The Sound of Silence by Dakota Willink

Author:Dakota Willink [Willink, Dakota]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Dakota Willink, LLC

22

Val (Gianna)

Queens, New York

With my eyes wide and mouth in the shape of an O, I leaned closer to the bathroom mirror and slowly applied black mascara root to tip. When I was finished, I stood up straight, blinked a few times, then sighed.

“Oh my God, Nat! What am I doing? I must be crazy—I am so not ready for this.”

Exasperated, I tossed the mascara back into my makeup bag.

“You told Derek to ask you again in six months. I think it’s romantic he remembered,” Natalia said through the speaker of the phone propped up on the bathroom counter.

“I don’t need romance. I thought I had that once and look where it got me.”

“That was a long time ago. Besides, you already said yes. You can’t bail on the guy now. You even bought a new outfit for the occasion. You’ve got this, girl.”

“I know, and honestly, I don’t want to bail. I’m just nervous, you know? What if I’m not ready? I mean, if he tries to kiss me or…” I trailed off, not wanting to let on how worried I was about freezing up during a moment of intimacy. Just the mere thought of taking that sort of plunge again made me anxious.

“Derek is not Ethan. You know that.”

“I know, but…”

“No buts!” Natalia scolded. “Let’s go through this again. Tell me the reasons for finally saying yes to a dinner with Derek.”

“It was all the dog’s fault. He tied a note to her collar, asking me out on a date. How could I possibly say no to Maisie’s adorable puppy eyes?”

Natalia chuckled.

“He’s definitely creative—I’ll give him that much—but I’m serious. Why did you finally say yes?”

Thinking about all the tiny, yet significant, things Derek did, I smiled and bit my lower lip.

“He brought me vanilla lattes from La Biga because he just so happened to have walked by there—almost every single day,” I added with a laugh. “It’s too bad they aren’t a publicly-traded company. I would have bought stock. His purchases alone would have made me rich!”

“Okay, what else?”

“He showed me all around the city so I could feel more comfortable with the area. He sends me motivational text messages on the mornings I’m scheduled to train with him.”

“And?” she pushed.

I recalled the many times I caught him staring at me in appreciation when he thought I wasn’t paying attention. The way he looked at me made me feel whole and incredibly feminine. It always made me smile, but I didn’t need to tell Natalia all that. I knew where she was going with this.

“Look, Nat. I get what you’re trying to do here. You have to understand the way I see things. Yes, I’m stronger and more confident now—more so than I’ve ever been before in my life, but I can’t help but wonder if the coffee Derek bought for me so different from the daisies Ethan used to buy me? I allowed myself to be wooed once before, and it turned out to be a disaster.

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