Page 107 of That Girl
“You have reached Aurora After Hours. Please note that you will be charged fifty cents for the first minute and a dollar for each additional minute. Dirty talk costs extra,” I answer with my best phone sex operator voice, which honestly sounds likes I’m having an asthma attack.
Dustin’s brows rise with interest when he looks over at me.
JD starts laughing, low and delicious. “I would have a great response to that, but Connor is on speakerphone with me,” he says, a smile in his voice.
“What’s dirty talk?” Connor innocently asks.
“Oh, shi—hey, Connor!”
JD’s laughter gets more pronounced as does Dustin’s.
“Hey Rora!”
“Hey, little man. Did you have a good day today?”
“Yep! Daddy says I have to go put my jammies on now because it’s getting late, but I’m not tired,” he says with a huge yawn.
“I’ll make you a deal,” I tell him. “You do what your daddy asked and maybe he’ll let me read you a bedtime story.” I switch over to speaker so I can search for children’s storybooks on Kindle Unlimited.
“But you’re not here.”
“Your dad can leave me on speaker. Is that okay, JD?”
“Sounds fine with me. Think you can brush your teeth and get your pajamas on in less than five minutes?” he directs his son.
I hear a squeal and then the pitter-patter of feet. “Thanks for that,” JD says. “I think he ate a bowl of sugar this evening. He’s been hyped up since we got home.”
“What’s up, JD?” Dustin greets him.
“Dust, you’re with Aurora?”
Dustin dips a chip in a small bowl of salsa and munches while speaking. “Yeah. I kind of ambushed her. Seeing as you’re on the phone, I was going to call and see if you wanted to join me and a few other guys for poker night on Friday.”
I interrupt. “Oh! That reminds me, JD. Me and the girls are babysitting Lillie on Friday for Ben. I thought it would be nice for Connor to come over and meet her, maybe stay and play for a while. She’s the sweetest little girl you’ll ever meet. Connor will adore her.”
“Um…” JD trails off.
I take him off speaker.
“What’s up with theum? If you feel uncomfortable about me watching Connor, Shelby and Renee will be there too.”
“It’s not that. I trust you implicitly, sunshine. That includes with my child. I was just hoping that we could go out on that date together on Friday.”
“What date?” I ask, perplexed. Dustin mouths at me, “What date?”
“The date I won at rock climbing. Ye of short memory. You’re like a goldfish.”
I had shelved our bet to the back of my mind because thinking of being alone and on a date with JD is a very dangerous prospect to my flailing resolve when it comes to him.
“Sorry. Babysitting duties prevail. So, would you mind if Connor joined us?”
“I think he’d like that. What time?”
“Dustin, what time are you planning to meet up with your friends?”
He looks up at the ceiling. “Seven.”
“I heard that. Can I drop Connor off at six-thirty then?”
