Page 21 of Vampire Soldier
Rushing through getting ready for my first official day at The Place as the stage producer, I did my best to not think about what happened last night. Except every time I move, there’s a blush-inducing ache that vibrators never gave me.
Thankfully, I held it together. At least, until I opened my front door, Charlie on my heels, to be confronted with a vase of roses and baby’s breath and a large coffee from Black Death Beanery. “Mom?”
Charlie’s question snaps me back into motion and I scoop up the paper to-go cup and vase with a frown.
“Whoa, flowers? And coffee?”
I hum, passing her the coffee to hold while I grab the card inserted on the clear plastic holder. When I flip it open, the message is written in loopy handwriting.
Last night is forgiven. I can’t wait to watch you shine. Enjoy the coffee. I know it’s your favorite.
“Who’s it from?” Charlie asks, rising on her toes beside me to try to read over my shoulder. I snap the card closed and glare at the pre-teen. “Is it from yourbooooyfriend?”
“He’s not my boyfriend!” The protest is automatic. I shove the card in my oversized purse and steal my coffee back before she can take a drink of it. “You’re still too young for coffee. Now, shoo, before you miss the bus.”
The strawberry blonde rolls her eyes with twelve-year-old sass but hikes her pink and white Converse backpack higher up on her shoulder and plods down the steps and out onto the sidewalk.
“Have a good day at school! Love you!” I call, and she doesn’t bother looking back as she raises a hand up to wave her response. Scrunching my lips, I wonder where my baby girl went who never left without a big hug and kiss. I know all the moms at The Gentlemen’s Study warned me that I’d miss those days, but damn, warnings are nothing compared to what it actually feels like when your kid starts stepping into their independence.
A notification lets me know about a text, and when I juggle the flowers and coffee, my eyes widen at the time on the screen. I whirl back inside to deposit the vase on the foyer table and hurry back out of the house, locking up before rushing down the short path to the sidewalk. I turn in the opposite direction than Charlie, power walking towards the bus stop as I pull up the group chat I’m in with Tonya and a few other ladies from the club.
Angela: Good luck today, babe! You’re gonna kill it!
Tonya: She doesn’t need luck! She’s gonna kill it. The club won’t be the same.
Tonya: So proud of you though, girl!
My life may have not taken the path I’d dreamt of as a kid, but I wouldn’t trade the friends I made for all the art museums in the world. Grinning, I take a sip of the still-hot coffee. The warm spices of the Aztec caramel latte are a delicious jolt to my senses. I pull the coffee away, studying it like it’ll explain how Malachi knows my coffee order. That’s not something the regular boss knows about their employees. Tonya knows my order, but I’ve also been working with her for over a decade.
And those flowers? What the heck is up with that? That handwriting is too feminine to be Malachi’s.
I tap out a quick response:
Thanks, ladies! I’ll let you know how the day goes. I’m not as nervous as I expected.
Thinking of the coffee and flowers, I add:
And something happened that I absolutely need a girls’ night to talk about.
Girl boss gifs and tea follow my reply, but the city bus that’ll take me into Topside is at the end of the street so I stash the phone and hustle to the stop just as it pulls up. It’s more packed than normal, so I’m stuck standing the entire commute.
The bus hits every single light, giving me more than enough time to start overthinking the flowers. How would Malachi know my coffee order but not that I’m not a fan of roses? I mean, they’re fine, but they’re just . . . so average. And why send the flowers in the first place? It’s not like he knew I was technically a virgin last night.
Oh, god, what if that’s what he meant by the note? Last night is forgiven? Did he think I’d lied to him somehow?
But, also, the hell? Indignation quickly replaces the confusion. Where does Malachi get off thinking that he needed that note? Last night is forgiven? The hell? He’s the one that suggested we get this attraction out of our system. He’s the one who made it clear he was struggling with resisting me.
I mean, I could have said no. I really, really hadn’t wanted to. Sure, it wasn’t great how quickly Malachi got up and left afterward, but it’s not like I expected cuddles and pillow talk after. Hell, I’m the one who said we couldn’t go up to my bedroom. And he hadn’t even taken his pants off all the way!
Mortification suffuses my face in heat, quickly followed by more indignation. I may have gone into last night with no expectations, but I definitely hadn’t expected him to shut himself off so quickly. I’m less upset with him than I am myself now. This is why I’d never gone through with casual sex or sleeping with any of the guys I’d dated.
Yeah, his quick disconnect was awkward and made me feel weird in the moments right after we finished, but could I really blame him? He’d made it clear it’d been nothing more than satisfying the desire between us, a one-and-done sort of thing.
But the flowers and coffee?
Talk about mixed signals. But Tonya and the girls are right. It’s time to be a girl boss and kick ass at the job Malachi hired me for. Sleeping with him before signing the employment papers isn’t going to change what I’d said yesterday. I can be professional at work, even now. And if he can’t, that’s on him.
Head held high, I walk into The Place determined to be so damned professional, Malachi will be the one wondering if last night actually happened.
