Page 23 of Rise & Fall
My dick twitches in my pants, and suddenly, I’m starting to feel even more uncomfortable with the way she’s dressed.
“I meant to text you today,” she mentions.
“You did?” I straighten in my bar chair and turn my body from Mitch toward her, giving her my full attention.
“I’m gonna hit the pisser,” Mitch announces, clearly picking up the hint that he’s not needed in this conversation.
“Yeah, it was Emsley’s idea. But I got busy.” She tucks a strand of her hair behind her ear. It’s down and straight framing her perfectly round face and allowing me to see all of her freckles, like little fireflies scattered in a field.
“Emsley?” I question.
“Yeah, she wanted to know how Aria was feeling.”
“Aria? She’s fine, why?”
“Red, can I get you to pick up the order for this table over here?” A man calls over to her from the other side of the bar.
“Gimme a sec.” She pats the table space in front of me, winking at me before walking off to the other side of the room. And I’d be lying if I said I didn’t watch her ass in those short-shorts of hers.
Gentleman, Nolan. You’re not a fucking animal.
“What’d I miss?” Mitch seats himself back in his chair and reaches for his drink. That was fast.
“Nothing really,” I say.
“So that’s her? She’s gotta be like what, twenty-five? That’s a little too young for you, Nol.” He winks at me as he sips his beer. I never really thought about her age, though she does seem young. Does that bother me?
No, not really I guess.
“Here she comes.” He tilts his cup in the direction she’s walking back from, and I do my best not to seem eager.
“Where were we?” she asks, balancing herself against the bar, her palms flat on the black countertop, one hip cocked to the side and her shoulders pushing her cleavage up.
Fuck.
“Aria,” I say, as I pull my drink to my lips. Her eyes watch me as I swallow down the liquid and I can tell, even in the bad lighting, that she blushes.
“That’s right. Em just wanted to make sure she was okay. The teacher said she was sick.” She pulls a glass from the bottom cabinet and fills it with ice and water before sliding it over to me.
“Em?” Mitch questions.
“Her kid sister,” I answer him before turning back to her. “She said Aria missed school today?”
“Yeah, I assumed that because I didn’t see you at drop off that maybe she was sick? Did she not miss school today?” Suddenly the air in my lungs travels up to my throat and it clots.
I double check my phone and see that there are no missed calls from Jessica, or any messages for that matter.
“Uh, oh.” Mitch side-eyes me. He knows what I’m thinking. Jessica withheld Aria from school without communicating with me and that is one thing that I can’t stand. Missed opportunities for co-parenting.
“I gotta go,” I say abruptly, gathering my wallet after throwing a hundred on the bar. “He’s paying for his own.” I nod my head toward Mitch, and he makes a gasping sound feigning offense.
“Nolan, your tab was only like thirty bucks,” she reminds me as she waves the bill back at me.
“I want to take you out,” I blurt before I can allow the anger I’m feeling to truly take over, turning back toward the bar top to face her.
I need to figure out why my daughter wasn’t at school today and why Jessica didn’t warn me. I feel blindsided in this situation. And all I can feel is her manipulation creeping its way back into my life. But I won’t ruin my chances with Dakota. I need to get to know her more if she’s up for it. We’re both grown adults and I don’t think there needs to be any awkwardness in the fact that we’re both attracted to each other.
“You what?” Her question lingers between us laced with confusion and interest and even Mitch is looking at me like I’m speaking another language.