Page 38 of Dare You to See Me
“But A.J. said–”
“Dahlia,” I warn with the look that only mom’s can give.
“Autumn Jade!” Camille shouts and A.J.’s little body jerks in our direction.
Camille crooks her finger and A.J. drags her feet to where we sit. Her little body is drenched, from her purple swimsuit with horses and butterflies, to her long brown hair that drips from the ends.
“Did you invite Dahlia to sleepover without asking HendrixorDaddy and I?” A.J.’s shoulders rise and fall and her bottom lip quivers.
“She asked me, Camille. I, um…” Hendrix places his hands on her shoulders and squeezes.
“You just can’t say no to her,” Dagen finishes with a smile.
Hendrix smiles back and winks, then lifts A.J. up and plops her down on his shoulder like a princess. It’s a funny sight, a tattooed biker treating this little girl like she’s made of glass.
“That is extremely nice of you, but I don’t think Dahlia is ready for sleepovers quite yet.” Dahlia opens her mouth to protest and I clamp my hand over it. “How about we just have fun tonight, and maybe next time when we can plan it better, you girls can have a sleepover. Yeah?”
I look at both girls who quickly change from sad and disappointed to bright smiles and bobbing heads.
“What did I miss?” Malik jogs over to us holding popsicles and hands them to the girls.
“Oh nothing. Just two little girls planning to take over Hendrix’s house like it’s their own.” Camille laughs and watches A.J. lick the dripping popsicle from her fingers, but missing some that falls to Hendrix’s shoulder.
“We should all have a sleepover,” Malik cheers, then scans the faces of the ladies and backtracks. “Next time. We should have a sleepover next time. For now, who’s up for a game of cornhole? Soleil, you can be my partner.”
He takes my hand and pulls me to my feet. I can’t fight the smile that spreads from his touch.
“Too bad there’s not a pool table around,” I joke.
Malik pokes at my side then turns to his friends. “Don’t play pool with this one. She’s a swindler.” His eyes wander back to mine and transform from funny to flirty. “She’ll blind you with her beauty and you won’t even see it coming.”
I let my hand drop from his, suddenly feeling like I’m gripping a live wire and needing to collect myself. He’s right about one thing; I never saw Malik Dare coming. And now that he’s here, I’ll be hard pressed to keep my distance.
EIGHTEEN
MALIK
Sunny girl: We made it home. Thank you so much, again, for the invite. We had a great time.
I quickly typeout a response and send it off.
Me: Thank you for accepting my offer to join us. And don’t forget to let me know what evening works better for you. I look forward to dinner.
I smile at my phone and quickly darken the screen as I pocket it and move farther behind the large bush that sits close to her house. I squint my eyes under the black visor, working to bring the world into focus as I hide in the darkness.
I take a moment to recall the conversation I had with Soleil as she was leaving.
“Thank you for carrying her.”I held a sleeping Dahlia as we walked to her vehicle, the little girl’s arms thrown over my shoulder and her head lolling off to the side.“I think she only lasted ten minutes into the movie before she and A.J. cuddled up and fell asleep.”
“She and A.J. sure made fast friends,”I added as I gingerly placed Dahlia in her carseat and let Soleil buckle her in.
“Dagen called it,”she laughed.“She said they’d be besties before the night was over.”
“Are you sure you don’t want me to follow you home? It’s late.”I asked her, hating the idea of the two of them arriving home alone at this hour.
“We’ll be fine. I’m used to going home alone.”Her eyes found mine, brown meeting gray.“Thank you, again, for inviting us. We had a great time.”
I smiled and shoved my hands into my pockets, a little weary about what I was about to do next.“I’m glad you guys made it. I, um..”My hands were sweating and my skin was itching with nervous energy.“Would you like to go to dinner with me sometime?”
