“She’s going to ask me,” he said quietly, back to kissing my jaw.  “What would you like me to tell her?  The truth, or some other version to buy you time to come to terms?”

I wanted to take exception to what his words implied, but that was sort of difficult as I was still squirming on his cock, and little shivers of aftershock were still running through my body from an incredible orgasm.  “I guess, just tell her that you and I have become close again, friends again, and the rest is none of her damn business.”

“Tell that to her favorite tattoo table.”

In the end, I’m not sure what he told her, because I ducked out right after the tattoo was finished, and left it for him to handle.

Frankie shot me a few inquisitive glances, but I ignored them, and that was that, for the moment, at least.

I was still trying to figure out how I felt about the whole thing; I certainly didn’t need anyone else to weigh in.

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

DANIKA

I avoided him for a few days after that, but he was persistent, and even I knew that it wouldn’t last long.

It was the evening before a day I knew we both had off when I broke.

I found myself stalking him on Facebook.  It was embarrassing, but I didn’t stop doing it, in fact spent hours going through his photos, wondering about every damn chick that he’d taken a picture with in the last two years, even knowing that most of them were likely just fans.

Finally, I found myself messaging him.  I told myself it was just boredom.  The quiet time I’d once enjoyed alone in my house had suddenly turned into tedium for me, and it didn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out why.

Danika Markova: Want to hang out tomorrow?

He didn’t respond, and that messed with me.  It wasn’t what I’d come to expect from him.  Was he getting bored with this whole messed up thing?  I hated to think it, but that was where my mind immediately went.

When I realized I was acting desperate, I walked away from my computer.

I’d brought two portfolios home from work.  I went through them, taking notes, feeling aimless, despite the fact I was doing a task that almost always drew me in.

When even work couldn’t distract me, I went to the market.  I shopped for an hour for nothing, going up and down the aisle.  I spent two hundred dollars on food, then wondered the entire way home what I would do with it all.  I just didn’t eat this much.  Some of it was canned, which would keep, but a lot of it was produce and meat.

I was still berating myself as I pulled up to my house.  My heart started pounding when I saw a familiar black Challenger parked at the curb.

I was smiling as I got out of my car and met him in the driveway.  “Hey, what’s up?”

He didn’t answer at first, instead helped me unload my groceries.

I thought his silence was strange.  “Did you get my message earlier?  About tomorrow?”

He looked distinctly uncomfortable.  “Yeah.  I’ve got plans.”

I blinked.  This was different.  I wasn’t accustomed to hearing no, not from him.  I shrugged.  “Okay.  That’s fine.  No worries.”

“I’d cancel, but it’s a sponsored charity run.  Nothing big, just a 5k, but all the press attached is going to take forever.  And there’s an after party.  We do stuff like this all the time.”  I really tried not to dwell on who the we was in that sentence.  “It’s usually an all-day thing.  I could come by after.”

I nodded.  “Yeah, whatever.  I mean, call after, and we’ll figure it out.”

I wasn’t sure what to say.  I didn’t know if he didn’t want to invite me to participate or if he felt awkward asking me.  Maybe he thought I couldn’t do something like that?  He had to know that I could walk three miles.  I had a limp, but I was still in good shape.  I made sure to work my knee out every single day.

“Is it a serious 5k?  I mean, strict runners only, or are there some slower participants?”

He sat on one of the barstools at my counter, his eyes steady on mine.  “Anything goes.  It’s all to raise money for some local charities.  I’m just going to bring some attention to it.”  He swallowed.  “You’re invited, if that’s something you could do, that you’d want to do.  I didn’t want to pressure you or to come across like an insensitive prick.  I know you do your stationary bike every day, and that you swim, but I wasn’t sure…”

I shrugged.  “I can do it, but only if you want me to go.  I don’t want to impose, and I don’t want to slow you down.  You can, you know, feel free to run ahead of me.”

“You’re not imposing.  I want you to go.  And you won’t be slowing me down.  It’s not that kind of a race.  I won’t raise more money for charity if I finish faster.”  There was a very long pause.  “Mona will be there.  All of the girls from the show will be.”

I rolled my eyes, none too pleased about seeing Mona, but it was certainly the lesser evil.  At least he wouldn’t be spending the day with her without me now, with me at home alone on my day off.

“Do I need to sign up somewhere or do anything special?”

He shook his head.  “I’ll get you signed up, and I’ll drive.  I know where it is.  The only rule is that you have to wear white.”