Page 43 of Wild Thing
“So, give me an insight into future Dylan. What is it that she wants?”
A probing question.
I grazed my hand over another textured tile sample. “I’d love my own consultancy one day.”
“It’s all possible.”
“That’s why I need to do a kick ass job on this Studio Pase build. It’s the large scale project my portfolio needs.”
"You will. The plans are strong, Dyl."
Brax's approval made me blush. "Thanks."
"You're blushing."
"What? No, I'm not!"
"Don't be embarrassed. It's cute."
"I'm not blushing, Brax."
"You are. Your cheeks are rose pink," he said. He reached over and gently grazed the back of his knuckles across my cheeks. "It makes your little freckles pop."
I looked up at him underneath my lashes.
What was only a second or two, felt like minutes, as we paused. The urge to kiss him was too much, so I scrunched up my nose and playfully slapped his arm. It was like hitting a tree trunk.
Brax cleared his throat. “Greg’s loyal too. If he likes your style, he’ll continue to hire you, no matter where you work. Even if you do end up working for yourself.”
"So, we might be destined to work together forever?"
"Does that scare you?"
The thought didn't frighten me. It excited me. And I felt guilty as hell for feeling joy at the idea of Brax and I taking on the world as a team.
But that was a pipe dream. We lived in different states, and had partners waiting at home for us. I really needed to reign in my unrealistic fantasies.
We continued to browse the aisle.
“The older I get though, the more I doubt myself," I confessed. "I don't know if I have what it takes to run my own business.”
Brax pretended he was interested in the tiles, but I could tell he was thinking about his next words carefully.
“That doesn’t sound like you," he said, still staring at the tiles. "The girl I know would do it no matter what.”
Brax made a good point, one that hit me right in the nerves. Zack had slowly beaten to death that risk-taking side of me. That spontaneous part of my personality that I used to wear like a badge of honor.
I missed that part of myself. I liked her.
“I’ve listened to opinions that I shouldn’t have, I guess.”
I remembered the last time I told Zack that I wanted to start my own interior design consultancy. He was quick to remind me of what could go horribly wrong if I left my secure, well paying job.
“It’s a gamble, the odds are stacked against you. Be a realist,”Zack had said, dismissing me.
I wanted to scratch his eyes out for that buzzkill remark. I never did share anything like that with him again.
But with Brax? He was a dreamer. Like I used to be.
