Part of Your World(65)

“I’m sorry,” he said softly. “I know that’s not foreplay.”

I shook my head. “Yes,” I said quietly. “It is.”

I could tell he was smiling. “Gotta go. Need to put out appetizers.” He paused. “I miss you.”

It punched me in the heart. He’d never said that to me before.

This was another level, unlocked.

There was I miss you. I love you. Boyfriend, girlfriend, meet the family, live together, engaged.

Married…

But we’d never reach most of those levels. We’d never even come close.

I couldn’t even picture his truck parked in the driveway of my house. My homeowners’ association would probably give me a ticket.

For the first time in my life, I was in a situation where I knew I was making a terrible mistake. I was careening toward certain death at terminal velocity. But I couldn’t not do it. I knew continuing this thing with Daniel was pointless. There was no happy ending here. But I missed him. He missed me. And I wanted him to know it. At least tonight.

“I miss you too.”





Chapter 25

Daniel



Alexis sent me a picture of her from the neck down. Black silk robe, open in the front, lacy black underwear.

I practically ran back to my garage.

I’d never taken a dick pic before. I was getting ready when my phone rang. Doug.

“Hey, I can’t talk right now, I’m right in the middle of something,” I said.

“What are you in the middle of?”

“I’m…I’m taking a picture for Alexis.”

Silence.

“I’m coming over.”

“What? No. Don’t come over.”

I heard his screen door slam.

“I’m serious, Doug, I don’t need you.”

“Let me guess. You’re taking a top-down shot, using the flash, standing in your shitty garage bathroom, you can see your feet in the picture and you’re wearing socks.”

I looked down.

Shit.

I heard his engine turn over. “That’s what I thought. Don’t do anything until I get there.”

“Doug—”

“DON’T DO ANYTHING UNTIL I GET THERE.”

He hung up on me.

Fifteen minutes later Doug walked in. He had a ring light.

“No.” I shook my head. “I’m not using that shit.”

He walked past me into my workshop. “She’s going to show this to her friends. You want to send her a shitty dick pic? That’s what you want?”

I followed him over to my workbench. “She’s not showing it to her friends.”

“Daniel?” A female voice came out of Doug’s phone on speaker. “It’s Liz. She’s definitely going to show it to her friends.”

I threw up my hands. “What the hell?! You called Liz?”

He shrugged. “I had to borrow her ring light.”

I could hear her laughing, and I pinched the bridge of my nose. “This is so embarrassing,” I whispered.

“What’s embarrassing is sending a dick pic that all her friends make fun of. This is fucking important,” he said, shoving his phone with Liz on speaker into my hand. “Literally everyone she knows is about to see the goods, you can’t mess this up.”

I shook my head. “You’re not helping me take this picture.”

He looked at me like I was speaking in tongues. “I’m not taking your damn dick pic. I’m setting you up, giving you all the tools, and you’re taking it.”

Liz came over the line. “Okay, so listen, there is an art to this.”

I lolled my head back and stared at the ceiling.

“You need to hold it,” Liz said. “Don’t just let it hang there by itself all lonely.”

“Grip it by the base,” Doug said, miming it with his hand. “But don’t do that thing where you squeeze your balls to make it look bigger. She’s seen it, she already knows.”

I snorted.

“Don’t get a close-up. It’s way too aggressive,” Liz said. “Try and get your abs in there, maybe a little thigh or some side butt. Women like that. Double-check the background. No dirty laundry or a TV on. Do not, under any circumstances, take this pic wearing only a shirt. It’s extremely creepy. You can be wearing pants or boxers sort of pulled down, but no shirt. And don’t put a ruler next to it.”

I scoffed. “Men put a ruler by it?”

“All. The. TIME,” she said.

Doug shook his head. “Rookie shit. And manscape,” he said, setting up the light. “It’ll make it look bigger.”

I blew out a breath. “Anything else?” I asked reluctantly.

Doug was standing back with one eye closed, his hands in front of him, framing a section of my tool wall. “I think here’s good. Manly. She sees the tools in the background, makes her think of getting nailed.”

Liz laughed through the phone. “I’m hanging up now. Good luck!” And then from the background, “GOOD LUCK!”

She was at the bar. With everyone.

I put my face into my hand.

It took me twenty minutes, but I got the picture and sent it to Alexis. She called me five minutes later, whispering.