Daisy feels heat rise up her neck. “Ah. And that means we’re dating?”
“Well, no.”
“But?”
Sloan picks at the wrapper on the cupcake, nervous energy radiating from her. Daisy’s magic calls to her, urging her to reach out to Sloan. It’s electric and consistent, awaiting her to answer its demand, which she ignores. “I… Look, this is hard for me.”
“What’s hard?” Daisy asks, pushing her power down while trying to source out what exactly it is that Sloan is trying to say.
“I…”
Daisy waits, picking up the pen she was using before Sloan entered and starting to spin it around her thumb.
Sloan’s voice is a whisper, barely audible over their breathing and the hum of the electricity in the room. “I like you.”
“Sorry, I didn’t catch that,” Daisy says, needing to hear it again to ensure she heard correctly.
A little louder this time, Sloan repeats, “I like you.”
Daisy smiles, feeling that bud of hope start to bloom.
CHAPTER 37
Sloan
Fucking Hecate. Did I seriously tell her that I liked her? What am I, seven?
It’s only been a heartbeat since she put that out there, but it feels like three lifetimes as she waits for Daisy to say something, anything, back. She sits there, smiling and emanating beauty from her pores, looking relaxed and not at all like Sloan didn’t drop a boiling cauldron at her feet, overflowing with everything Sloan feels but doesn’t have the guts to say.
Daisy’s hand reaches out, landing softly on Sloan’s arm, instantly quieting the bubbling doubt in her mind. “I like you too, Sloan.”
Air whooshes out of her in relief. “You do?”
“Yes, princess. I thought that was pretty clear?”
“Evidently, not.” Her body fills with something akin to happiness as she soaks in that Daisy likes her too. Perhaps she is a seven-year-old, after all.
“Well, I don’t generally sleep with people I don’t like,” Daisy clarifies.
Oh. That happiness she was feeling? It deflates. Daisy likes her, but not in the same way. No. She likes her in the sense that she can tolerate spending time with her and accepts Sloan’s head between her legs. But she doesn’t like like her. She doesn’t care for her in the same way.
“Right. Okay. That makes sense,” Sloan says, fighting the building current, seeking to break free and leak all over. “Do you need me to do anything here? Do I need to follow up with anyone?” she asks, changing the subject.
Daisy pauses as she catches up to the sudden track change. “No. No, I think we are good. I have a meeting with Nips & Nibbles tomorrow, the final food truck vendor, then we have a meeting on Friday with The Dandelion to go over final numbers and any miscellaneous details. We will need to be there the morning of arrival to make sure everything is set up as it should be.”
“Okay. Well, I have to head back to the office…”
Daisy checks the time on her phone. It’s almost seven p.m. “Really?”
“Yeah. We have an important meeting tomorrow, and I need to review the files one last time,” Sloan lies.
“Oh.”
Sloan rises from the table, looking down at Daisy, wondering where she went wrong. How did she get herself into this position? “Text me if anything else comes up,” she says quietly, backing out of the room before turning and leaving some of herself behind.
She shouldn’t have left. She knows this. Knows it would have been better to stay and at least clarify what she meant. But knowing that Daisy only sees her as a good lay was too much. It tore her insides to strips, leaving welts where she thought Daisy was building a home. Becoming a part of her being. Nestling deep inside.
Instead, Daisy wormed her way in and festered, leaving nothing but pain behind.
