Total pages in book: 87
Estimated words: 99918 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 500(@200wpm)___ 400(@250wpm)___ 333(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 99918 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 500(@200wpm)___ 400(@250wpm)___ 333(@300wpm)
The contracts had been finalized, signatures being obtained. Everything moved forward as planned, all except this one little hitch, Dylan still hadn’t spoken to him in nine long days.
Planning his timing, Tristan paced the outside deck. Teri said Dylan always ended his day in his office, tying up the loose ends. They’d made a plan for him to call about five o’clock that afternoon, Dallas time. He’d thought about what to say over and over again. Practiced different scenarios, but in his heart, he knew Dylan needed to keep the personal side personal and the business side business, like Teri suggested. Tristan just had to learn to keep all those areas straight too.
Biting the bullet, he blocked his number and dialed Dylan’s direct dial extension. On the third ring, Tristan’s heart plummeted, on the fourth ring it soared.
“Dylan Reeves.” His voice sounded professional and maybe somewhat distracted. Whatever the tone, Tristan’s dick took notice.
“Hey, Dylan, it’s Tristan,” he said casually, staring out into the ocean. He watched the waves break in the surf as he listened for the man on the other end of the line.
“Did I lose you?” he asked after what he suspected was a full minute’s lag.
“No, I’m here,” Dylan answered and cleared his throat. “I thought Teri got everything to you this afternoon.”
“She did. This isn’t a work-related call.” Tristan paused, waiting for Dylan to respond. Nothing again. He took a deep breath, hoping to calm his own butterflies in his stomach.
“Did I lose you this time?” Tristan asked again.
“No,” Dylan said, his voice softer now.
“I waited until we got all the business settled between us. I want to come there and take you out,” Tristan blurted out nervously. Like an idiot! That was real smooth…he didn’t want to scare Dylan off, and he prayed he hadn’t overstepped that boundary.
“I thought we’d schedule an introduction-slash-celebration deal for the staff. Not just surprise them with you and your team showing up unannounced,” Dylan replied.
“No, that’s mixing business and personal. I want to come to Dallas this weekend and take you out on a date. I miss you,” Tristan tried to explain again. That confession had Dylan completely silent. Tristan held the line, waiting. He had an arsenal of comebacks and excuses prepared for however Dylan decided to decline his invitation.
“I don’t think that’s wise,” Dylan cleared his voice again.
“Just a date, nothing else,” Tristan shot back. He’d already decided, this wasn’t just about sex. He liked Dylan, liked him a lot, and wanted to spend time with him.
“No sex?” Dylan asked very quietly.
“Right,” he assured, immediately regretful. They were absolutely more than sex, but he’d been without for nine long days already. “Absolutely. Just the two of us hanging out.”
Dylan stared down at the desk phone like the thing had grown three legs. His brain had a hard time catching up. He blamed his slowness on the deep rich baritone of Tristan’s voice. Something he’d dreamed about for the last several nights. One of the hazards of taking sleeping medicine at night.
“You don’t want to have sex with me? You just want to go out?” Dylan asked again in his usual very direct way. “I’m confused. That’s all we did was have sex.”
A deep sigh filled the phone. “We did more than just have sex. Of course I want to make love to you, but not this time. We need to start things over—you know, from the beginning.”
“You know I can’t go out with you. Certainly not around here,” Dylan responded, sitting back in his chair, letting the familiar creak of the springs lull him as he rocked the nervous energy from his body.
“Then I’ll get a place. We can have dinner in my room,” Tristan offered up quickly. The man had definitely prepared for any excuse Dylan made.
“With no sex in your hotel room? And this isn’t business?” Dylan asked. Then what the hell was it?
“Correct. I’m thinking Friday night now,” Tristan stated.
“Dinner in your hotel room, no sex, and no business, on Friday?” Dylan asked, again disbelieving.
“Yes,” Tristan answered.
“I should say no.” Dylan wanted to answer yes, but his logical and moral compasses made the decision hard for him. He missed this man too much. He hurt on a level he had never experienced before in his life and the pain never subsided. His heart never stopped hurting no matter what he did.
“But you’re not going to, are you?” Tristan questioned.
“No, I’m not going to.” Dylan finally gave in. “Mainly because I can’t figure this out.” The conversation they were having now and what it meant, the depth of his desire for this man he’d known for all of a few days…none of it made sense.
“I’ll take what I can get. Now, until then, you can put me out of my misery and text me from time to time? Every email I’ve sent you includes my personal cell phone number,” Tristan pointed out.
Dylan stayed silent again. Personal stays personal, business stays business, and a date with no sex. Okay that was different than anything they had done before. Could Tristan be trying to move them in the direction of friendship? Better question, did Dylan even have it in him to go there with the guy? Probably not. He already knew he wanted more. He couldn’t hide his feelings well enough to pull off friendship.
Yet, if they could manage to be friends, then the next few years wouldn’t completely suck as he worked for Wilder and figured his life out.
“All right,” he finally said, not having any idea what he’d say in a text to Tristan.
“That didn’t sound convincing. What’s your cell phone number?” Tristan asked.
Dylan started to rattle off the digits and stopped. “You have my number. You’ve called me.” Before he even finished, his cell phone beeped. There was a text with a California area code.
“I think I heard your phone. That’s probably from me.”
“You just said ‘Hey, it’s Tristan.’ Not a lot to work with to start a friendly conversation,” Dylan responded into the phone, trying for some humor.