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Clearly, he knows José well enough to come here tonight. If I had to guess, he picked this place knowing he would be surrounded by people he could lean on. The idea is both heart-warming and a little terrifying. He cares that much?
“I’ll have to remember that I’m not your friend the next time I think about letting your ass win a hand of Blackjack.” Mateo purses his lips as he takes the empty glass in his free hand, and then gives me a nod. “Nice to meet you, Piper. Hope to see you around.” He tilts his head to Fitz, who nods back, and then he disappears back into the dark hallway behind the bar.
“Sorry,” Fitz mumbles, his fingers toying with the bar napkin in front of him. “I didn’t consider the amount of shit they’d all give us. I assumed they’d behave.” He says the last part just loud enough for José and Seer to hear him.
“You know what happens when you assume, Will.” My ears perk up at José’s nickname for Fitz, but I don’t pry. “I’ll let you two kids get back to it.” He leans over the bar, putting a hand over mine and giving me a warm smile almost identical to his son’s, tipping his hat off his head. The gesture reminds me of Brett in so many ways, and I make a mental note to ask him if he or any of his band members have ever been here. It seems like just the place they’d like to play at. “It was nice to finally meet you.”
“Likewise.” I give his hand a squeeze, and he does the same before turning and heading into the dark doorway.
It felt, for a moment, like we knew what the other was thinking. He was, I think, silently thanking me for being here, a part of this place, with Fitz. I was thanking him for whatever affection had helped carve the increasingly-less-marble man next to me.
As we’re getting ready to leave, a thrum of excitement starts to fill me. We’d foregone dessert, though I told Fitz I one thousand percent intended to come back to try the sticky toffee pudding that seemed to be a house specialty. I was already full, and truth be told, too excited to see what the rest of the evening had in store.
“Here,” Seer says, pulling my bar napkin toward her, snagging a pen from her workstation and writing down a string of numbers. “I may not be tall,” she starts, “or ginger, but I’m good for other things.” She gives me a playful wink and I give a dramatic wink back.
“And you know how to wield a sword.” She nods pridefully.
“There is a zero percent chance you’re going anywhere near a sword,” Fitz says in a low voice. I snort.
“Bet,Fitzwilliam.” I drag the name out, and as I watch his face, something sparks behind his eyes. The same something that was in them that night in my bedroom.
Fuck. I have been doing my absolute damned-est to not think back to that night. To not think about the way my entire body curled toward his as I breathed him in, felt the way I affected him.
That’s a lie. I thought about it a lot. Especially testing out that purple vibrator.
But this look is something I’ve been trying to keep out of my head for fear of exactly what it’s doing now.
As if on cue, my watch buzzes against my wrist - it’s detected a sudden jump in my heart rate while I’m inactive.
No shit.
“No swords, got it.” Seer’s voice snaps me out of my thoughts. “We could see if one of the fire jugglers has a quick lesson they can teach you.”
“Absolutely fucking not,” Fitz says, standing from his barstool, at the same time Chloe snorts.
“Piper needs to play with fire less than anyone I know. She will burn that whole tinderbox to the ground.” I fit her with a glare and take the hand Fitz offers me, climbing out of my stool. As if a sign from the gods, I trip over the strap of my purse and into the bar top - and try my best to hide it as I stuff the bar napkin into my bag. Chloe howls with laughter, and even Seer smirks. Fitz just gives me an “I told you so” look.
“You don’t get to pass judgment,” I whine, reaching up and patting the side of his face, which has just a hint of stubble that catches me by surprise. “Give it a few more months, then maybe you can make jokes like that.” As if it’s instinctual, he leans against my hand, and then seems to catch himself, stilling.
“Ok,” is his only response, and yet it makes my stomach swoop.
I don’t trip through the portrait hole on the way back out, which I count as a personal win, but when we make it to the elevator, I nearly fall as Fitz grabs my hand and yanks me into his chest. My fingers find the smooth, warm fabric of his dress shirt and I lean back to see his face, which looks almost boyish.
“You have fun?” he asks, and there’s a hint of wistfulness in his voice. I nod. “Good. I didn’t mean to overwhelm you with everyone, I didn’t realize Chloe and Mateo would also be here.”
“It’s alright.” I blink up at him. “José is important to you, hm?” He nods back, and something in his jaw ticks, but he doesn’t look away. “Well then. I’m glad I got to meet him,Fitzwilliam.”
Fitz’s eyes glint again before he reaches to press the elevator button. Before I have time to pull away, he pulls my waist closer to him and gives me a searing kiss. I can hear the blood pumping through my brain as his lips work against mine, slow and drowsy like we have all the time in the world, instead of the seconds it’s going to take to be right back in the lobby of this hotel where he knows everyone.
I lean into him, kissing him back just as fully, and feel one of my feet leave the ground in a move of sheer giddiness. Oh, mercy. A foot popping kiss.
Before I can stop myself, a giggle bubbles up and through my lips, and Fitz pulls back. His eyebrows knit together just in time for the elevator to ding. He pulls away completely, but one hand stays on my arm as I find my balance back on two feet.
“I’ll tell you later,” I half-whisper, giggling again. I doubt he’ll understand, unless he was forced to watch Princess Diaries with his little sister growing up. But at least it will give him an idea of how my scattered brain sometimes works.
I don’t realize it’s raining until we make it to the front door and see the pounding drops hitting the pavement like a tidal wave. Fitz pulls out his phone and looks at it.
“Should be pulling up in…” He looks back out the door just in time for his shiny car to pull into the circle drive in front of the hotel, reaching a break in the rain provided by the covered space. The top has been pulled up, and when the valet steps out, he gives Fitz a thumbs up. Fitz gives a small nod back, and then looks at me. “You ready?” He holds out his hand for me to take, and as if I’m the shy one, I glance around the lobby. It’s all but emptied, with only a few people behind the front desk and concierge area.
