Ben
People climb into cages and get dropped into the ocean so they can get up close and personal with sharks. Some really crazy folks do it without the cage. It’s a rush. Fun. I get that. Rushes of adrenaline are a necessary part of life. It’s how you know you’re alive.
As Dalton comes my way he reminds me of a shark, and I’m looking forward to throwing some chum in the water. Screwing with a man like Dalton is sport to me.
“Ben,” Dalton says curtly, “you need to do something for me.”
“Hey Dalton. I’m good, thanks for asking.” I nod to the bartender, and we’re quickly brought drinks. That is one of the many perks of living in Bachelor Tower. The staff sees you coming, knows your drink, and falls all over themselves to give you what you want almost before you ask for it. I don’t know how much they’re paid, but it’s not enough.
Dalton rolls his eyes and repeats himself. “You need to do something for me.”
“A favor?” Let the games begin. I know it’s semantics, but backing him into a corner to see what he does is fascinating. It’s like running new code for the first time. Will it go smoothly? Will it implode? Dalton is often disappointingly predictable in his responses, but I’ve built that into the game and give myself extra points if the vein in his head starts to throb. If his hands ball into fists, I know I’m really getting somewhere.
“Are you done fucking with me? Can we be serious for a minute?” Dalton swirls the ice around in his drink, looking like a sad girl who’s just been dumped. I almost feel sorry for him, but he’s a self-proclaimed dick, and trimming his ego back is a kind of community service.
“Relax Dalton. We’re friends.” I added the last part because until recently Dalton had sold himself as a lone wolf. I pat his back like we’re old chums. I can practically see the steam blowing out his ears. I’m pushing his buttons, but it’s for his own good. “Whatever you need—I’m happy to help out. You’ll just owe me one.”
“Owe you one?” Dalton squeezes his glass so tight I’m almost certain it’s going to burst into shards. Something really is bothering him. “This was a mistake. Never mind. I’m not doing this with you.”
I should stop now. If I didn’t like him, I would. I remember Dalton before his fiancée, Penny, though, and I refuse to let him lose the humanity she’s brought alive in him. Plus, it’s entertaining as hell. “Going to check with all your other friends instead?”
Dalton inhales audibly. We both know I’m the closest he has to a friend, and most of the time I’m not sure he likes me. He’s pissed. Like punch-me-in-the-face pissed. He won’t though—Penny likes me.
I hope he doesn’t storm off. I’m actually curious now.
“It’s about Penny,” he says, and my glee dissolves. Dalton’s fiancée has her share of enemies for neighbors. Sweet Penny moved into the all-male building several months back to hold an apartment for her high-powered sister, Kylie. There was a push to get her to leave and when it failed; well, let’s just say some of the men in Bachelor Tower didn’t take losing well. There has not been an overt move against either Kylie or Penny in months, but that doesn’t mean something isn’t festering.
“What happened?”
“Not what you think.” His eyes narrow and his nostrils flair. “Listen, I haven’t slept. Do you know why? Because Penny can’t sleep. And you’d think we’d be filling that time with something fun. We’re not. She’s worried about Kylie. Day and night, she spends all her time fretting about her sister, and it’s slowly killing me.”
“Did you just say fretting?” I nearly choke on my drink. He’s like an amphibian coming to shore for the first time and gasping for air. Dalton will survive this, but it’s painful to watch.
“Yes, because now I say things like fretting and inner peace and self-care. I invite people like you into my apartment for game night and dinner. I’ve evolved, okay? Do you have a fucking problem with that?”
Ah, there’s the Dalton I know and love. I pretend to wipe a tear from the corner of my eye. “No, it’s beautiful.”
“Fuck you.”
I laugh.
He almost smiles.
I motion toward a table that is a little less public than the bar. He nods and we claim our seats. I wait for him to speak first.
“Take Kylie,” he says.
“Take her where?”
“Anywhere. On a date. To a movie. A trip to the West Indies. I’ll pay for it. Completely on my dime. Just take her.” He bangs his glass down.
An image of Penny’s sister flits through my mind. Sophisticated. Polished. Beautiful, but sharp around the edges. My dick and my brain have been at odds over her since the first time I met her. She’s Dalton with a vagina. Her first personal question to me was what do I do for a living. When I told her I’m between projects, she looked at me as if I’d admitted to hoarding toenails.
I could have told her my last project was a multi-million-dollar design I sold one day after announcing it. And that downtime between projects is my norm. I’m a coder but consider myself a high-tech inventor. I do what hasn’t been done, what others consider impossible, and that’s why my programs sell for top dollar. Innovation is born in inspiration and that can’t be rushed. But it’s clear if Kylie isn’t in motion, full speed ahead, she considers herself falling behind.
Kylie is a right-brain workaholic with obsessive tendencies. Sexy. Brilliant. But not my type. This isn’t about me, though. Dalton really does look miserable. “I thought you liked your future sister-in-law.”
“I do. I don’t want her to move, just to relax.”
I can tell him that’s funny coming from someone as stressed out as he is, but he’s not really into self-deprecating humor. “Relax?”
“She’s all wound up about something, and it’s worrying Penny.”
I grimace. I feel for him, but I’m not completely done screwing with him. “Have you talked to her about it?”
Dalton glares at me across the table. “I don’t plan to sit her down over a cup of tea and ask her to open up to me. That’s why you’re here.”
I nod. “So I’m supposed to make tea?”
He sighs. “It’s bad, Ben. I think she’s rattled from how hard the guys in this building came at her, and she’s off-kilter now. Like I said, it’s enough to worry Penny.”
“You think spending time with me would help?” I try but fail to imagine Kylie sitting through a movie without constantly checking her cellphone. Or hell she may just fire up her laptop if she really needs to.
He opens his mouth and thinks on it for a moment. I can tell he’s fishing for something that might convince me. This is not his arena. Persuasion without force is a new skill for him. “You seem to get along.”
“Since I told her I’m between projects she treats me like I have a contagious disease. We don’t even talk to each other.”
“Then you’ll have a fucking lot to say when you do.”
My eyebrows rise and fall. “I’m not exactly her type.”
Dalton grinds his teeth together. “Do I look like Sally from your office standing around the water cooler playing matchmaker? I don’t care. She’s in a bad place, and she needs to have some fun. Maybe dating you, even if she hates the experience, will give her something else to think about.”
Ouch. “Why me? I’m sure the world is full of men Kylie would not enjoy spending time with. Your phone must be full of contacts. People who owe you favors and would do this.”
He frowns. Oh, this is tough for him. “I trust you. I don’t want to see her hurt, just happier.”
“You think I’d be good for her?” I’m baiting Dalton again, but he deserves it. He thinks he’s the better man because he’s banged almost every woman in this bar. I’d argue I’m better because I haven’t. My taste is a little more discerning than anyone who can walk and talk.
“Are we in negotiation? What do you want?”
“No.” I shake my head and grin. “I don’t need a thing in return. I’m happy to do a favor for you. That’s what friends do.”
“We’re back to this?”
“We are.” I take a long swig of my drink as a means to keep from laughing.
“Are you going to do this or not?”
Will I ask out a woman who clearly has no interest in me and whom I can’t imagine having a good time with because Dalton thinks it’ll help her get out of whatever worrisome funk she may be in? “I am between projects at the moment. I have the time. I was going to visit my family, though. I have four sisters. Did you know that?” I pull up my phone and flip to some pictures. Dalton couldn’t be less interested. Yeah, I’m fucking with him again. It’s addictive. “Bianca, Becky, Beth, and Bridgette.” I flash the photograph his way, and he reluctantly glances as it.
“Wonderful. But I think Kylie is straight. She’s not going to be interested in your sisters.”
Wow, he is desperate.
“This isn’t about Kylie. It’s about my family. I want to give you some context. They are always trying to set me up with someone. Their college roommate. A librarian. A barista they know from the coffee shop they go to in the morning. I’ve been set up with every sweet girl within a fifty-mile radius of my house. Eventually I started turning the dates down, and they got savvy. They’d invite me to dinner and instead of one of my sisters I’d find some kind woman who thought I’d agreed to take her out. Two weeks ago it was a woman from my family’s church. That did not go well.”
“Why are you telling me this?” Dalton’s face is creased with annoyance.
“If I agree to do this I want you to understand why.”
“That’s not necessary.” He waves a hand at me as though he’s dying for me to just shut up.
“I haven’t met anyone who understands what I do for a living. I start talking about my passion for development and software and they tune right out. They are good girls. Painfully sweet. But man, they are dull, and we end up having nothing in common. I’d like a family, but I need more than that. Maybe it’s time to try something different. Does that make sense?” I cock my head to the side and look at him as though he’s about to give me some sage wisdom.
“I’ll give you five thousand dollars right now if you stop talking. I’m serious; I’ll get my checkbook.”
“Ha!” I check my watch. “Six minutes. I went on for six minutes before you offered me money to shut up. I didn’t think I’d get past two minutes.” I’m joking about the idea of dating someone I think is entirely wrong for me, but it may have some merit. “If this works out, we could end up related.”
“Stop.” Dalton gives me a fierce look. “You don’t have to marry her. I’d prefer if you don’t even fuck her. Just take her to dinner. Distract her. Cheer her up. I don’t know what she needs but find out and give it to her so Penny can relax. That’s all I want.”
“I’ll invite her out,” I offer. “But if she says no, do you want me to kidnap her?” I chuckle but he knits his brows together as though he’s contemplating it.
“There’s some gray area there.” Dalton draws in a deep breath. “I mean if you just get her on a plane then—”
“I’m going to stop you there before this takes a dark turn.” I hold out my hand so we can shake on it, and give him a serious look. “I’ll do what I can.”
“Good.”
“You mean thank you.”
“I mean good.”
“You’re welcome.”