“Stay right here, okay? Make yourself comfortable. There’s a blindfold right there on the table. When I come back, we’ll get started.”
We already went over the specifics on the phone, so I just nod before she slips out. The second the door closes, I take a seat in the lone chair and greedily inhale half the coffee in one scorching gulp, the caffeine a welcome kick to my frozen system.
“So,” Nika asks after demolishing half her poppy seed muffin and immediately picking the rest apart—something she always does. “You nervous? You got this, you know. Sometimes you have to get out of your comfy bubble and take a little leap, Milos. It’s good for you.”
Take a little leap, Milos…I smile at her,knowingshe’s right. “Yes? A bit? But I shouldn’t be. Nervous, I mean… it’s just standing next to some stranger, right? Not exactly life-changing.”
“It could be? Maybe he’s really handsome and you’ll be doing the horizontal tango in no time,” she says cheerfully. “Those sheets of yours could use the exercise.”
I glare at her and lob a balled-up napkin her way. She swats it aside, cackling from where she sits cross-leggedonthe table. “Don’t be gross. You’re my sister.”
“And yourclosest friend.”
True. She’s all I have. I’d follow her anywhere. Back in Prague, I was just establishing myself as an artist, while she was dancing with the National Theatre Ballet. She’s good, disciplined, but was never quite landing a principal role. Then the offer came from The National Ballet in Amsterdam five years ago, and I went after her without thinking. Left our friends behind. Left whatever family we had left, too, after we got away from our parents and their particular brand of criminal chaos.
So yes, for all intents and purposes, she’s not just my only family. She’s my best friend.
Still…
“It’s weird to talk about sex with your relatives.”
“Weird why?” she asks innocently. “I’m perfectly happy to tell you I spent the night with that banker who sent me flowers on opening night last week. He wasverypleased with how flexible a professional ballerina can be.”
“Oh Christ,” I groan. “Please stop.”
She grins, unrepentant. “I’m just saying, stretching has benefits…”
I glare at her as I reach for the blindfold. Not having to see her smug expression might help to tune her out, tune this weird nervous anticipation out as well.
“…when you find yourself in bed with a tall, rogue guy with muscles for miles,” she finishes smugly, then winks at me. “Maybe you’ll get lucky today as well.”
Yeah. Knowing my track record when it comes to dating, that’ll never happen.
CHAPTER 02: KAIDEN
“This is a complete disaster. Oh, he’s so nice, you know? Maybe a bit hesitant at first, but I could justseethe curiosity. I really hate to disappoint him.”
I’ve been listening to Sadie rant for the past five minutes. First to her fiancée, who she immediately called after her client hung up, then to me and the other assistant on this set. Apparently, the other participant for this Stranger Session just canceled since he didn’t have a way to get here with all the snow.
“Don’t you have, like, a backup list or something?” I ask. I don’t even know what the fuck I’m talking about. I’m just a temp assistant she hired through the HandlR app to haul equipment and shit. It’s a business-to-business thing—companies can order all kinds of last-minute help when they need it.
Like me.
Even though I’m technically part-owner of the company—the founder being a buddy from college and all—I enjoy being hands on and occasionally pick up a pending request myself, especially when it fits my schedule or when I know I can actuallygetthere.
Just like today. Not a lot of our Handlers have the means to reach the job site on time and I just happen to have brand-new cold-weather tires on my Yamaha R1.
Is it smart to ride in the snow, regardless? No. Not at all. But most of the ride was through the tunnel beneath the IJ anyway, and there wasn’t much of a layer yet. Not like there is now.
And maybe I had an ulterior motive as well. When I recognized the requester of this HandlR gig, I immediately snagged it.
The other assistant—hers, I assume—finally speaks up. “I already tried calling one other person who signed up, but no luck. Sadie pairs them beforehand, so it’s not really a good idea to swap someone at the very last minute.”
Well. Thank you.I press my lips together, trying to hold back a snappy remark.
Sadie sighs as she leans against a table, arms crossed. “I guess I’m just going to tell him he can go back home. At least he lives close-by. Maybe we can try to reschedule, but I fly out in a couple of days to be home for Christmas.”
She looks genuinely disappointed, and something tugs in my gut.
