In a strange way, I felt protected by all of them. I knew what happened to Gene wasn’t right, but the truth was, he was an awful person. Neither Simon nor I deserved to be a pawn in his sadistic game. And so, it probably goes without saying that I began to feel close to Dyson—closer than I had to any man in a long time.
I didn’t know whether or not he might have been feeling the same way towards me, but I couldn’t remember the last time I saw Anastasia or Svetlana hanging around. Of course, I didn’t ask him about it. It wasn’t like we were hooking up. I figured they’d show up sooner or later, and when they did I’d get my usual threats.
One afternoon, after the team finished testing and doing some work on the cars, Dyson came to the team trailer where I was finishing up some paperwork. He entered, knocking on the door at the same time.
I glanced up at him. He stood there, casually leaning against the open door with his hand hooked over the top of it. Dyson’s hair was damp, his skin streaked with grease and dust. Without thinking, I licked my lips, and our eyes met. Covered in a fine sheen of perspiration, he nodded at me.
“Hey,” he said.
“Hey.”
“I’m starving. You hungry?”
“Yeah. I mean, I could eat. I’ve just got some stuff to finish up here first.”
Dyson let go of the door. “Great, I’ll grab a shower, and we’ll go get something. Sound good?”
I smiled at him. “Are you asking me out on a date?”
Dyson chuckled. “It’s only a date if I bring flowers. I’m not a flower type of guy.”
I shook my head and grinned. “All right then, I guess we’ll just call it dinner.”
Dyson nodded his head, “I’ll be back in thirty.”
“Okay, see you then.”
With that, he turned and closed the door behind him as he left.
About an hour or so later, we arrived at probably the nicest restaurant I’d ever seen. Growing up, if we ever ate at a restaurant that had a second fork on the table, we felt privileged. When we sat down at the table, they asked me what kind of water I wanted. Before I could answer, they gave me four choices. Tap water wasn’t one of them, but I asked for it anyway.
“A little too upscale for you?” Dyson began, clearly enjoying himself.
I flashed a sarcastic smile at him. “Give me a break. Don’t act like you grew up eating like this. I’m quite sure that there are no restaurants like this in Pomona.”
He leaned back in his chair, tossing his arm over it. “How do you know? Have you ever been to Pomona?”
“No,” I said, leaning over the table and pointing at him. “But I’ve seen some of the stuff you eat, and I know they don’t serve it here.”
He chuckled and raised his index finger to his lips. “Don’t tell Darren about that. He’s always worried I’m gonna be too heavy for the car.”
I gestured towards the bread basket at the center of the table.
“Better steer clear of that, chubby,” I said, giggling and reaching for it. I pulled it just out of his reach. “We wouldn’t want your love handles keeping you from getting in the car.”
“You finished?”
I let go of the basket and smiled at him. “For now, yeah, I think so.”
Dyson winked at me and looked up, towards the other side of the restaurant. A second later, he raised the arm that was draped over the back of his chair, gesturing for someone to approach. I looked away and picked up the menu. Opening it, I began to scan some of the choices, when I heard him speak once again.
“How are you?” he said.
Before I glanced up from the menu, I heard the response.
“Excellent, sir, how are you and your lovely companion doing this evening?”
Just then, I drew my eyes upward and saw him. A tall, slender man, easily more than six feet, stood next to the table. In his hand, he held a basket filled with at least one hundred long-stemmed roses. By then, the subtle fragrance of the flowers made their way to my nose. Realizing what was happening, I glanced towards Dyson.
His focus never wavered from the man.
“How much?” he asked, leaning back and sliding his hand into his pocket. A split second later, Dyson produced a big stack of bills.
The man’s eyes widened at the sight of the money. He glanced towards me for an instant, before returning his attention to Dyson.
“Well, sir,” he said, gesturing in my direction. “Can we put a price on a beauty like hers?”
I rolled my eyes at his cheesiness.
Dyson chuckled. “You’re good, man. That’s not bad. Seriously though, how much?”
The man straightened his posture a bit. “Five dollars per flower.”
I glanced at Dyson once again. As I watched him, he leaned away from the man a bit and began to point at the basket.
“Whatdya got there? A hundred?”
The man cleared his throat and repositioned the basket in his hand.
“Sir, I… I-I’m not sure exactly how many flowers there are.”
Dyson raised his thumb to his mouth and gave it a quick lick. Soon after, he reached for the bills in his hand and began to fold them back, one after another.
“I’ll give you five hundred bucks for all of them. Sound good?”
I leaned forward, pressing my palms flat against the table. “Dyson! Are you crazy?”
The flower man, sensing he had an easy mark, turned his back to me and addressed Dyson directly.
“Excellent decision, sir. Absolutely!”
The man then began to remove a handful of roses when Dyson spoke up once again.
“No, no,” he said, causing the man to freeze in place. “For five hundred, I get the basket too.”
An awkward cross between a giggle and a chuckle sputtered from the man’s lips.
“Yes, of course sir. Please forgive me.”
Dyson waved him off. “Don’t mention it.”
In less than a minute, the two men completed their transaction. I leaned back in the chair, shaking my head in disbelief.
“Why?” I began, pointing at the absurd number of flowers on the table. “Why would you buy all of those flowers?”
Dyson leaned back in his chair as well. He nodded towards the roses and said, “Well, I guess this is a date after all, isn’t it?”
Smiling, I just shook my head.
DYSON
Ava shook her head and reached for the flower basket. After removing one of the roses from it, she brought it to her nose, closed her eyes and inhaled.
“Well?” I began, gesturing towards the basket. “Does this qualify me as date material now?”
Ava lowered the flower away from her face and shifted her jaw. “You’re totally ridiculous. You realize that, don’t you?”
“Hey, if I knew how much you liked it, I would’ve bought you flowers a long time ago.”
With that, Ava placed the flower back on top of the stack. Afterward, she turned her focus on me again. I looked at her. It was nice to see her in a place like this. It’s where a woman like her belonged. Not only was she beautiful, but tough, and brave.
“Why are you looking at me like that?” she asked.
I shrugged. “No reason. Just trying to imagine you naked and covered in rose petals.”
Ava’s skin flushed. She looked away from me. “Dyson.”
“Ava.”
After another second or two, she looked at me again. “I think we need to change the subject.”
“Well, for the record, I disagree. I think the subject of you being naked is an awesome one.”
She placed her palms flat on the table and pretended to be upset.
“Can you please be serious? For just one second?”
I shrugged and leaned back in my chair. “I’m dead serious. I can’t wait to get you naked.”
She groaned and waved me off.
After making her suffer for a few seconds longer, I leaned forward and winked at her. “We’ll, um, discuss that later.”