Page 34 of The Best Bad Decision

Part of me wished I’d been lying to Valerie about the meeting but I’d just slightly exaggerated the timing. I was going to get better at being a bigger pain in the ass, though. If there was one thing I was learning from Casimir, I was being a bit too submissive in other parts of my life without realizing it.

If I was going to submit, I was going to do it consciously and not just out of habit to everyone around me.

He raised one eyebrow. “What made her think that was reasonable?”

“My mother.” I shrugged as he started to cough like he’d swallowed a bug. “They’re both insane and trying to plan a second wedding to renew our vows.”

That didn’t help his ability to breathe but it felt good to vent as he finally managed to get a response out. “They what?”

Getting him up to date on the crazy probably wasn’t necessary but it would help spread the information around the office as fast as possible. I didn’t want there to be any doubt about who that baby belonged to, and Brandon was the best information distribution system we had.

“I think my starting to date again is making her crazier.” The only part I wasn’t going to talk about was that dating Casimir had started out as one neighbor helping another. “It could be the dating-a-man thing, though.”

Hiding that wouldn’t help in the long run no matter how things turned out with Casimir.

Brandon blinked one time but that was the extent of his surprise. “I’d have thought she’d be the type to take that as a challenge, but she’s not right in the head, so it could go a variety of ways.”

He’d always taken the overly honest route and had never liked Valerie, which should’ve been a clue from the very beginning.

“There’s no logic in anything going on in my life right now.” Including Casimir but that was for entirely different reasons.

He was…

There wasn’t one word to describe Casimir. Between his feminine side and his dominant personality, he was unique in the best way. That might’ve just been because I’d dated very conventional people without realizing it.

“New man just as nuts as Valerie?” Brandon laughed when I rolled my eyes. “You look like the type to attract crazy.”

He was ridiculous.

And possibly correct depending on the definition.

“No. Thankfully.” Casimir was wonderfully logical and an incredible communicator even if I didn’t always understand how I felt about his questions. “He’s very down to earth and straightforward.”

And feisty and take-charge in a variety of ways…like sending me limits lists and topics to think about.

I’d never gotten to know someone like that but I appreciated how logical the system was. There was just something relaxing about such an organized plan where I don’t know was a reasonable response to something new.

The only downside was that it left me with a lot of questions about my past and how I’d missed so many things about myself. One aspect of it was that I seemed to have attracted all the wrong type of men when I’d been in college. Looking back, when I compared them to Casimir, it was clear they’d all been on the submissive end of the spectrum.

How they’d thought I was dominant I’d never understand, but it helped make sense of a few different things. I wasn’t uncomfortable around men even though I liked them, and I could see myself with them in a long-term sense.

I just couldn’t do that when they were submissive too.

Just having a penis and a pleasant personality wasn’t the only thing I needed to look for when dating a man. I really wished I would’ve come to that realization earlier in life, but I wasn’t sure how I’d have done it.

“If I want someone to ignore me, I’ll go back to the front desk.” Brandon’s dramatic huff had me tuning back in.

“Her name is Cordelia but the spelling is confusing, so don’t bother trying to figure it out.” The distraction had him frowning and his brain shifting gears. “Someone also gave her a rundown on the problem children and I’m betting your name was on the top of the list.”

He just brought in entirely too much money for most people to bother with it.

“Some people just can’t move past a few little inconveniences.” His response said he’d learned nothing from the closet incident. “Hey, the dating a guy thing…”

Had he finally realized he was homophobic?

I raised one eyebrow and waited to see what kind of crazy would fall out of his mouth.

“Are you rainbow enough to join the LGBT Chamber of Commerce or are you just a little colorful? Just dating a guy isn’t going to cut it.” He seemed to think the question was reasonable but I wasn’t sure how offended I should be.