Page 64 of Flawless

“It was, and I may have been wrong for that.”

“It’s also been eleven months since I’ve been with a woman, and I can’t help that I’m horny as hell.”

“Oh.”

“What about you?”

She glances away and says, “Isn’t this the stuff we were supposed to discuss before we came together again?”

“Yeah, but since we didn’t, there’s no better time than now.”

Dani inhales and exhales slowly, and worry fills me as I think about what her answer might be. I never even asked if she was involved in a relationship. I took it for granted that because she was here, she was free for me to pursue.

“It’s been almost four months for me, Z.”

There’s something about the way that she says that which makes me wonder if there’s more that she’s not saying.

“What, Dani?”

“The night of the awards show I was with a man that I often take with me to public appearances. His name is Andre Harrison, and he’s a music exec. It works for us because it just does,” Dani says, shrugging. “I take him to events, and he takes me to some.”

“He’s your boyfriend?”

Jealousy grows inside of me.

“No. Nothing like that. I guess you could just call him a fuck buddy because that’s all we did. That and drugs. The night of the show, we had gone back to my hotel room. We had sex in the limo on the way back to the hotel and again when we arrived. We did a few lines of coke. I had already taken the hydrocodone and Zoloft, and that, paired with the alcohol and coke, was what did me in.”

“I didn’t know that,” I say softly.

“Yes. Anyway, I passed out again, and he was afraid that I’d OD’d. My agent, Jade, was at the hotel too. Andre called her and told her what happened. There is a doctor who’s on call for things like this whenever there are special events or celebrity parties. Jade called him in to take care of me.

“I was whisked to a private facility, and everything was swept under the rug. When I returned home from the hospital, Jade took me straight to rehab. I left rehab and came straight here. I haven’t just had time to be. I was thinking that maybe we could spend the remainder of our time here getting to know each other again. And I could get to know your daughter. Besides, she’s an impressionable young girl, and we need to be cognizant of that.”

I drop my head, considering everything that she’s said, and fold my arms over my chest.

I feel the light touch of her hand upon me, and I open my eyes and look at her from underneath my ducked head.

“I love what we’ve shared, Z. I just want to see if we can create other memories. I want to see if there’s more to us than this. After all, you were the one who suggested that you wanted more of me.”

I step forward, uncrossing my arms. Tilting Dani’s head back, I say, “I did, and I do.”

Then I kiss her lips softly before I say, “We’ll do things your way.”

When I step back, I head to the hook and grab the keys. Jerking my head towards the door, I say, “Let’s go pick up Zílda. She’s going to be enough to keep us busy.”

The smile that brightens Dani’s face is worth everything we’ve gone through. I look forward to getting to know her again.

17 – DANICA

It rained hard last night, but this morning the sun is shining in all its glory. The streets glow brightly with the beads of leftover rain droplets and rocks, making the road appear to be paved with jewels.

Zenon has let the top down on his rental, and the wind is blowing through my hair. I close my eyes and turn my face up to receive the sun’s kiss. That’s when I hear Zenon’s gentle laughter beside me.

Opening my eyes with the same goofy smile on my face, I turn to look at him, and I notice that he’s smiling as well.

“What?”

“Huh?”