I turn and look out the window beside the kitchen.
“Snow!” Starlight shouts, and then he’s throwing open the back door and disappearing into the yard.
CHAPTER SEVEN
“This is amazing!” Starlight says from my shower.
I snicker and clutch the clean towel in my arms tighter and lean against the bathroom doorway. “It’s just water, Starlight.”
“Yes, I know, but like the snow, I have never seen it from below! I see rain fall from the clouds, but I do not get to see it hit the ground.” His face appears in the gap between the shower curtain and the wall. “Look!” He holds up two palms full of water like it’s diamonds.
I can’t stop my grin. “Wow. Thatisamazing.”
He scowls adorably and disappears. “I had no idea that there would be so much mud. I apologize for sullying your clothes.”
“No worries. It’ll wash out. So, hey, uh, like I mentioned earlier, I need to go into work today. You’re welcome to hang around here. You can go through all my stuff if you want. I don’t care. Or, I don’t know, I could show you how to use my laptop. You could listen to music or?—”
The shower curtain is ripped open, Starlight standing naked and dripping before me.
“Oh!” I turn my face away, but the image of his perfect body is already burned on my brain. The sight of him knocks thebreath out of me.I don't know if it's because he's not human or what, but I've never seen anyone so beautiful. I don’t know that I’ll forget those pecs, those abs, that Adonis belt for the rest of my life.
“Here you go.” I hold out the towel to him, his warm fingers brushing against mine as he takes it from me.
After what I think is enough time for him to dry off, I turn back to him as he’s knotting the towel around his waist in a slightly inefficient way that leaves him with an opening over one leg. At least he’s mostly covered.
“This is very soft,” he says, taking the edge of the towel between his fingers.
I laugh. “Right, well, enjoy, I suppose. I left some clothes for you on the bed.”
Like it's coming from another universe, a distant one, I hear the front door open and close.
“Mason?”
Starlight and I glance at each other, but instead of panic, like I know I'm wearing on my face,Starlight looks overjoyed, his mouth pulled into a huge grin.
“Is that Mackenzie?” he asks me, and then he's gone down the hallway.
“Wait! Star!”
At the end of the hall, he glances back at me, his eyes wide, and I think it's because I inadvertently gave him a nickname.
And then I hear Mackenzie scream, “What the fuck?”
I rush down the hall and stand in front of Starlight, blocking her view.“Hey,” I say casually, like I can convince her that she hallucinated the man behind me.
Her eyes are wide, and she has her fists up like she's preparing for a battle.As if Starlight would hurt her.I think the only fear would be him accidentally breaking a rib hugging her too hard.
“What are you doing here?” I ask, redirecting her attention.
And I think it works for a second. Her eyes go from Starlight, who is tall enough that he can surely be seen over my shoulder, to me. She can’t resist explaining herself. “You haven't been answering your phone,” she says, her voice high and incredulous.
She stands on her tiptoes to look behind me, but I block her view again.
“Yeah, sorry, I've been busy?—”
“Yeah, I can see that,” she cuts in.
“Thank you for understanding. Let’s grab coffee tomorrow and catch up.”I take a step toward her to try and herd her toward the still-open door, but she ducks around me so I'm staring at the empty living room and she's behind me.Right in front of Starlight. I spin around.
