Chapter Thirteen

Twelve weeks. Four since the night they had spent drinking beer on the porch after a near kiss in Dale’s truck. Dale had relived that moment at least once a day since it had happened. Mai had been about to kiss her. She knew it. And Dale had wanted her to. Wanted to do much more than kiss. But Mai had been careful since then to not be alone with Dale.

No mixing business and pleasure. It was for the best. Dale knew it. But the heat of that moment and the fire in Mai’s eyes and the way her thigh had tensed under Dale’s fingertips haunted her.

In the three months since Mai had moved into Dale’s home, Dale’s life had settled down from the eye-bleeding chaos of her trying to run her business and manage her home. Seth was back in his basement room. Noah was doing well in summer school. Thomas was two courses away from finishing with his accounting degree.

Dale had cleared out part of her closet and they had brought a spare dresser from the attic for Mai’s clothes. Cartoon animals and race car decals covered it, souvenirs from its time as a fixture in Seth and Thomas’s room. Mai was meticulous in everything she did, and her presence forced Dale to make more of an effort to keep her bedroom tidy.

Dale’s world went from dinners consisting of whatever she could throw together when she got home from working twelve hours, or whatever food experiment Noah had come up with to various delectable dinners Mai and Noah had created together. She shook her head, trying to clear the memories of tapioca soup, a failed attempt by Noah before Mai arrived that they both still laughed about.

She unlaced her boots and toed them off before setting them on the mat on the porch. The scent of saffron wafted from the kitchen through the screen door and she inhaled. Her mouth watered.

Noah was at the stove stirring a saucepan. Mai was perched on a kitchen stool at the bar separating the kitchen from the dining area.

“What’s cooking?” Dale squeezed Noah’s shoulder. “Smells fantastic.”

“Vegetable biryani. There’s eggplant masala too.” Noah lifted the lid on a casserole dish. “Mai’s going out. Seth’s out with Thomas. It’s just us.”

A flash of annoyance shot through Dale before she caught herself. “Will it hold? I want to shower before dinner.”

“Yes. The best thing about many Indian dishes is they will hold beautifully.” Mai slid off the high-backed bar stool. “I might be late.”

Dale slid her gaze over Mai’s pressed baby-blue tailored shirt tucked into tight black jeans. “Don’t worry, I won’t bother to wait up.”

Mai’s raised eyebrows let Dale know she’d failed to keep her annoyance out of her voice. She walked away briskly, not sure of what else she could say that wouldn’t make it worse.

Dale closed the bathroom door and locked it and leaned her forehead against the white-painted wood a moment. What the hell is wrong with me? They must have an open relationship. So of course she’s going to date. Why wouldn’t she? And why am I not dating? She turned the taps on and started the shower to let the water warm up as she stripped off her clothes. Dale stepped into the shower and turned her back to the hot spray. Soothing jets of water beat against her tight shoulder muscles. She can do anything she wants. It’s not like she’s mine or anything.

Her gut churned as she thought about her last disaster of a date. Skylar. Who couldn’t take a hint and was still calling and texting Dale. Another in a long string of unsatisfying dinners and even less satisfying sex in most cases. But if she were honest it was because none of the women she had dated had even a tenth of Mai’s easy charm. And now some other woman was going to spend the evening with Mai.

Dale scrubbed her hands over her face when she imagined how Mai’s evening might end. Hot anger settled in her belly. Why not me? Because you put her off. Because you made it clear. No mixing sex and business. And now someone else is going to be all up in Mai’s sexy business. Damn it.

Her stomach growled and she cut her shower short. After pulling on a pair of sweatpants and her favorite T-shirt, Dale picked up her phone off the dresser. Three taps later she was scrolling through Hit Me Up. She gasped when Mai’s charming smile lit up her screen. Her thumb hovered over her profile as her entire body begged her to swipe right before her brain interfered and she swiped left. Three profiles later she landed on Badbutchone. She skimmed her profile. Her cocky smile and the bespoke suit she wore in her photo attracted Dale. A classic butch and likely candidate for a hookup. Dale swiped right. The scent of dinner made her mouth water. She chewed her lip while she tapped out a message to Badbutchone.

“Mom! Hurry up, the chapatis are gonna be cold,” Noah called from the kitchen.

Dale tossed her phone on the bed and hustled to the kitchen.

*

Dale stirred her drink with her straw and attempted to focus on what Barbara was saying. Barbara. Why the fuck did I swipe right? No matter how thirsty I am no way I’m fucking this self-important idiot. The low light in the restaurant made it difficult for Dale to see Barbara’s eyes as she droned on about some big business deal she was concocting. The annoying humblebrag tone of Barbara’s voice set Dale’s teeth on edge. Her mind drifted as she crafted her excuse to not go home with Barbara.

She might be cute but she’s arrogant as fuck. Boring as hell. And not Mai. Damn it. Dale sighed and sipped her bourbon and ginger ale. Nope. Not Mai. Why did I think this would make it better? Fuck me, better to go home and rub one out alone than go home with this asshole.

The brush of Barbara’s fingertips over the back of her hand made Dale jerk away from her touch.

Barbara frowned. “Sorry.” The server dropped off the bill jacket and Barbara swept it off the table. She raked her gaze over Dale’s breasts before she brought her gaze back to her eyes. “Allow me.”

The smugness of her tone and blatant leer detonated Dale’s simmering anger. She gripped the edge of the table so she didn’t slap Barbara’s face. “No. We’ll split it.” The unspoken undercurrent of what Barbara expected in return for the dinner made Dale’s skin crawl.

“It would be my pleasure.” Barbara pulled a black credit card from her pocket and tucked into the bill jacket and placed it on the table.

“No.” Dale slid the bill over to her side of the table and tucked two twenty-dollar bills into the black folder. She picked up the bill jacket and held it until the server returned.

“Split this, please.” Dale lifted her chin at Barbara. “Keep the change from the cash.” She stood up and tucked her clutch under her arm. “I’d say it has been charming, but my mother didn’t raise a liar.”

Barbara looked up at Dale, her eyes wide. “What? What happened? Don’t go.” She stood and wrapped her fingers around Dale’s forearm.

Dale bared her teeth and narrowed her eyes. “Take your hand off me unless you want me to whip your ass right here. And not in a way you would enjoy.”

Barbara released Dale’s arm and shrank back, her palms raised toward Dale. “What the hell? Was it something I said?”

“You spent the entire evening telling me how great you are and staring at my boobs. If I wanted that kind of interaction, I could have sat the bar for the last hour and a half with some random stranger. Good night.”

Dale stalked away, ignoring the stares of the other diners.

At the front of the restaurant she searched her clutch for her keys. She dug them out and gripped them hard. Dale clenched her jaw as she thought about the hour’s drive home along back roads to Sikesville and shoved open the door to the restaurant bathroom. Head down, she strode into the bathroom and bumped into a woman coming out. A whiff of Mai’s signature cologne filled her senses and she let out a startled squeak as she ran full-on into the woman she’d been fantasizing about for weeks.

*

“Oh hell. I’m sorry.” Mai backed up. Her cheeks burned and she plucked her shirt away from her body in an effort to hide the way her nipples had responded to full body contact with Dale.

“You scared the fuck out of me.” Dale pressed a hand to her chest. “What are you doing in here? Why didn’t you lock the door?”

“I was on my way out.” Mai brushed a hand over her hair. “And um—truth? Hiding from my date.”

“What?” Dale closed the bathroom door and locked it. “Do you not feel safe?”

Mai smiled at the fierce tone of Dale’s voice. “I’m only in danger of being bored to death. And being expected to rock her world for the price of dinner and drinks.”

Dale laughed. Mai enjoyed the way her eyes crinkled at the corners and the low rich sound of her laugh. “My date thought drinks were a guarantee of getting in my panties too.”

Mai swallowed hard as the vision of Dale in her panties raced through her mind. “I don’t know why I thought this date would be any better than any of the others I’ve been on lately.”

Mai stepped back to observe Dale. The shirtwaist dress she wore showed off her pinup figure to perfection and the strapped pumps she wore had Mai wanting to kneel in the bathroom and follow the graceful line of her legs all the way to the tops of her hose and beyond. Sweat trickled between her shoulder blades. “You look terrific.”

Dale tilted her head at Mai. “Be that as it may, what’s your plan, stud? Hide out here until she decides to leave?”

Mai grinned. “Are you always this sassy?”

“You’ve lived in my house for three months and you don’t know the answer to that?” Dale’s gaze settled on Mai. “You want me to give you a boost so you can climb out the window?” A taunting smile curved her full mouth.

Mai stepped closer, the teasing tone of Dale’s voice stirring the side of her appreciated pushback from a lover. Oh damn. Not lovers. I want to be. What the fuck am I going to do?

Dale leaned toward Mai, her mouth tantalizingly close. “Looks like we both didn’t find what we were looking for.”

Mai met Dale’s gaze. “I don’t know about that.”

“Oh yeah?”

“Yeah.”

Dale licked her lower lip before she leaned closer. “Maybe we need to look closer to home.”

Small puffs of breath tickled Mai’s lips. A knock rattled the door and made them both jump as the knob twisted back and forth. “Mai?”

“Out in a minute,” Mai yelled and turned on the faucet full. The sound of the water splashing echoed in the tiled space.

“I paid the bill. We can go anytime, Mai,” the woman shouted through the door.

Dale pressed her lips together. “Looks like you’re going to have to face her down.”

Mai squared her shoulders. “Looks like.” She shut the water off and stepped around Dale. After smoothing her hands down the front of her pants, she opened the door and stepped out into the foyer of the restaurant. Dale snaked an arm around her waist, her breasts pressing against Mai’s arm. Stunned, she froze. The excuse she had worked up in the bathroom dried up in her mouth.

“Darling, why don’t you introduce me to your friend?” Dale rested her other hand on Mai’s shoulder.

Mai’s date, Carol, leaned back and blinked. She narrowed her eyes at Mai. “What is this? Your profile said you were single. I’m no one’s side piece. Or into three-ways.”

Mai opened her mouth to speak and failed to stifle a squeak as Dale tugged her closer.

“Nope. Not single. And you’re not our type. Sorry.” Dale’s bitchy tone and the heat from Dale’s body as she pressed against Mai started a flame low in Mai’s belly.

Carol pursed her lips and inclined her head toward Mai. “Un huh. If I were you, I’d keep her chained up, and you might want to check her phone.” She glared at Mai. “I can’t stand liars.”

Carol flounced past them, shoulder checking Mai as she left. Dale stepped away from Mai and smoothed her hand down the front of her dress.

Mai stared at the toes of her shoes. “I deserved that.”

“No.”

Dale’s sharp tone made Mai look up.

“No one should ever feel like they are obligated to provide sex in exchange for dinner. Even at the one decent restaurant between here and Cleveland.”

“Thank you. Do they have Uber here?” She pulled her phone from her pocket.

Dale held up her car keys. “Want a ride?” A frown swept over her face. “Unless you have other plans?”

Mai glanced at Dale as she shoved her phone into her pocket. “Nope, no other plans. Not now. And yes, I’d love a ride.”

The air was warm after the heavy air-conditioning of the restaurant, and Mai followed Dale to her truck. Their footsteps were loud in the silence between them.

Dale clicked the lock to open the truck. “Would you like to drive?” She dangled the keys from her fingers.

Mai took the keys from Dale’s hand. “Yes.”

“Marvelous.”

Mai opened the passenger door and held out her hand to assist Dale into the truck. She marveled at her sublime body, unable to look away as her dress pulled tight across her ass as Dale mounted the running board and climbed into the pickup truck.

After closing Dale’s door, Mai walked around to the driver’s side and entered the truck. With a push of a few buttons, she adjusted the rearview and side mirrors and moved the seat forward before she turned to Dale. The glow of the streetlight backlit her profile and full mouth as Dale reapplied her pale-pink lipstick. It took every bit of Mai’s willpower not to pull her into a kiss.