I answered in grunts or monosyllables. It was passive aggressive, but I wasn’t in a mood to be fair.
Finally, he stopped and said, “What’s the bother?” I looked away. “The only way we’re to get to the bottom of this is for you to speak up and say why you’re troubled.” When I didn’t respond immediately, he added, “Out loud.”
I looked him full in the face as we stood steps from the pub’s door. “I saw you.”
“Saw me?” He looked confused, which was good since that’s what I’d intended by being obtuse. Like I said, passive aggressive. I’m not especially proud of acting like a petulant teenager, but I’m only human. At least I was until very recently.
“With Aoumiel or whatever her real name is.”
“Oh.”
“That’s all you have to say?” That made him look all the more confused. “Look. I know we’ve never talked about exclusivity. We just said we’d try out friendship. So, you’re perfectly free to do whatever you want.”
He took me by the elbow and guided me around the building where we had a thin illusion of privacy.
“You’re not jealous of that witch,” he said matter-of-factly.
“Well…” I worried my bottom lip. “Is there a reason why I shouldn’t be?”
Tucking his chin so that I could see he was serious, he said, “Every reason. If you must know, I was asking her for something special for you. A surprise.”
The tension in my expression went slack as sheepishness claimed my face. And it was my turn to say, “Oh.” I brightened. “A surprise? What?”
“If I told you then it wouldn’t be a surprise.” It didn’t take much of a disappointed look to get him to spill. “Alright. I’m trying to find a way to invite you for a flight and be a hundred percent sure you’re safe.”
“A flight?” Inexplicably, the image of a barnstorming biplane was the first thing that came to mind before I realized he was talking about taking me for a ride as a sephalian! “Ohhhhh.” Pause. “Oh no.” It seemed that once I began shaking my head I couldn’t stop. “I’m scared to death of heights.” He leaned back against the brick of the building and crossed his arms. I smiled. “But I’ll stay on the ground and watch you?”
A tiny silent scoff was paired with a lopsided grin in response to the very ridiculous thing I’d just said. Then he grew serious. “I’m over the moon knowing you were jealous, love. But if you want to talk about appearances, that vampire was seen leaving your house today.” I opened my mouth to reassure him that it was purely platonic, but before I got that out, he said, “And I feel compelled to point out that I’ve never been invited to your house.”
“You haven’t?” I thought back and realized it was true. Since I had dinner with him every night, I’d never included him in luncheons and, other than ‘the vampire’, I’d never invited anyone over except for lunch.
“No.” Catching me by the shoulders, he moved me so that we’d traded places, my back now against the brick. His body pressed me against the wall in a thought-stealing maneuver. “And I would like to be invited in.” The phrase was dripping with innuendo that hung heavy in the air.
“I invited him for tea because he’s lonely. Olivia was there and Maggie and Dolan were close enough to hear everything.”
“Fair enough. What about an invitation?”
“For tea?” I giggled. “Sure.”
“Is that all you’ve got for me?”
My answer was to initiate the kiss he’d asked for when I’d visited the castle, taking a leap of faith that I remembered how; to kiss, that is. Since he didn’t pull away, I took that to mean that it was like riding a bike. He immediately took control of movement and intensity in a way that had me picturing twisted limbs and white linen sheets.
Nobody heckled us, or embarrassed me by calling out, “Get a room,” but we’d drawn some triple takes from diners arriving for supper.
I pulled back, almost aroused enough to suggest skipping food. “Let’s go in. I’m cold.”
He inhaled deeply and smiled. “Let’s start over. How was your day?”
I grinned. “I can’t wait to tell you about it.”
With a nod and the most masculine version of a self-satisfied smile, he said, “That’s more like it.”
I probably talked too fast, conveying my excitement about the puppies and the house, unsure which took precedence.
“Is there a room for me?” he asked just as Jeff arrived with food. Cheese and Grits