but as I make my way back to our table, I spot the backside of a man standing in front of them and talking to Darcy.

The look on Lyric’s face tells me everything I need to know. She’s practically snarling at him. As I get closer, I realize he looks familiar, and all at once I know it’s Tyler.

I move to the left of him, sliding past and inserting myself between him and Darcy. I place our drinks on the table and kiss her lips. Tyler is cut off mid-sentence by the disruption and doesn’t say anything as I wrap my arm around her and look at him.

“Who is this?” he asks Darcy.

I pretend not to feel slighted by him not asking me directly. It’s such a passive-aggressive move. But he’s young, so I’m not surprised.

“This is Ridge,” she says, embracing my side and patting my chest as she leans into me.

“So what, he’s like your new boyfriend?” he asks. “This guy?”

Maybe I can ignore rude behavior once. Maybe I can give a strike two if I’m feeling really forgiving. But a third time? He won’t come out of this without getting his ass beat. So I throw him a bone.

“Hey, man,” I say, getting his attention. “I’m right here. If you have a question for me, ask me.” There. That wasn’t rude or anything.

“Are you her boyfriend?” He’s addressing me now.

I look down at Darcy. Her lips are pressed into a straight line, but I can tell she’s suppressing a smile.

“We haven’t really talked about labels,” she says, not taking her eyes from me.

“Oh, so you’re just letting this guy fuck you? Giving away the milk for free?” He belches out an incredibly annoying laugh, then takes a swig of his cheap bottled beer.

It’s a perfectly predictable drink choice for a guy like him.

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