Page 90 of Just Ten Seconds

It’s a little unnerving, having them here. While I’ve been up all night, preparing for them to walk away from me when they hear my lies, they’ve been living their lives as if nothing has changed. To them, it hasn’t. I want to bask in their naiveté. To be in the dark is sometimes better than the spotlight.

Dean leans against my door in casual elegance. “We’re taking an impromptu trip to Manhattan,” he explains. “It’s a congratulations on being Flounder present.”

“I can’t. I’m sorry, but it’s not a good time,” I explain.

“Are you going to a costume party? Oh! Wait. Are you in a play?” She eyes my yellow gown.

“No. This is old. I was just about to change—”

“Do you have work?” Amanda asks keenly.

I shake my head.

“Plans?” She pushes up on her toes.

I shake my head again. “Not exactly but …” I bite the inside of my cheek. “How did you know where I lived?”

“We stopped by the café, and Jackie was there. She gave us your address.” He places his hands in his pockets and leans back on his heels. “I tried calling, but it went to voice mail. Jackie said I had a better chance of you saying yes if I showed up at your doorstep with this one.” He nudges toward Amanda, who is doing the floss dance.

“Do you want to come? Please? Please! I’d be so excited if you went. It’s my dad’s first time too, and we know nothing about Broadway. Pleeeeaaaase,” she begs with wide blue eyes and a grin that’s missing a tooth.

I look to the side and think of an excuse. I have company coming over, I could say. Dishes to clean, hair to wash, bills to pay … it would all be falsehoods. And while I’m guilty of my lie of omission, I have never spoken an untruth to them. And if I’m honest with myself, I really want to go with them. I want to do everything with them.

We’ll have a great day, and then I’ll talk to him tonight.

Yes, tonight, I will come clean with Dean.

“How do I say no to that face?” I grab Amanda’s chin and give it a gentle squeeze. “I have to change. Do you want to come in?” I open the door further to let them in.

“Can I play outside?” Amanda looks up at Dean.

“Sure. Just stay on the lawn,” he tells her.

Amanda runs outside to play on Rita’s front lawn. Dean comes in, closing the door behind him.

He looks so large in my small apartment as he takes in the living room with a denim couch and glass end tables. The only decoration I have is a large mirror behind the couch and a couple of pictures that Jackie brought over after I moved in. By the time he reaches the TV, he’s done a complete assessment of the room, which is easy because of its size.

I leave him and walk down the hall to my bedroom.

As I’m taking off the Belle costume, I hear him speaking through the walls, “Your place is nice.”

“It’s okay; you can say it. It’s small,” I say through the door.

I can hear the springs of my couch squeak with his weight. “I didn’t say that. I like it. It’s cozy.”

I roll my eyes. “That’s as politically correct as me saying your house is clean.”

“Ahh, yes. My boring house. Well, I’m putting it on the market soon.”

My hands halt on the zipper. “You are?”

I hear his footsteps as he walks on the hardwood. “Yeah. I’d like to be out when all the homes are sold. Seven are in contract. Seven more to go, and then I’ll sell mine.”

“Your house is so beautiful. You should keep it.”

“I don’t know. I think my plans are starting to change,” he says with a purposeful drawl.

I hear him walk into the kitchen, his voice getting closer. “Smells good in here. Did you just make something?”