Recovering at the last moment, huge smile spreading across his face, Jason did another knot in the tie and gave it a little tug to make sure it was secure. He turned Daryl around to inspect the front, not bothering to hide his smile because Daryl couldn’t see him.
Jason waved his hands in front of Daryl’s face. “Anything?”
Daryl sighed. “I know you’re waving your arms about because I can feel the draft. But no, I can’t see anything.”
“Are you sure?” Jason frowned. The tie wouldn’t block his sight completely, not like a proper blindfold would. “Maybe I should tie a sock under there. A clean one,” he added at Daryl’s grimace.
“No,” Daryl growled out, then rolled his shoulders before relaxing. “This is fine. I promise to keep my eyes shut.”
“Right. Okay then.” That would have to do.
Jason dropped his hands to his sides.
“And stop grinning,” Daryl muttered. “Remember, this is going to be you tomorrow night.”
He felt Daryl’s eyes on him, even though that was impossible. “How d’you know I’m grinning?”
“Because I can hear it in your voice.”
Jason laughed. He wasn’t sure his smile could get any wider. This was great. Daryl always seemed in such control, and now he had to rely on Jason. He probably shouldn’t feel as excited as he
did, but he couldn’t help it. He might actually enjoy tonight rather than worry about embarrassing himself. “You ready?”
“Yeah. Might as well get it over with.”
Jason went to open the door, then stopped, rolling his eyes at himself for forgetting already.
“Um . . . how do you want to do this?” He hadn’t given the logistics much thought. To be fair, his brain hadn’t got past blindfolding Daryl in their room.
“Give me your arm and tell me where we’re stepping as we walk.”
“Yeah, okay.” That made sense.
Retracing his steps, Jason moved next to Daryl and held out his arm. “Here you go.”
Surprisingly aware of Jason’s proximity, Daryl placed his hand on Jason’s arm without hesitation. He should’ve known Daryl would be great at this.
His palm felt heavy on Jason’s forearm, the warmth of it seeping through the thin material of his T-shirt.
Jason cleared his throat. “Right, we’re heading towards the door, about six paces in front of you.”
Daryl snorted but followed Jason’s lead as he steered them towards the door.
It turned out to be eight steps, but whatever.
“I’m opening the door.” Jason pulled on the handle, making sure they were far enough back that it wasn’t going to hit their feet, and opened it wide. Guiding Daryl through the doorway proved a little awkward. They both couldn’t fit through at the same time, and so Jason went first and had to lead him instead of guiding him. It’d probably have been easier to hold hands, but no way was he suggesting that to Daryl.
They reached the top of the stairs and Jason brought them to a halt. “Stairs,” he muttered, eyeing them warily. Then decided to count them. “Right. There are ten steps, then a little landing where we have to turn back on ourselves, then ten more steps. Okay?”
Daryl nodded. “Lead the way.”
Taking one step at a time, they made their way down, Jason counting each one in his head. When they reached the foyer at the bottom, he let out a sigh of relief.
Rachel appeared at the foot of the stairs, smirking at them.
“Evening, Rachel.” Daryl turned his head to face her. “I wonder what brings you out here?”
“Not gonna lie, I wanted to see how you handled the stairs.” She grinned when Jason glared at her. “You look like you’ve got the hang of this.”
