Awkward Meet Normal

Chapter Thirty-Seven

Annabelle:

I was not going to see him tonight.

I was not going to see him tonight.

I walked through his front door.

"Annabelle?" He said, calling my name.

"Oh," I said. "Hello." I started to backpedal out of his formal dining room. Where was the nearest exit?

I was dressed in yoga capris and a long sleeve shirt that said, Self Love. I found it for two dollars. It was my favorite green color. Why did I not dress up to see my dad?

Oh, because I wanted to see if he was the prick I grew up with my whole life. But he wasn't. He was nice. And I think I actually might like him. Hence why I was at Dash's house. So I could talk to him about it.

I did not expect him to have house guests. The house guests, one was his mother, saw me. Hopefully, they assumed I was the cleaning crew or dog walker.

Dog walker.

I stepped around the corner and smiled at Dash. "Sorry, I'm late for Rufus."

"Rufus?" Dash asked; he had an amused look on his face.

"I need to take him on his nightly walk," I said.

What a cover.

Until the man next to Pat, his sister, said, "how many walks a night does that dog get?"

I looked at Dash.

"Annabelle, the normal gal, already came and went for him."

"Oh," I mouthed. "That's why I came over, so that I could take him for a walk," I said, motioning to my clothes.

He leans in and kisses me on the lips.

He whispers in my ear, "I missed you too, Smalls." To the rest of the room, he turns and says, "my wonderful girlfriend." Loud enough for everyone to hear, "Rufus would love a second walk, but I think we would enjoy your company more."

Rufus was sitting at my feet; it was doubtful these people floating around could love my attention more than Rufus.

"Maybe a little ball throwing later," I said, looking down at him and patting his head.

There were eight people in the dining room.

"What did I find myself walking into?" I asked, grabbing his wine glass out of his hand and speaking to him behind it.

"A small gathering."

"But why?" I asked.

"Because my mother has been hounding to see you again. So I told her tonight would work. And then, when she arrived, I told her you had to go to the hospital to see your dad."

He had done it last minute to make my life easier.

"Do you just want me because of my family?" I asked.

He chokes on the intake of air. "No."

Patricia, his mother, stepped over to us. Whatever Dash was going to say is now forgotten.

"Anna," she said, kissing me on both cheeks. "It is so good to see you again."

"Likewise," I smiled at her. Dash was standing to the side of her, smiling at our interaction. All he did was smile. I wanted to wipe it off of his face. But I really didn't.

The small get-together was to show me off. I could tell as Patricia show boated me to each person. Dash's dad was not attending. I was going to have to ask him about that later.

It was a total Anna thing. To show up to his mom being proud of me, I'm wearing leggings and a self-love long sleeve. Eh, it was who I was and Dash for some reason. Loved me.

Dash:

Pat was standing next to me as we watched my mother parade Annabelle, through the small group one by one.

"It is like she is the bell of the ball, and we are in some twisted version of Bridgerton."

I snort on my drink. Pat came with a boyfriend. I couldn't remember her boyfriend's name. She did it to mess with my mother. I never knew if she would ever settle down.

"You like her, don't you?" She asked.

I look at my sister and turn back to watch Annabelle. "I love her."

My sister is the one now coughing. "You waited until I was taking a drink." She said, giving me the eye.

"What about you?" I tease.

I look at the guy she brought tonight—an investment banker.

"This looks like a candidate mom might approve of."

She shrugs. "He tried getting me to do coke before we came in tonight."

"Uh."

"I won't. But it was fun watching mom be excited for two minutes. I can't believe how much she loves," she purposely drags the word out, "Annabelle. She's dressed like your dog walker."

"She is not." 

"Dash, she's in leggings and some shirt with a saying on it. The only difference is your dog walker was wearing a crop top."

I didn't even notice her clothes until now. The rest of the people in the room were severely overdressed, as was I. I had come straight from work. But why was everyone else dressed to the nines?

"Yeah, I guess she is." It didn't matter to me.

"You do love her. Holy shit. Are you going to get married?"

That was the plan.

"I asked her to move in with me. She told me we needed to slow things down."

Pat's eyes sparkle at that. "Good for her. Fucking impressive. She tamed the beast."

"I'm not a beast."

She pats my shoulder, "Of course not. You are too ugly to be the beast."

"Thanks" I give her the eye and then go save my girlfriend.

How was I going to get everyone out of here? Could I take an emergency?

And could I somehow get Annabelle back in my office?