"Damian?" I breathed, even I could hear the disbelief and shock in my voice.
Greg turned to follow my gaze, and there he was. Damian. He stood right in front of me, looking as sharp as I remember. I juggled between thinking it was a dream or a nightmare. His jaw was clenched, his lips pressed into a thin line. And his eyes threw fire darts in Greg's direction. It seemed like I wasn't important at the moment.
"Who's he?" Damian asked, his gaze still trained on Greg but question directed at me.
Greg, to my surprise, didn't flinch. I had to give him credit because the look in Damian's eyes was murderous. Greg held his ground extending a hand to Damian. 'wrong move, dude… wrong move' I thought to myself. I'm Greg," he said, extending a hand. "And you are?"
Damian didn't take it, and then his gaze turned to me. "Sofia? Where the hell have you been?"
Oh boy.
"I really don't think that's any of your business, I am on a date and I would very much like to bid my date goodnight and leave," I was trembling inside but I had to stay strong. So many things could go wrong if Damian gets more information about me.
He took an angry step towards me, "What the fuck do you mean it's none of my business?"
"Hey, I really think you need to take a step back. As she said, it's none of your business,"
Damian turned his full attention to Greg, it was like watching a cartoon of 'The Lion and the Mouse' "If you do not stay out of this, I will make you my business."
"As a gentleman, I will take my cue from the lady, I suggest you do the same as well,"
"Sofia? You know me quite well, don't you? I advise you to ask this little man to run along or I will hunt him down and turn his life inside out," He was right. It was unfair to get Greg mixed up in my complicated life and we weren't officially dating yet. I can't wait to give Emma the good news! 'So, I went on that blind date but my psycho ex threatened to murder him so I will be expecting his call in the morning.'
I stepped between them, "Okay, that's enough testosterone for one night., Damian."
I took Greg's hand and stepped to the side. "I'm really sorry about this but I need to handle this right here, right now. So, how about I call you tomorrow?"
"I'm not going to leave you alone here with this lunatic? Why is he calling you Sofia? Did I get your name wrong?"
"I promise there is an explanation for everything. But I will be fine."
"I will be calling you every fifteen minutes,"
"deal,"
He leaned in to give me a peck on the cheek but I kinda got the feeling he was flipping Damian off behind me.
"Oh for fucks sake!!!" Damian groaned behind me.
I waved Greg goodbye and hoped I would be done with this nightmare in fifteen minutes.
"What are you doing here, Damian?"
"Doesn't matter why I'm here. Do you have any idea what you put me through all these years? I thought you were dead in a ditch somewhere. I searched high and low for you, my mind almost exploded with worry, and you're just here, doing fine, going on dates with little men and… Sofia. What the fuck happened?" I waited for his tirade to end.
"Are you done?"
"What happened to you?" he asked, his eyes tender.
"I needed a fresh start. I needed to evaluate what I really wanted with my life," I tried to explain but the words just weren't coming out right.
"And you thought torturing me for three years was the way to go? Sofia… I thought you were dead. You could have told me,"
"Would you have let me leave, Damian?" I asked almost quietly.
"Well, no but …"
"There are no buts. It didn't matter what I wanted or needed. I never mattered,"
"Sofia… you know that's not true," he tried to reach for my hand but I stepped away from his reach.
"I have to go," I stepped to the curb and hailed another taxi.
"Wait, how do I find you?" he asked before I got into the car.
"You don't," I said to him without looking back at him. I was proud of myself.
*****
When I walked into the house, Lucas was asleep already on Emma's lap. She looked up at me with suspicion. I hadn't even closed the door before her investigation began.
"I told you to go out and get some D, not to have a psycho show up? What in the world happened?" she was whispering and yelling at the same time so as not to wake Lucas.
I kicked off my shoes and dropped my keys on the dining table. "I am guessing Greg called you already,"
"Of course he did. He said some brutish, maniacal dude showed up and was calling you Sofia? What's going on Anita?" she emphasized my name at the end to be sure she was talking to the right person.
I let out a long sigh, "It's a long story, Em. Can I put Lucas to bed first?"
I shifted Lucas into my arms and took him to his bedroom, gently kissing his forehead, I adjusted the bedding and pulled up the comforter before leaving the room. When she came back, she crossed her arms, ready for answers.
I grabbed a glass of water and leaned against the kitchen counter. "Well, the man that I met today is Lucas' father."
"Okay?" there was no reaction, not yet.
"He doesn't know about Lucas and I want it to stay that way,"
"Did he hit you?" she asked me holding my gaze.
"What? No… I mean… not the way you think. He wasn't a horrible person, it's just that things got too complicated for me and so I had to leave,"
Emma gave a relieved sigh before she backtracked, suddenly realizing the manner I had answered her question. "So… he didn't hit you but he spanked you? Awwww… you naughty girl! I knew you had a kinky side. I could feel it in my bones,"
Good lord! Did the girl ever take anything seriously? "That's your takeaway? That's all you got from this conversation?"
She ignored me and danced around the house. "no wonder you're picky about men. You have a standard. Shi…. I would not have seen that coming. So many things make sense now!"
I grabbed her purse from the center table, and shoved both her and the purse out the door, "Thanks for watching Lucas! See you on Monday!!!" Whew!