Page 26 of Miss Typed

It wasn’t long before the boys found their interest piqued by a group of ladies who walked into the bar. They quickly excused themselves for the men’s room.

“Doubt we’ll see them again.” I watched them make a beeline for the bar.

“Good riddance,” he muttered with a sigh of relief. “Guess I have you to thank for getting out of becoming their wingman tonight—or ever. Thanks for changing my sexual orientation.”

“Hey. You want to give me a fake boyfriend, then you should expect the same in return.”

He chuckled. “I had thought to give you an out.”

“I can provide my own outs.”

“Fair enough. I apologize for being presumptuous.”

“Apology accepted.”

“Hank the Tank, huh?”

I grinned. “Yeah, thanks for the assist in asking me his name.”

He laughed. For the first time, his smile reached his eyes, making me realize this side of him was my favorite by far. He was both relaxed and amused. “I couldn’t resist.”

There was a slight pause as if he was searching for a way to make small talk. Finally, he asked, “Do you miss the snow this time of year?”

“I do. Although the winters here are quite nice. But wait until you get the full force of summer in the desert.”

“I’m all too familiar with the desert heat.”

Oh, shit. Too late I realized that of course he knew about summers in the desert. He’d probably served in Iraq. Hell, he’d probably lost his leg while there.

He cleared his throat. “There’s a lot more humidity here, however.”

Yep. I took a sip of my water, wanting to get off the subject of what was most likely not a great memory for him. “I have pictures.” I fished for my phone, showing him the photo my sister had sent me. “Fresh fourteen inches yesterday.”

He brought his own phone out. “Got this photo from Reid today. Guess they got hit with the same storm there.”

“In Windham, New Hampshire?”

“Yes. How’d you know?”

There wasn’t a good way of saying my roommate stalked the hell out of Reid and knew his hometown, his fiancée’s shopping habits, and probably his whereabouts in real time. “Reid mentioned it’s where he’s from. Are you from there, too?”

He suddenly looked uneasy. “We’re both from there.”

“So, you two knew one another before you started here?”

“Yeah.”

Guess he didn’t want to talk about how they were friends. “It’s been so long since I’ve been in cold weather that my blood has gotten thinner. I froze when it was fifty-eight degrees the other night which means I’ve officially lost my cold-weather cred.”

His lips tipped up in a smile. “Me, too.” We both glanced up when the waitress returned with the bottle of wine. After uncorking it, she offered it to Aiden.

“Let the lady taste.”

My anxiety spiked when the waitress went and poured a small amount of wine into my glass.

“I don’t know what I’m doing,” I whispered urgently, assuming he’d take the glass.

But he didn’t. After studying me a moment, he surprised me. “I’ll walk you through it. Take the glass by the stem and view the wine through the light.”