"Hey."
"Hey. You doing okay?" His voice was much more chipper than she expected it should be.
"Yeah, just fighting with our boss."
"Your boss."
"Yeah, that guy." She groaned as she sat up. Philip snickered, the sound causing her lips to turn into a smile much to her displeasure.
"Enough about him. How about you come have dinner with me tonight? I've been meaning to ask you out since we met last week."
A silence sat between them for a few moments, Bethany knowing quickly that having dinner or anything with Philip wasn't the answer. The fact that her emotions had unraveled so quickly in the living room had everything to do with her loving Damon and nothing less.
"I don't think dinner is a good idea, Philip. I'm trying to figure a few things out right now and getting involved wouldn't be fair to me or you." She shrugged, rolling her eyes at herself. As if he could see her shrug.
"Okay. How about coffee between friends? I want a relationship with you. I'm willing to take a friendship over nothing."
Would coffee turn in to something more? She scoffed internally at the thought. She wasn't boy crazy or a whore like some of the girls on campus. She had just turned into a nymph thanks to the right man stepping and tugging hard at her strings. She stood up from the bed, wanting to go find Damon to see where they stood. He was probably over whatever was starting between them.
He had accused her with proper evidence as far as he was concerned. She knew his past and all he had been through and yet her only response to him had been extremely defensive and rather childish. She pressed her hand to her head as Philip's voice filled up the line again.
"Hey, if you don't want to see me again, just tell me. I don't want to push at all. Just wanted to see you and check up on the Sadie event." A snicker from him had her smiling again.
"No, it's okay. I'm just trying to figure out what to do." She looked over at the clock. It wouldn't be time for dinner for another few hours. She could go with him and be back in time to try and smooth things over before Damon and her flew out to Seattle together.
"Totally up to you."
"Yeah, let's do it."
"Really?"
"Yes. I'll meet you at the Starbucks by the office?"
"That sounds perfect. I'll see you in twenty minutes or so."
Bethany slipped her phone in her jeans pocket, wondering if she had just made yet another mistake. Slipping on her flip-flops, she paused to wonder what her next move with Damon should be. She had basically told him to take the job and the budding relationship and smoke it. A growl left her lips as she quietly opened her door and looked around into the living room. Empty.
A quick walk to the kitchen had her heart racing and her stomach turned into knots. Why couldn't she have just responded like an adult to his accusations?
Simple. She wanted him to trust her without her having to put any effort into it. She was a trustworthy person and deserved the benefit of the doubt. Maybe with someone who hadn't been crushed by lies and deceit as a kid wouldn't have a problem with that. Damon was different and now he most likely thought she was seeing Philip too.
Were her and Damon seeing each other? No.
What about all of the other women in his life? Doubtful that they had been dismissed. Bethany felt anger burn in her chest again. She walked into the kitchen with her head held high. She hadn't reacted exactly the way she would have wanted to, but he reacted pretty shitty to.
Her mother looked up from a magazine, a tall glass of tea sitting on the table in front of her.
"Well. You want to tell me what's going on?" Her mom set the magazine down and tilted her head to the side.
"Just a fight over a few things from work."
"You punched someone in the face?"
"Yes. They got into my records. The girl made sure to rub poverty and a druggie father in my face." Bethany crossed her arms over her chest, the desire to fight with her mom rolling over her too. "What would you have done?"
"Punched her in the face." Her mom stood and walked toward her.
Bethany's eyes filled with tears again. Concern over Damon mixed with spikes of anger left her raw and emotionally beat.
"What happened with Damon, Beth?" Her mom pulled her close and kissed the side of her head. Bethany wrapped her arms around her mom's small waist and rested her face on her shoulder.
"He's mad that I didn't call, which I understand. He's pissed about me acting inappropriately with Philip, who's a coworker."
"That's none of his business. I shouldn't have mentioned it in front of the ass. Forgive me." Her mom squeezed her again before moving back. "You don't have to go up to Seattle if you don't want to. I'll just tell Kent that you're not feeling well, that you've come down with something."
She patted her mom's hands before pulling out of her grasp. "It's okay, mom. I'm going to go up there and show them how smart and mature I can be. It's an opportunity to make things right between all of us."
"Well, if you change your mind."
"I'll let you know, mom. I'm going to go have coffee with Philip. I'll be home in time for dinner. I need to pack."
Her mom nodded and moved back to sit down at the table. "If you're going home with him, just let me know so I don't worry."
"Nothing to be worried about. He and I are just friends." Bethany shrugged and turned, walking toward the door, her eyes scanning the house for Damon.
It wasn't until she reached her car parked in the front of the house that she realized he was gone. She pulled out her phone and texted him before getting into the car.
I'm going with you to Seattle. You were wrong about a lot of things you accused me of, but I'm sorry for overreacting.
She dropped the phone in her purse, praying silently that she would hear the subtle ding of it, letting her know that he had responded. No such luck.
The strong smell of coffee beans washed over her as she entered the Starbucks. The place was packed with people of all ages, shapes and sizes. She found Philip quickly. He stood up and motioned for her to join him. His blue eyes were electrifying, the joy on his face was warm and welcoming.
"Hey. Don't you look like a sight for sore eyes?" He winked and pointed to the table in front of him. Three small chocolate donuts sat on a large white napkin.
She laughed and dropped her purse in the seat, picking one up and taking a bite before responding. He watched her closely. His attraction to her was nothing to guess about, he made it obvious, but not in an overbearing sense like Damon had. She was a person, not an object, so why was she so smitten with the idea of belonging to Damon?
"You look good." She nodded, reaching to catch a crumb that rolled down her chin.
"You look better. Go get you a coffee and come tell me of the drama you've been dealing with. I want a full report." He winked again.
Bethany turned, a smile playing on her lips. Philip would be good for her - safe, but there wasn't any chance. Her heart contracted painfully at the thought of Damon. Her lust reared to life at the bear whisper of him being close, at the possibility of tasting his lips or feeling his hands on her. Their night of passion hadn't come close to all of the things she needed to do with him.
"Crazy... fucking crazy," she whispered to herself as she approached the counter.
The teenage boy taking orders chuckled. "Am I crazy or are you?"
"Hmm? Oh me, for sure. I'll take a double espresso with milk and sugar."
He took her order as she moved toward Philip, the handsome guy finishing one of the donuts and licking at his fingers.
"How long do I have you?" His eyebrow lifted as he sat back, picking up his drink and taking a tentative sip.
"I have about an hour. I need to pack and get ready for a trip."
"Where you going?" He pointed to the seat. "Take a load off. They'll call your name."
Bethany looked over her shoulder at the counter for a minute before dropping her purse on the floor and sitting down.
"Seattle. Mr. Bryant wants me there for an audit the location is going through."
"Damon?"
"No, Kent."
"Oh, good. So how did they take the news about Sadie?"
"I didn't tell them. I don't know why I didn't, I just hurried home and got lost in the problem. I spent the evening with my brother and just totally let the fact that I needed to call them slide." She broke the last donut in half, sitting back to take her time enjoying her portion.