Page 16 of The Status Situation

“Good night, Maria.” Despite my trying to put some distance between us, he reaches up and pinches my chin between his fingers before pressing one more kiss to my already swollen lips. “Sweet dreams.”

They most certainly will be.

Seven

Maria

“Hello! Earth to Maria!”

Darius’ voice yanks me out of my wayward thoughts just as the mug I am currently filling with coffee overflows. The dark liquid splatters against the counter and then drips onto the floor. I frown at the mess.

“Shit,” I curse under my breath, shoving the coffee pot back into its spot on the machine. After quickly dumping the now overly-filled mug into the sink, I grab a couple of cleaning rags to wipe up the mess I made due to my thoughtlessness.

While I do that, Darius moves to get a fresh mug of coffee for Chase, who is our only customer right now.

I know that our manager has had to make accommodations to be able to schedule Darius and me for the same shifts since we live together and like to carpool. However, in this moment, I am grateful because it means that he is the only one here to see me make a complete ass of myself. Well, he and Chase.

Thankfully, whatever conference they had going on at the hotel across the street was just a one-day thing. It’s been a fairly slow day because of it, which I am also grateful for.

“Maria? You doing okay, sweetheart?” Chase asks, taking the coffee Darius sets in front of him. The coffee I was supposed to have gotten for him.

“I’m fine,” I grumble in frustration. I wipe the last bit of coffee up off the floor and sit back on my knees. Looking up at Chase, who’s watching me closely, along with Darius, I give him the best smile I can muster while feeling so foolish. “Sorry, Chase. I’m just… I’m having an off day.”

“An off day?” Darius chuckles. “You’ve been distracted like this since you got home from your date last night with Mr. Delicious.”

“Oh! You went on a date?” Chase asks, looking way too interested in the fact that I went on a date than is normal.

I scrunch my nose at Darius. “Thanks, Mouth.”

He’s right, and I hate that he’s right. I have been distracted since last night because Mark has invaded my mind like a parasite, and I can’t stop thinking about him. Even my dreams last night had been plagued by the kiss that had me panting and damn near begging for more. At the time, I had been all too willing to give him all of me, even though it had been our first date. That scares the hell out of me.

Usually, I have way more control over myself and my hormones. It’s just been a really long time since someone has gotten under my skin like this, and the connection between us feels like something more than just a purely physical attraction.

Mark had been so attentive, and his focus had been on me the entire night. Even when the waitress at the restaurant, who is far better suited for him than I am, began openly flirting with him after hearing him talk about his erection, his attention never left me. I am used to guys having a ‘wandering eye’, but not Mark. I had been the center of his attention. Supposedly, he wants to do it again, too.

“Yes,” I tell Chase, scratching the back of my neck. “I went on a date.”

“Well,” he presses. “How did it go? His name’s not actually ‘Mr. Delicious’, is it?”

I snort a laugh, unable to help it.

“No, but it should be,” Darius chimes in. “The guy is sex on a stick. And judging by the way she looked when she got home, I think I have a pretty good idea of how the night went.”

I frown because there’s no way he can know. I locked myself in my room as soon as I got home last night, needing some time to myself. I promised to get around to telling him at a later time, and I haven’t done so yet. Mainly because I’m still trying to work it all out myself. So, he doesn’t have the slightest idea.

Folding my arms across my chest, I lean my hip against the counter. “Oh, really? Well, okay then. If you are so damn smart, how did my night go?”

He chuckles, looking between Chase and me, and shakes his head. “It was perfect,” he begins, his tone way too confident. “He was charming, swept you off your feet, and made you feel like the most beautiful girl in the world.”

My eyes narrow at him. “How?” is all I can manage to ask.

Darius shrugs, smirking. “Because I know you, and you are really fucking conflicted right now. Sorry about the language, Mr. Chase.”

Chase waves him off, obviously more interested in the conversation than the language being used.

“I am not conflicted!” I retort instinctively.

Darius moves his hand to his hip. “Remember the part where I said that I know you? One doesn’t need to be a therapist to figure out that you have guy issues. Ergo, you’re conflicted.”