Page 32 of Dating the DILF
Her correction makes me chuckle, but it quickly stops when I notice the lack of warmth in her first message. I know she’s at work, but we’ve been texting regularly for weeks now, and she’s never normally that short.
“Everything okay?” Camden asks.
I realize Shannon has gone inside while I was messaging, and I make a note to go and check on Lulu in a minute.
“I don’t know, she sounds a bit off,” I admit, reluctantly.
“I wouldn’t worry about it.” He shrugs. “I mean, it’s only been, what? Twelve hours since you last saw her? And all she’s done since then is sleep and work. She’s probably just busy and doesn’t have time to be sexting her DILF boyfriend.” He waggles his eyebrows at me in a disturbing way.
“Yeah, I guess so.” My mind is already replaying last night. After the exceptional sex, we were headed back to the ballroom when she was stopped by that woman in the lobby who I presume is a client. Charlie joined me a few minutes later and she was a bit distracted, but when I questioned her, she just rolled her eyes and made a joke about demanding clients.
I had hoped we would spend the night together, but when the party came to an end, Charlie apologized, explaining she needed to get some sleep before work today.
I wrack my brain trying to figure out what could have happened, but she seemed fine. Distracted, but fine.
“Daddy!” Lulu yells from inside. “It’s pengwin time, let’s go!”
Camden shakes his head, laughing. “You need to watch her, man. Every time I see her, she reminds me of Grayson a little more.”
“Watch your fucking mouth.” I smirk. “That’s my baby girl you’re comparing to a walking nightmare.”
I turn to head inside. “All right, kid. Let’s go see the pengwins.”
“Hi, you’ve reached Charlotte Reed. Please leave a message and I’ll get back to you as soon as possible. Thank you.”
“Hey, uh, it’s me. I just wanted to see how your day was. I got stuck watching penguins for forty-five minutes at the aquarium before Lulu got bored and demanded to come home. So, yeah, uh, that was my day. Anyway, call me when you get a chance.”
I end the call with a sense of dread simmering in my gut. A feeling that I have no plausible explanation for other than instinct.
I load the dishwasher, pausing halfway through to turn on the television, flicking through the channels looking for a game. Instead, I findMiss Congenialityand I allow Sandy B to do her thing and cheer me up.
This is the time of day that I hate the most. After a full-on day at the clinic or with Lulu, the silence after I have put her to sleep is always so overwhelmingly loud.
I have just slumped onto the sofa, remote in hand, when my phone vibrates against my ass. I pull it out of my pocket and grin like a psycho when I see Charlie’s name lit up on the screen. Quickly unlocking my screen, I open her message and the smile slips from my face.
Charlie: Busy day, not feeling good, talk soon.
Something is definitely not right here. Whether she’s blowing me off or she really is sick. I’m about to get to the bottom of it. Checking the time, I wince. Dad is not a night person and this favor is going to cost me.
Miles: Can you come over and watch Lulu for me?
Dad: Does this have something to do with your girl that you’ve yet to tell me about?
Jesus Christ, Grayson has a big mouth.
Miles: Yes.
Dad: Be there in twenty.
My hand hovers over the play button, and as I’ve done countless times during the last twenty-four hours, I start the video.
Miles fills my laptop screen, followed by a gaggle of stunning women. He’s laughing as they all vie for his attention at some kind of party. The sound is off, but I have watched it enough times to know it by heart. Superficial flirting and thoughtless promises are thrown at him by vapid beauties who show more enthusiasm talking to the camera than they do him.
I’m pretty upset, so there is a chance my opinion is biased but I’m too far gone to care.
I stop the video and pull up a different one. This one features an interview with Aspen Teller. I fast-forward to the part where grainy footage of Miles pulling a girl into his room is displayed while Aspen’s voice plays over it.
“I trusted him. He was telling me everything I wanted to hear, promising me the world.” Her voice becomes choked up and the screen cuts back to her, sitting dignified while tears fall down her highlighted cheeks. “He told me he knew I was the woman for him from the start and it killed him to have to proceed with the show, dating those other women when he was in love with me.” She looks off to the side, looking sadly lost in her thoughts. “When he didn’t pick me, I was devastated. When I was told that he didn’t choose Karlie either, I was shocked.” She turns and looks at the interviewer who is off-screen. “But when I found out he was fucking the makeup artist throughout the entire show, I was furious.”
