Page 15 of Stay With Me
Hanging up, I check the time. It’s ten, so I still have a couple of hours to kill. I’m a little hungry, but I can wait to eat.
Grabbing my laptop, I sit on the couch and spend some time answering and sending emails.
My cell rings again, but this time I do look at the caller ID. My stomach drops as a wave of guilt hits me. It’s my daughter. “Hey, sweetie,” I answer the phone, leaning back against the couch. “How are you doing?”
“I’m good. Going to work soon, but I wanted to call and see if we could grab dinner tomorrow night.”
“Tomorrow night sounds perfect.”
“Yay. Is it still alright if Ava comes with?” she asks, sounding unsure. I agreed to let Ava come along before I opened the door and found her standing there like my wet dream.
How am I supposed to sit there and have dinner with my daughter while having her best friend next to her, whom I’m sleeping with?
Even though I do feel bad for lying to my little girl, I don’t regret last night or my plans with Ava for the rest of the week. We’re both consenting adults who wanted it to happen.
“Yeah.” I clear my throat. “I don’t see why not.”
“Okay, good.” I can hear her sigh with relief.
“How is she anyway? Ava, I mean?” I close my eyes and curse myself for asking.
“She’s doing good. She graduated not too long ago from nursing school, now she’s looking for a job at the hospital. She hasn’t found anything yet, but she’s been filling out a lot of applications and going out to a ton of interviews while still working at the diner.”
“Wow. She sounds busy. Must be hard for her to date with everything going on.” Why, Roman? Why are you talking? Just shut up.
Tasha giggles. “Nah, Ava is a hopeless romantic. She’s still waiting for some handsome older man to sweep her off her feet and make her his world. Don’t tell her I told you that, though.”
“I would never,” I reply, a smile curving my lips.
I feel like a shitty parent, lying to her about what I did with her best friend. I hope she understands if she ever finds out. I really don’t want her to hate me.
“So, what are your plans for today?”
“Actually, I’m just about to leave and head over to have lunch with Connor.”
“You’re seeing Connor today?” she asks, her voice changing a bit. What’s that about? “How is he doing?”
“Busy. But good.”
“Does he have a girlfriend?”
“Not that I know of... why are you asking, Tasha?”
“No reason,” she rushes out. “Have fun. Love you. See you tomorrow.” She hangs up before I can say anything else.
Brows furrowed, I stare at the black screen. That was weird.
When Tasha was young, she used to have a crush on Connor. It was kind of adorable, and Connor thought it was sweet. She refused to call him Uncle Connor and insisted they would get married one day. We used to laugh at that. It was cute.
Thankfully, as she grew older, she grew out of that crush. I don’t think she’s seen Connor for over five years now, come to think of it. He’s been living a pretty busy life.
Closing up my laptop, I send a quick text to Jeremy, my driver, before grabbing my wallet and keys.
The restaurant is thankfully not too busy, and I find Connor sitting at one of the tables against the windows near the front. “Hey, man,” he greets me with a bright smile, getting up and giving me a strong hug.
“Hey to you,” I say, taking a seat across from him. “You’re looking good.”
“Thank you.” He runs a hand through his bright blonde locks. “How are you doing, man? It’s been too long.”