I enter Jera’s house, and my anxiety slips away as I pick up Squint. He licks my face. “Yes. I know. I’m so sorry I left you here all by yourself.”
I run up the stairs and change into a pair of jeans and a favorite hoodie of mine. I know Jera told me not to wear my own clothes, but I don’t care. Jera won’t know. I need the oversized soft fabric to give me comfort. I had a rough night. On my way through the living room I remember the photo of me and Jera. I grab it and hide it in a drawer. I’ll get it back out later.
I carry Squint out to Dustin’s car, and he drives us to his place. “I placed the order. It says it will be delivered in a few minutes.”
“Good.” I’m starving now that I’m not in a stressful situation anymore.
We enter Dustin’s house, and I set Squint down.
“Want to watch a movie or something while we eat?” Dustin asks.
“Sure.”
Dustin takes me down a set of stairs to his theater room. He flicks a switch and tiny floor lights illuminate, just like in the movie theaters. He’s got three rows of reclining chairs and a massive leather couch in the front row.
“This is amazing.”
“You don’t have a theater room?” He raises one eyebrow.
Oops. Jera does have one, but it’s not as impressive. “It’s not this big, and it doesn’t have these cool floor lights.”
“Ah, I see.”
I sit down on his couch, and Squint hops onto my lap. Dustin motions toward the stairs. “I’m going to go change. Make yourself comfortable.”
“Okay.”
Dustin leaves, and I pet Squint and let my brain wander while he’s gone. I’m so glad my time at the gala is over and I don’t have to go back. I’m not cut out for that kind of social interaction.
A few minutes later Dustin brings in the food he ordered and sets it on a tray table along with some bowls from the kitchen. He changed into a pair of jeans that look so good on him it should be illegal. Dang, he’s so cute. I swallow back my emotions. I can’t have a crush on him.
“I’m so glad you like Thai food. It’s one of my favorites.” Dustin pulls out a container from the sack and lifts the lid.
The smell hits me, and my mouth waters. “I love chicken curry.”
The last of my anxiety melts away as I scratch behind Squint’s ears. It is wonderful to have him back in my arms.
Dustin dishes us both some rice and puts the chicken curry on top. “You said you have a sister. Is that your only sibling?”
“Yes. What about you? No siblings?”
He chuckles. “I thought the whole world knew everything there is to know about my family.”
I shrug. “I don’t read the gossip columns.”
His mouth pops open. “You don’t? Not even when you’re in them? That’s when I read them.”
I shake my head. “I don’t.”
I hate the lies they print about Jera. They make her look trashy, going from man to man, using them for her own personal gain. I know her too well to believe those lies.
“Okay then,” he says as he sits down beside me and hands me my bowl. “That’s probably good. I should follow your lead. And I have no siblings. It’s just me, and my very famous parents.”
I nod, not really knowing who his parents are. “Who are they, again?”
“You really don’t know?” He shoves a bite of curry into his mouth.
“No.”
“My father is Shane William Douglas, and my mother is Allison Taylor.”
“Ah, yes. I know who they are. Are they still together?” I grab the take-out bag and dig out a pair of chopsticks.
“No. They split up when I was young.”
“I’m sorry.” I touch his arm.
“Don’t be. They needed to be divorced. Sometimes it’s better for people to go their own ways.”
“Your father was in a movie recently, wasn’t he?”
“Yes. Wrong Number. I haven’t seen it yet. I was on location filming.”
I pick out a piece of chicken from my bowl with the chop sticks. “Want to watch it?”
“Sure.” He picks up the remote and finds it on a streaming service.
I pop another piece of chicken in my mouth. “At what age did you start acting?”
“Six. I did some commercials and some kid shows.”
“Wow, that’s young.”
He glances over at me. “Too young.”
“You wouldn’t start your kid with acting at that age?” I shift Squint so he’s sitting more on my lap.
“No. Kids should be kids. In many ways my childhood was taken from me. If I ever have kids, I wouldn’t want them to work until they were at least in their late teen years.” He scrolls to find the film.
“I can see why you’d feel that way.”
He turns to me. “Not that I’m not grateful for everything my parents did for me. I’ve had a long and profitable career. I just think there’s more to life than work. I don’t know that my parents have figured that out yet.”
I scratch under Squint’s chin. “I think a lot of people haven’t figured that out yet.”
We start his father’s movie. It’s a cute rom com, where the main character calls a wrong number and they end up having a relationship.
As the movie progresses, I subconsciously get closer to Dustin, until my head is resting on his shoulder. It’s not awkward until he shifts, and I get the impression he wants me to move off him. “Sorry,” I say, and sit up.
“No, I didn’t mean to make you move. My back just hurt. Come back.”
“Are you sure?” I’m self-conscious.
He motions between us. “We’re friends, right? Friends are comfortable around each other. I promise I won’t put the moves on you.”
Disappointment settles over me, but I try not to focus on that. I shouldn’t be disappointed. I want to keep things as just friends between us. Friendship is what I need. I keep telling myself that as I settle back against him.
Dustin pets Squint, and at some point during the last half of the movie his arm goes around me. Friends, I remind myself. He’s not trying anything. He’s just showing me that friends don’t need to be so distant with each other.
I snuggle into Dustin’s side. I love the clean smell of his fabric softener, and the light remains of the cologne he wore tonight. His fingers graze over my arm, lazily, like he doesn’t even know he’s doing it, but it sends my heart into overdrive.
I try to pay attention to the movie, but it’s difficult. All I can think about is Dustin, and how he makes my pulse race. He’s so caring. I feel important when he’s near me. He listens to me. And he didn’t try to downplay my anxiety or make fun of me. He helped me through it, somehow. My emotions surge as I think about all he did for me.
The movie ends, and Dustin flicks off the screen but he doesn’t move, so I don’t pull away. “Have you ever done that?” he asks. “Called someone by accident, then talked to them?”
“No. But once I texted my plumber instead of my boyfriend and asked him what time he was coming over, and if he’d pick up some tampons on the way.”
Dustin’s laughter comes from deep in his chest, and I can’t help but laugh with him. “Seriously? What did he say?”
I try to talk between giggles. “He responded with a few question marks. I was so embarrassed I never texted him again and just called someone else the next time I needed a plumber.”
Dustin’s fingers trace a lazy circle on my arm. My heart does crazy things in my chest. I like the contact. It’s good. Natural. Like we belong together. “That’s hilarious.”
“Can I ask you a personal question?” Dustin’s tone is light, but I sense a serious undertone.
“Sure,” I say before I think too hard about it.
“Was Luke abusive to you?”
I swallow, the question hitting me hard. I sure hope Luke never did anything abusive to Jera, but the way he treated me tonight was scary. It made me wonder as well. I resolve to have a conversation with Jera about this. She needs to know she has support, and she shouldn’t allow anyone to treat her the way Luke was treating me tonight.
Dustin’s lazy tracing stops and he looks at me. “Jera?” he asks, softly. “You know you can tell me anything, right?”
“I know,” I quickly say. Dustin is waiting for me to answer him, and I have to tell him something. “I can honestly say he has never acted that way toward me before tonight.” Not a lie. But I’m going to get more details from Jera as soon as I can, because the thought of a jerk like Luke pushing around my sister makes me so angry.
“I’m glad,” Dustin says. “I was proud of the way you stood up to him.”
“Thanks.”
Dustin reaches over and pets Squint. “We’ve lived next to each other for a year, and I’ve never seen your dog outside. When did you get your dog?”
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