To The Single Dad in the Store by J.S. Cooper
Chapter Twenty-Seven
“So areyou ready for our date?” Steele kissed my shoulder and grinned at me a few hours later.
“Yes and no.” I laughed. “I need to go home and change, and I just want to check in with Shelby to make sure she’s okay.”
“Can’t you text her?”
“Yes, I can, but I want to check in on her in person.”
“You’re such a good person.” He sat up. “Okay, shall we shower?”
“Together?” I raised an eyebrow and he started laughing harder than I’d ever seen him laugh before. “What’s so funny?”
“We just spent the last 12 hours making love and you’re questioning if we should shower together.”
“I only said that because I have a feeling you’ll want to get down and dirty in the shower and that will delay our date even more.”
“You’re really excited about this date, aren’t you?” He looked pleased with himself.
“Maybe.” I smiled sweetly. “But you go ahead and shower, and then we can go to my house, and I will shower and change and check in on Shelby.”
“But I’ll miss you in the shower.”
“You’ll be fine.” I laughed and then reached down to grab my phone. I was surprised to see that I had no missed calls or texts. Was Shelby mad at me? Had something happened to her?
“What’s wrong?” Steele frowned as he studied my face. “You look worried.”
“I haven’t heard anything from Shelby.” I bit down on my lower lip. “That’s not like her.” I tried calling her number, but her phone went straight to voicemail. “Oh man, I’m worried.” I jumped up from the bed, not even caring that I was standing there in all my naked glory. “Her phone isn’t ringing. Do you mind if we just go directly to my house? Is that okay? Do you mind?”
“Of course, I don’t mind, Nellie. Let me just throw on some clothes and then I’ll drive you home. Do you think she’s okay? Has she ever done anything like this before?”
I shook my head vehemently. “No, never. I thought I’d have all sorts of messages from her asking me where I was and telling me what happened with Sam, but there’s nothing. I mean, maybe she’s mad at me, but something in me is telling me that it’s more than that.”
“Do you think she’s okay? Do you want to call the cops?”
“I think she’s okay. We shouldn’t have to call the cops. At least, I hope not.”
I never should have left her alone. What could she be up to? And why was her phone dead? She loved her phone more than anything. She never let her battery die. She had at least three different portable charges that she carried around with her.
“Okay. I’m dressed.” Steele said with a quick smile. “You want to get your clothes on as well, Nellie? And then we’ll go.” His eyes were sparkling and looking me up and down.
“Oh yeah.” I looked down at my naked body, slightly embarrassed. “I forgot to put my dress on. “
“I don’t mind. I love looking at you naked. You’re very sexy.”
“Not now, Steele.” I admonished him. “We have to go. I have to make sure she’s okay.” I grabbed my dress and pulled it on.
“Come on. Let’s go. I suppose we can always shower at your place.”
“I don’t know about that. “I gave him an awkward look. “I don’t know if my brother Hunter would be happy to know you were showering in his home. “
“Oh, right. I forgot about that.” He pursed his lips. “I still have to meet your brother.”
“You will! Soon. Let’s figure out what’s going on with Shelby. Then we can come back and I’ll shower here or—I don’t know. I’m finding it hard to think right now.”
“No worries, Nellie. Let’s go and try and figure out what’s going on with Shelby, then we can worry about everything else.”