AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Well, I didn't want to make plans because I didn't know what you like,” he admitted with a sigh. “We need to play twenty questions so I have something to work with.”
“We really don't know each other that well, do we?” Moments like this reminded us that despite it feeling like we’ve known each other for years, we were practically strangers.
His group may have known of me but they didn't know me at all.
“I was just sitting here debating some takeout and trying to find something to do,” I admitted. “You want to join me for a quiet night?”
A yawn punctuated my question and he was fighting one back after watching me.
“Hell yes, I do. Oh man, tell me you're a gamer? We were just talking about how hot that would be.” The adorable desperation in his voice had me grinning and I led him into my living room before opening the entertainment stand to reveal my systems.
“Take your pick,” I offered. “Ezra and I used to be the worst at making everything a competition. This is the result.”
“This is my fantasy,” he teased, reaching in and grabbing the controller from the PlayStation and turning it on.
He started browsing my current games and raised an eyebrow at the catalog. “I never would have thought you to be a horror lover.”
“Are you kidding me?” I said. “The moment they started making over Resident Evils I knew I had to have them.”
“I've never played,” he mused. “Maybe you should pick your favorite and we can check it out.”
He handed over my controller and I pulled it up but I didn't dive into the game just yet. Instead, a pang of hunger reminded me of my original plan.
I opened my food app clicking around to see what sounded good but I quickly realized that none of our limited options around town stood out.
What did was my cousin's burger and fries.
Glancing at Silas, I offered a change of plans. “What do you say we walk over to the diner first?”
Silas was the laidback type and gave a shrug. “Works for me.” He stood up and offered his hand to help me off the couch.
“Such a gentleman,” I teased, earning another bright grin. He seemed to always be smiling and I found myself craving that energy.
“Only for you,” he promised. A slight dimple formed on his cheek as he looked over at me, heat building in his molten-brown eyes. I swallowed hard but ignored the lust building. That wasn’t what tonight was about.
Lockwood was quiet as we walked toward Main Street. Silas’s hand wrapped around mine and my chest warmed at the contact. I’d never realized how much I liked being touched before them. I'd always been the type that didn't want hugs. With them, everything was different.
“So, if horror games are not your thing, what is?” I asked, curious to know more about him.
“I'm not against horror. I'm honestly a mood gamer, I play whatever I feel like at the time so my game library is kind of a crazy mix.”
“Are you missing it while you guys are stuck at the inn?” I asked. “Do you guys have an apartment back home or something?”
“We do. For a while we considered just using storage,” he explained. “With how much we travel, it would honestly be a lot easier to just pick up a few things and bounce around between hotels and rental houses. Amos talked us out of that plan.”
“But I thought I was the first case?”
“You were, but before that we did a lot of contract work. A few shifts here to fill in, things like that. It was easier when we’d have to miss to handle Evrin,” he admitted.
It was crazy how completely they had to alter their lives for one selfish man. If I didn’t already hate him, this information would have tipped me over the edge.
When we walked into Ezra's Diner he was standing behind the counter. There was a lull in service and he smiled at the sight of us like he was desperate for someone to walk in.
“Where's the rest of the pack?”
“It's just us tonight.”
His eyes narrowed. “You had a burger craving, didn't you?” he accused playfully.
