What You Need(53)
The entire scene had played out in my head on fast-forward. We’d arrive at his trendy apartment. We’d crack open a bottle of wine. We’d have the requisite amount of small talk before we’d start to make out. Things would get hot and heavy. We’d adjourn to his bedroom and slowly peel off each other’s clothes. Then we’d make love. It would all be very . . . nice.
But I didn’t want nice. I wanted his heat and passion. I wanted the man I’d tangoed with Saturday night.
So yes, I’d retreated—for Brady’s own good.
Although Brady had stepped outside his comfort zone and into a tattoo shop, he’d micromanaged every detail beforehand. While I wasn’t an advocate of showing up drunk and having some hack tattoo artist ink a lame Chinese symbol onto a random body part, I also knew he didn’t understand spontaneity.
I wasn’t sure if that was something I could teach him. Or, more to the point, if that was something he wanted to learn. He’d told me that all the crazy physical challenges he’d done with his brothers and his cousins hadn’t been his thing. He wanted to find his own track, off the beaten path. I could take him only so far; he had to take that first step, and no way was I making it easy on him. He wanted to be wild? I wasn’t falling into his bed when he didn’t have another, better plan.
The front door opened. Clothing rustled and then Kiley appeared in the doorway, big chunks of snow covering her black hair. “Hey, girl. It’s getting crappy out there.”
“I know. I don’t think my cabbie knew how to drive on snow.”
“Why does it seem like all the cab companies in the Twin Cities are hiring Somolian immigrants? There’s no snow in Somolia! Of course these guys don’t have a clue how to drive on snow and ice.” Her brown eyes narrowed. “Why did you take a cab home? Something wrong with your car?”
“No. I left it in the parking garage since Brady and I had plans after work.”
Kiley placed her hands on her hips and cocked her head at me. “You telling me that man didn’t drive you home after your damn date?”
“Simmer down, mama bear.” I sipped my tea. “We spent time together, and when it started to snow, he was more concerned about getting his fancy car back home than he was about anything else. It rubbed me the wrong way. So I told him I’d take a cab.”
“Lemme get a toddy and I’ll be back to discuss this in detail.”
There was one drawback to having a counselor as a roommate: Everything was subject to an in-depth conversation. And this time, when I needed some advice, I couldn’t tell her what was really going on without breaking Brady’s confidence.
Kiley had slipped on a pair of flannel pajama pants and her slippers when she shuffled back into the living room with a mug of tea. “You know, this flowery shit ain’t half bad with booze in it.”
“How’d your meeting go tonight?”
She scowled. “No luck in finding a permanent venue. And with the weather like this, I can’t continue to meet with the kids outside. So I won’t need your help this Saturday. But I do have hopes that there will be good news at next week’s meeting since we have three leads on other places.”
“I’ll help in whatever way I can.”
“I appreciate that. Now recap the evening’s events for me.”
“There’s nothing else to add. Wait, he did plan on taking me to dinner. But we got done late . . . and then he made that stupid comment about needing to get his car home because it wasn’t made for snow or something like that.”
“He was talking about that sweet Beemer he was driving on Saturday?”
“No. It was a different car.”
“What kind of car?” she prompted.
“I don’t know. I tune out when guys start talking car stuff.” I thought back. “It’s a . . . May something or other.”
“A Maybach?”
“Yeah, that’s it.”
“Well, that makes sense he’d be freaking the hell out about getting that car inside.”
“It’s a car, Kiley.”
“It’s a car that costs upwards of a million dollars, Lennox,” she chided.
I choked on my tea. “What?”
“Every Maybach is custom ordered and custom built. So if he took you out in that car, he was seriously trying to impress you.”
“But that’s the thing! I don’t know cars, I don’t care about them, and if Brady knew anything about me at all he’d know that wouldn’t impress me.” I exhaled. “And yeah, now I get why he wanted to get the million-dollar baby out of the elements, but I couldn’t help but feel I’d already served my purpose to him. That’s why I took a cab home.”