Page 24 of Until Next Time
Casey: Okay drama kings. Dawsen, don’t be lame. River, stop being a pest.
Birdie:Sorry, I’m working and I don’t want my boss to find out I’m texting, wasting valuable painting time. ;)
Birdie:Anyways, I have a date tonight and if it goes well, maybe I can invite him to join us? He’s Max. One of Dawsen’s old friends.
Casey:You have seriously got to do a better job of keeping me in the loop. When were you going to tell me about this mysterious hottie!?
River:Max? Like Max from summer camp?
And… there it is. She has a date. Tonight. My stomach feels like an empty pit. WithMax.
Dawsen:Yep. That’s the one.
Birdie:HA! I’m sorry, I’ve been busy. Maybe you can meet him tomorrow. I’ll call you tonight after the date and fill you in on the details.
River:He’s kind of a player, Bird.
Birdie:I’m sorry, is this River? The man who invented that game?
Casey:HA HA. Ooh, do you need ice for that burn, Riv?
River:You’re such a brat, Casey!
The thought of being at a concert tomorrow with Birdie and Max might make me physically ill. I’d love to fake an injury or tell them I’m gonna need to stay back and take care of a few things, but I’m going to be there, and I’m going to make sure he doesn’t fucking mess with her.
Dawsen:I’ll be there.
Birdie:I’ll call you later Casey!
I put my head down and get to work, trying to distract myself front the events of the next 48 hours.
* * *
A gentle tapping on my office door pulls me from my focus and I glance at my watch, it’s 5:30.
“Come in.” I say plainly and finish submitting the shipment I was working on.
“Hi, I hope I’m not interrupting.” Birdie’s voice fills up my office as she slips through the door. “What’s up?” I ask, trying not to look up, trying to seem detached from anything pertaining to her. Even though I’m feeling very territorial over her, and hating that she’s going out with Max tonight.
“I was wondering if maybe I could use your bathroom to change and freshen up? I’m going out for drinks tonight with your friend Max, and I got in a fight with a paint can today. I lost the battle, as you can see.” As she signals down her paint covered clothes. I hate how she keeps referring to him as my friend, because at this point I pretty much detest the guy.
“I wouldn’t really consider him afriend” I pause for a beat and continue, “But yeah, that’s fine. I’ll show you up.” I push up off my chair a little bit more aggressively than I intended.
“Okay… Are you fine?” She asks, brows furrowed, looking so fucking adorably concerned with my attitude.
“I’m good, Birdie. Come on. You don’t want to be late” I say with a bitterness I’m trying to hide as I lead her out of my office, and down the hallway to the staircase leading up to my loft.
19
Birdie
“Sorry about the mess, I wasn’t expecting anyone today.” Dawsen huffs out as he leads me through his loft apartment—his very clean, barely cluttered, loft apartment.
I can’t help but feel like a giddy school girl getting a glimpse of his inner sanctum. I know I wasn’t actually invited up here—it wasn’t his idea, yet I still feel like I’ve been invited to the inner workings of his mind or something. Even though I’m just using his shower and his mirror, it still feels like holy ground. I had to dig my fingernails into the palm of my hand to distract me from the thought of being in Dawsen’s shower. Where he spends his time naked. Nails, meet palm. These thoughts invading my brain while I’m about to go on a date with another man seems wholly inappropriate, but I’m at a loss for what to do about that. I’m just trying to rip the band-aid off. The metaphorical, moving on from my unrequited crush, bandaid. Ouch.
Dawsen’s always been a pretty private person, I know that the only people that come up here are Stephanies and the like, and I know they’re gone before the sun comes up. I only know this because, well, everyone knows this. He’s always had this reputation. He started working on it back in his high school days. Although in high school it was sneaking in through the front door when his parents went off to bed, and these days, they waltz right in through the winery and right up the stairs.
I used to day dream about him askingmeto be one of his high school sneak ins. He’d quietly lead me up to his bedroom, we’d have to tiptoe past his parents room, walking carefully so none of the hardwood floor boards squeaked, and then when we shut his door behind us, he’d press me up against the door, his mouth would crash into mine with the force of intense need and desire, and he would just take me. Take all of me. My virginity, my heart.
