Page 24 of Dare You to Run
It’s so opposite of who I know Malik to really be. But this isn’t Malik Dare, or King as many ladies call him. The man that stands in front of me is Mr. Dare, beloved kindergarten teacher.
“What the fuck are you talking about?” I push away from my desk, leaning back in my black leather chair with the word DARE etched in blue, and cross my arms over my chest.
“Dagen. D said if you aren’t going to make your move that he’s planning to. And from what I can sense, I don’t think you want that to happen.”
I screw up my face at him and let my eyes scan him up and down. “Are you a clairvoyant or something? How can you ‘sense’ that I don’t want D to make a move on her?”
With a cocky smirk, he crosses his arms and leans against the door frame. “Henny…you act like I haven’t known you for practically my whole life. I know what you look like when you want something. You, Mr. Dare,wantDagen. And the fact that she’s under your roof and you haven’t made a move tells me you aren’t just thinking of her for a quick fuck. That would’ve happened before she had a chance to step foot out of this shop if that’s all you wanted.”
“Get the fuck out of here with that shit.” I grip the edge of my desk and tug my chair along.
I’m pissed and it’s only because he’s right. If all I wanted was to fuck Dagen and move on, I would’ve had her feet in the air before I even towed her car. Usually the lip bite has women dropping to their knees, but my attitude towards her was adeterrent. It was the only way to keep me from falling to my knees.
“She’s a kid, Mal. Not my type.”
He walks in and plops down on my chair and kicks his feet up on my desk. “She don’t look like no fucking kid. That girl is all woman and fucking christ, she’s dolly.”
My fingers pound on the keyboard and steam billows from my nose. He’s right and he knows he is, that prick. But that doesn’t mean I’m about to do anything about it. She’ll be gone in two weeks and until then, I’ll keep my distance. She can spend time with Kins and I’ll stay busy with the guys. Maybe even find someone else to feed the hunger. But not Dagen.
“So you’re just going to let D take a shot?”
My jaw clenches and I hear a ringing in my ears. Thinking of Danté touching her, kissing her, fucking her makes me sick. Not because he’s a slimeball, but because I don’t want anyone else touching her. It’s irrational, I know, but it doesn’t make it any less true.
“I don’t know what you want me to do about it. If he wants to ask her out, then it’s up to her.” He snorts and I look up from my keyboard. “What?”
“Well if you don’t care, I’ll go ahead and give him the green light. I think he wants to ask her to go to Truth and Dare Inc tonight.” That has me lifting my eyes to meet his.
Truth and Dare Inc is the bar that we all co-own, however Danté runs more of the day to day operations just as I do this shop and Malik does with our finances and legal shit. He’s the number guy. Obviously D and I are more of the hands-on dirty kind of guys.
“Wanna go?” He asks me and I feel like I may jump out of my skin.
I play it off with a shrug then go back to pretending to work. “Yeah. Sure. She’ll probably ask Kins to go with her, so we might as well, so that she doesn’t feel like a third wheel.”
“Right. That’s the reason we’re going.” Malik’s feet thud on the floor when he drops them from my desk and stands from his seat. “I better get back to class. I told my assistant that I had an appointment off campus and needed an extra thirty minutes for lunch today.”
He smooths down his shirt and pants and leaves through the door. As he goes, he yells out, “If Danté gets his way, don’t worry about her going back to your place tonight.”
I ball my hands into fists and hear my knuckles crack. It’s going to be a long night and I worry that my teeth may end up dust by the time it’s all over.
TEN
I stand lookingout of my front window, waiting for the moment I see Danté driving up. I ignored all of his calls and texts today because I couldn’t guarantee that I wouldn’t tell him to fuck off after hearing from Kinsley that he did, in fact, ask Dagen out. Kins sent me a text that read‘Boy, you better have one helluva good reason for letting D ask Dagen out before you. See you later.’I didn’t bother replying to her either. I simply continued to read the conversation between Danté and Mal with all of the details and ending with them meeting here at my house.
I can hear a distant laughter from where Kins and Dagen get ready in the loft, and I have to close my eyes and count backwards from ten just to keep from punching through this window. My nails dig into my palms the tighter I clench my fists and my ring pinches the thin skin between my fingers.
The rumble of an engine blasts through my irritated mood and I see bright lights grow closer. It seems Danté decided to forego his bike tonight and drove his sleek black McLaren Spider. A two-seater that will only allow for he and Dagen to ride in.
Bastard.
I hear the soft click of heels and look over my shoulder to see Kinsley and Dagen walking down the main staircase and I fucking die.
Kins leads the way, a sly smile on her face, with Dagen right behind her. She wears figure hugging jeans that show off her drool inducing curves. In her right hand she holds a black leather jacket that I hope she never puts on because then I won’t be able to stare at her luscious tits that are covered by a black bra that can be seen through a sheer black, long sleeved shirt or bodysuit or whatever the fuck. It’s sexy as hell and I want to rip it to shreds.
Instead of heels that I would expect a girl to wear when going out to a bar, she wears black boots that lace up and to be honest, they’re sexier than a pair of heels.
Kins comes to stand right in front of me and looks up. “Well?” she asks, her twang thick and sweet.
“Well what, McKinsley?”
