We Have Till Dawn - Cara Dee Page 0,29

days, actually—to chitchat, of all things—and I had expected what’d become our new normal. A walk and then, when we came home, some good fucking until we fell asleep. Instead, he’d taken me hard in a dark alleyway behind a bar, and I’d been too turned on to point out that he hadn’t used enough lube.

I’d also been too turned on to ask for a break once we got back to the apartment. The man drove me bonkers and had revved up my sex drive to the max.

If I invited him down here—on a night I wasn’t charging him—would he show up? I mean, if he had nothing to do… Maybe we could go out for a drink afterward. It sounded so normal in my head, and I wanted something normal with him.

Nothing ventured, nothing gained, right?

I texted him quickly.

If you have nothing better to do, I’m rehearsing with the choir at my brother’s academy tonight. I’ll buy you a drink when we’re done if you’re interested.

“Okay, from the start,” Anthony announced. “We’ll do Nicky’s song after.”

Finally.

So far, we’d only worked on it separately. I’d sent the choir the sheet music along with my notes earlier in the week, and Anthony and I had tinkered with it during our lunch breaks.

I hoped it made the set list for the concert. We had enough Christian songs, one of which we were practicing tonight.

Anthony was amazing as always, and he existed only for the music. He sang and played guitar, facing the choir, while I sat at the piano. And it happened to give me a view of the hallway outside the rehearsal studio, and I spotted Shawn through the window about halfway through the song.

The fuck was he doing here?

He removed his beanie and mittens and glanced through the window, in search of Anthony, but his gaze landed on me first.

I cocked a brow.

He rolled his eyes and kept searching until he found his ATM.

Without regard to what we were doing, Shawn opened the door and walked over to Anthony.

It made me livid in a flash of a second, and I let out a sharp whistle.

“Oi! You can wait.” We were in the middle of the motherfucking song, and Anthony was concentrating.

My brother obviously heard me, and he furrowed his brow at me before he looked over his shoulder and saw his boyfriend.

“I just need a second, asshole,” Shawn spat at me.

“Why, because your first one’s too loose?” I asked.

Anthony coughed.

Maria and a few others let out a collective spluttered laugh, and the song kinda died out when Anthony stopped playing.

I stopped playing too.

Shawn shot me a glare but made no further comment. He was dressed for a Friday night in the city, so I bet he was in a hurry. He squatted down in front of Anthony and turned on the charm, speaking too quietly for me to hear, though I already knew he was here to ask for cash. It was what he did, and my infuriating brother always gave it to him.

Or maybe not this time?

I tilted my head, not bothering to pretend to be subtle, and watched Anthony’s body language. There was tension in his shoulders, but he spoke casually. Nothing casual about Shawn, though. He scowled at whatever Anthony had said.

My phone buzzed, and I dragged my gaze away to check it. A reply from Gideon.

I’d be a poor stalker if I announced my presence.

I grinned and typed back.

Well, if someone were to decide to stalk me, it’s the second entrance where there’s a sign for rehearsal studios. The door code is 7845, and I’m in the first room to the right. Stalkers are encouraged to take a seat in one of the chairs along the wall. Just in case.

If he did show up, I’d be somewhat surprised. He’d told me he wasn’t comfortable with other people’s spontaneity. He needed time to mentally prepare himself and go over all the steps and routes and risks. He’d also told me he believed it was the reason he couldn’t cook, whereas he was great at baking bread. Baking was like math. There were perfect formulas to follow to achieve perfection. Cooking required a practiced touch and feeling, he’d said.

I had to admit I loved getting to know him. Bit by bit, he shared parts of himself during our walks, sometimes serious topics, but mostly easygoing stuff.

Learning about Claire was probably tougher on me than on him at this point. I’d found out she was a family friend—Gideon’s cousin’s