I only had a drop of syrup and still didn’t eat much of my meal. I had half of the pancake and picked at the eggs. I noticed I’d gained some weight since I’d started seeing Heath exclusively, from all the meals we had when I wouldn’t have eaten anything at all. It wasn’t enough to alarm me or affect my performance, but if I continued to let it happen, my outfits for the ballet would no longer fit and I would have a problem. “When are you going to invite me to your place?”
It was a four-seater cheap table, so he sat in the chair next to me, slightly turned my way. He grabbed his coffee and took a drink. “I already said you can come whenever you want. I gave you a key.” He leaned back in the chair and looked into the living room, spotting the golden key that he’d left on the table a week ago.
“I’m not you. I’m not just gonna barge in.”
“Well, you should.”
I’d been to his house once, but I only saw a small part of it. I had no idea what went on in that place, what I might walk in on. “What if I walk in there and—”
He stopped eating and gave me a fierce look. “I have nothing to hide.” His deep voice shattered the comfort of our conversation, reminding me that he was a wild bull who could rear its head at any moment. “Come and go as you please. I mean that.”
I did like this transparency, that he didn’t play games like other men. According to my friends, most men treated commitment like a disgusting disease, but Heath opened himself to me completely. “I just meant with your line of work…is that a safe place for me to be?”
His wrath diminished. “Probably the safest place in the world. I have a lot of different residences that I visit across the city, so if anyone is watching me, it’s hard to figure out where I actually live. And my homes have the highest level of protection. I’ll give you the address.” He continued to eat, placing large bites in his mouth.
“I remember where you live.”
“You saw it one time.” His eyes were on his food. “And you weren’t in the right state of mind.”
“I have a photographic memory.”
He stopped chewing for a moment, his eyes immediately flicking back to me. He finished his bite and swallowed. “Really?”
I nodded. “I can look at something once and recall it in detail for a long period of time. So, yes, I remember where you live.”
“Why didn’t you mention this before?”
I pushed aside my half-eaten plate and brought my coffee closer. “I don’t know… We don’t talk much.”
He stared at me for a while as if he was impressed, then continued to eat. “Does Damien have a photographic memory?”
“No.”
“Makes sense. You seem to be a lot more intelligent than he is.”
It was a comment I would make to my brother myself, but my eyes narrowed at the insult.
“You are. I don’t feel bad for saying it.” He finished everything on his plate when he scooped his last big bite into his mouth. “And it’s pretty hot…being with a smart woman.”
And just like that, I stopped being mad at him.
He pulled his phone out of his pocket and typed something on a blank page before he pushed it toward me. It was a combination of eight numbers.
I looked at it. “What is that?”
“The code to the main doors.” He pulled the phone back. “Enter that into the keypad first.”
“Then what’s the key for?”
“The second security check. The code unlocks a different set of locks, but you need the key to open the final one. That way, no one can just hack in to my system.” He slipped the phone back into his pocket and continued to drink his coffee.
Now that Damien had been mentioned, I knew it was only a matter of time before Heath mentioned the events that transpired last night. But he leaned back in the chair, showing sleepy eyes and a relaxed position, like that was the last thing on his mind. His fingers were wrapped around the handle of his mug as he stared at my stove.
Maybe he wasn’t going to mention it.
My eyes roamed over his body, the body I’d touched last night. He didn’t seem to have a single scar from whatever had happened, getting out of the situation completely untouched. I just hoped Damien had met the same fate. “I think I’m gonna see him today…check on him.”
His eyes moved back to mine. “I had to hit him a couple times, but he’s fine. Minor injuries.”
“I know, but…”
“And how will you explain your visit?”
I shrugged. “I stop by to see my father all the time. It’s not unusual.”
When I mentioned my father, he looked away.
“And you’re okay?”
He stared at his coffee for a few seconds before he turned back to me, his blue eyes noticeably brighter in the morning as the sunlight came through the windows. “I’m fine, baby.” He held my gaze for a second before he turned back to his coffee and took a drink.
I hated how much I cared about him, how he softened me so quickly. It’d only been a few weeks, and I cared for him as much as I cared about my own family. How did this happen?
“I have to go.” He rose from his seat and carried the dishes to the sink.
I was disappointed, but I was also anxious to see Damien, to see that he was well with my own eyes.
He cleared my plate too but left my coffee behind before he walked into the bedroom and put on his clothes.
I hated watching him leave. It was painful every time for whatever reason.
When he returned, I got out of my chair and met him by the front door, wearing little shorts and my usual tank. I could tell his mood was different after what had happened last night, but I couldn’t determine how, couldn’t figure out how he felt about everything. I didn’t ask because I didn’t want him to ask me in return.
His hand slid into my hair, and he tilted my chin up so our gazes could lock. His large hand overtook my neck and my jawline, warm and demanding, and it was so sexy when he touched me this way, wasn’t afraid to claim me as his. “Come over tonight.”
The pain of his departure was suddenly gone, and now I wasn’t afraid of how he felt about last night. He didn’t push me away. He didn’t put up any walls. He wasn’t afraid of what my gesture meant. “Alright.”
“I should be home around seven. Come by any time after that.”
“Alright.”
He leaned down and gave me a purposeful kiss with those demanding lips, moving my mouth with his, gently pulling my bottom lip between his before he breathed into me. His hand pulled away first, and he opened his eyes to stare at me, as if he loved the look in my eyes when I kissed him.
Then he pulled away.
I let him go, paralyzed by how good that kiss was.
After he opened the door, he gave me a playful smack on the ass then headed down the hallway.
I watched him walk away like I always did, missing him more and more the farther away he was.
Two
Catalina
I joined my father for a late lunch even though I’d just eaten, sitting across from him in the dining room as the sun blanketed the floor from the windows. The warm weather of summer was still here, but it was fading fast, the days not nearly as long as they used to be. “Damien won’t be joining us?”