Chapter 86: Don’t Want a Hero
- DEX -
Around noon, I get a text from Liz thanking me for setting up the meeting with Raya and saying how much she enjoyed visiting with her.
’Raya makes me feel comfortable moving forward. I’m really excited, Dex. Thank you for the opportunity.’
Yes! I knew they would hit it off. I’m so excited for Raya, because this will give her the confidence she needs to move forward with her career goals. And I can see how part of this job that I would really love doing in the future is connecting our creative people with the right clients.
’That’s great, Liz. I’m glad to hear it. You have developed a special product line that everyone at Mobius will be proud to partner with, and I know Raya will do it justice.’
’She’s genuine and lovely. I’m happy for you,’ she sends back, and I have to reread the message a few times.
Liz and I were friends in college, but we haven’t been close since. She must assume that Raya and I are together, though, which I suppose isn’t much of a leap since I arranged the meeting at my house. For some reason her acknowledgement of that relationship, which hasn’t even been formally established yet, brings a huge smile to my face.
If Liz is texting me about the meeting, I wonder why Raya hasn’t let me know how it went yet.
’Congratulations! Liz texted me to say how excited she is to work with you.’
Right after I hit send on that message, Grace walks into my office.
"So you decided to come to work today," she says with a smirk, and I have to bite back an angry reply. How is she just walking into the building and right to my office like she owns the place? Maybe I do need an assistant after all.
"I went over the shoot with Jeremy this morning," I reply. "It looks good."
"Of course it does," she says, shrugging and batting her eyelashes. "What did you expect?"
I glance up at her, not at all concerned with hiding my lack of interest in replying to that question.
"Aren’t you flying out today? I thought you would be on a plane by now."
"Yeah, I’m on my way to the airport. I just wanted to say goodbye. I came into town to visit you, after all."
"Well, I’m glad it wasn’t an entirely wasted trip," I say with a tight smile. "Next time, call."
"God, Dex. Can I at least get a hug or something? It’s like I’m a stranger," she groans.
I stare at my desk for a moment before pushing off and giving in to the request. If it will help her move along faster, then it will be worth it.
"I hope everything goes well with your father," she says, patting my back as we embrace. "I truly do."
"Thank you."
When she pulls away, it’s the Grace I remember—not the strangely demanding and needy one that showed up here this week. She has a soft, genuine smile that isn’t expecting anything in return.
"Take care of yourself," I tell her.
"You too." And then she turns to leave. Just before she opens the door, she adds: "I met the new girl. She’s cute."
Before the remark fully sinks in, she’s gone, and I’m left frowning at the door. My thoughts first go to whether or not we have any new employees, but then it hits me that she’s talking about Raya. Fuck. That must be why I haven’t heard from her yet.
I check my phone and see that Raya hasn’t replied back, and my mind immediately starts firing with all of the possible scenarios of what this encounter might have looked like. Grace showed up at the house. Who knows what she said?
Instead of texting Raya again, I try calling. It rings and rings until the voicemail recording comes on, and her voice is so sweet on the message that it makes my chest ache. Please don’t be ignoring me, Raya. I can explain. Whatever the hell Grace said, it has nothing to do with us.
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- RAYA -
Hero sex. That’s the new concept Dex’s ex girlfriend has left me with, and no matter what I do, I can’t get that sickening image of the two of them out of my head.
And the whole savior thing fits with me, doesn’t it? That’s what brought this all on. If the car accident hadn’t happened, if he hadn’t discovered the creepy peeping neighbor, if Rory hadn’t been out of town, Dex and I wouldn’t be here right now. He was saving me. I needed a hero, and he needed to be one. And that’s what this is.
The only thing that’s interfering with that very simple explanation is the dreams that Dex and I are sharing. But it’s not enough to keep this churning nausea from escalating, and I just know that I need to get out of here and I need to think.
I lock up the house and retreat to the guest house, but then I end up lying in bed staring at the ceiling, running every interaction Dex and I have ever had through my mind. Because we’ve known each other for such a short time and he’s way too perfect to be real, my head is winning at convincing my heart that this was all so naive. Maybe he’s not aware that he’s doing it, but Dex definitely stepped into this fantasy hero role that the grossly perfect ex-girlfriend described.
I don’t want a hero. I mean... okay, I did want a hero. I loved how he stepped in and took care of everything when one thing after another started falling apart. But now... now I don’t. Dex doesn’t get to just swoop in and fix everything and then eventually get bored with me. I need to find a way to fight for myself. I need to take care of my own problems.
The determination to start figuring things out myself gradually makes the nausea lessen, and a short-term plan forms. It’s a hasty plan, I admit. It’s probably pretty stupid. But I’m a grown woman, and I’m going to go out and prove it.
