“Holy shit,” she and Donovan said at the same time.
“That just made my mouth water,” he said. I shrugged as I smiled.
As I was handing out the sandwiches, I casually asked whatI came here to ask. “So, are you guys heading to the twins’ tonight?”
“Ugh. Yes. Reluctantly,” Maeve said. “I am not super interested in it, but if it’s supposed to be this rare event, maybe it’ll be worth seeing. Tucker is at his sister’s tonight.”
“And you?” I turned to Donovan.
“I am, and unlike this Debbie Downer here,”—he pointed his thumb at Maeve—“I am very excited for both the gathering and the event.”
“Yay!” I said, having a hard time controlling the smile on my face. “I think so too. I mean, if nothing else, it’ll be a fun get-together. Bennett was talking about all these themed drinks he wanted to make.”
“Yeah, yeah,” Maeve replied, rolling her eyes. “But Audra, seriously, this sandwich is next level. Donovan, up your financial package to hire her as an office chef. I’m only half joking.”
“You interested in that, Audra?” He said to me in a flirty tone. I was, without a doubt, hanging on the way he said my name.
“For the two of you, I just might be able to make that work.” I laughed as I replied. “But this really was just a delivery. Half a work shift calls. I am going to get there around 6:45 tonight. Can’t wait to see you guys. Work on that financial package, Donovan. Give me your best.”
Because Lord knows I was most assuredly going to bring mine.
18
DONOVAN
Maeve was very perceptive, and I wondered if she had picked up on how much I stared at her friend. Because I couldn’t look away from her, or get over her damn food. It was such a simple sandwich idea, but Maeve was right; she took it from good to spectacular. I could have eaten four more of them without a problem.
Knowing she was planning to be at the Parade of Planets made my day. I mean, I assumed she’d be there if she had nothing else going on, but I didn’t know her schedule, and it seemed fluid anyway with all the shifts she picked up. But now that she was going to be there? I was that much more excited.
That night, I arrived at the twins’ house just before seven and found my siren immediately. After saying hello to the people already there, I got a drink and brought myself over to Audra and some guy she was talking to. He was clearly flirting with her, and it just … it didn’t sit well with me. There was that same flair of jealousy I felt that night I was watching her at The Yard from my office. At least I had a little more reason now. I bet she never made carbonara for this guy. Noticing her drink was almost gone, I suggested we get another one and excused us both. After we got some outer space-themed drinks the twins had concocted specifically for the party, I guided her to the Adirondack chairs by the fire pit. At poker night, I learned Maverick had designed and built them. They had extra-wide arms and additional reinforcement so people could sit comfortably on them. I loved them so much that I asked him about the possibility of commissioning some for Quest. They’d go great around the bonfire pit. As for this backyard gathering, they were perfect for being close to Audra. She refused the offer to sit in the seat, but when I sat and encouraged her to sit on the arm, she did so without hesitation.
“Are you a big space guy, Donovan?” she asked.
“Yes and no. I’m fascinated by it. Tonight is cool and I’m excited to be part of it, but I’m not on the same level as Bennett. What about you?” I returned the question. Although I didn’t have the academia to back up my hobby, I loved looking at the night sky. After not being able to see anything with the light pollution in New York, the skies out here were like a whole new world. But I’d only bought a telescope recently because I was no longer thinking about it as another thing I’d have to move when I left.
“Same, actually. I think it’s amazing, but I can’t really grasp and comprehend the vastness of it. Like, how do you know how many billions of light miles away things are? And how big the universe is? For me, that math just doesn’t math. Plus, how can you…”
She stopped talking and reacted suddenly, swatting at her leg as she swallowed a scream. I went to stand up, but in her spastic movement, she slipped backward off the arm of the chair, right onto my lap. But her gyrations didn’t stop, and my dick just couldn’t read the situation right.
“What’s wrong?” I tried moving her to the side so she wouldn’t feel me under her, but I tried keeping her close.
“There’s a bug on me,” she squeaked. I moved my hand around her leg, trying to help, and wouldn’t you know, I found it. It was a spider that had avoided her first three slaps to her leg. I’m not quite sure how. But I took it off for her. “Ew, ew, ew, ew!” she made a face, stuck her tongue out, and fake cried as she tilted her head into the air and balled her fists, clearly rattled. “God, I hate bugs!”
I continued to caress her thigh above her knee in comfort. When I first started, it was an instinctual gesture, but when I registered I was doing it, I didn’t stop. And she didn’t make a move to stop it or stand up either. “You going to make it?” I asked. Her eyes traveled from my hand on her thigh, then back to me.
“Yeah,” she said breathlessly. “Sorry about that. Thanks for the rescue.” With my arm around her waist and fingers tracing her knee, the air between us practically crackled. I swear she leaned into me ever so slightly. It wouldn’t take much to kiss her right now.Fuck it, I’m going for it, I thought to myself.
“Hey, you two!” Maverick said as he bounded up to us to say hello. It broke us out of the spell, and Audra jumped up. I felt the loss of her body on mine right away. I almost grabbed for her hand to pull it back down, but restrained myself.
Standing up to greet him while discreetly adjusting myself, I offered to get her another drink because she spilled the one she had with the spider incident. Bringing it back over, I sat in the chair again to see what she would do. She didn’t quite go where I wanted her to, which was my lap. Fuck, who was I kidding? I didn’t just want her in my lap, I wanted her straddling and riding me. But she did sit back down on the arm and rested her elbow on my shoulder as we talked, so at least wewere closer than we were before the bug incident. At one point her fingers caressed the back of my head, and I leaned into it like a puppy. I kept my hair shorter these days, but I entertained growing it again, just to feel her run her fingers through it.
As the evening slowed down, this party exceeded all of my expectations. Not only was I glad to have logged the experience, but I got to enjoy it with other people. However, the thing I was most grateful for was that spider. That thing was the real MVP of the night. Because based on how she reacted in my lap, I was pretty confident this little crush was not one-sided anymore. I planned to make my move soon, no doubt, but I just wanted to make sure with one hundred percent certainty that we were on the same page.
And tonight? Well, it told me that we were.
19
AUDRA
