“And he sneezes more than anyone I’ve ever met, and has some seriously gorgeous tattoos. He knows how to have a really good time, even when he’s the most overdressed guy at Sligo’s Pub and orders his gin with diced cucumbers.”
“Does Sligo’s dice cucumbers now?”
“No,” I said. “Never. But he asks every time.”
“God bless him,” she said. “But listen—big girl panties. End of story. Unless you’ve failed to mention that he has crazy eyes or baby arms or something, because those would be legit no-go situations.”
Sam’s naked back and shoulders flashed through my mind, and though that memory was crystal clear, the memory wasn’t enough. I wanted to feel those chiseled muscles and trace his tattoos, and I wanted him over me, under me, everywhere.
Falling asleep together on the sofa wasn’t cutting it anymore.
“We’re at the venue now, my dear. I gotta get to sound check,” Ellie said. “Let me know how it goes with the prepster.”
We said our goodbyes, and when I ended the call, I saw a new message waiting for me.
16:27 Sam:Perhaps you could translate that for me as I do not understand alpha-numeric gibberish.
16:45 Tiel:dude, you act like you’re a 92 year old technophobe sometimes
Within seconds of sending the message, my phone was vibrating with an incoming call.
“Being twenty-eight has no bearing on whether I tolerate the bastardization of the written word via text-speak,” Sam said without introduction. “You know I can’t decipher that shit.”
“You need some tunes, my friend. Meet me upstairs at The Middle East at eight and—”
“What I need,friend,is a break from unwashed grad students who think they can get away with plaid-on-plaid, and I can’t choke down much more bottom-shelf gin.”
I liked arguing with him. It was futile and amusing, and it always revealed more of the nerd hiding beneath the pretty face. “You could avoid that problem altogether by drinking more beer.”
“Or,” he said slowly, “youcould meetmeat Verdigris in the South End at eight. That is, of course, if you can handle my side of town.”
Smiling, I dragged my fingers through my hair.Big girl panties,I reminded myself. “I think the real question is whether you and your side of town can handle me.”
I spent extra time flat-ironing my hair into a sleek, smooth bob, and had to constantly remind myself to keep my hands out of it. Fingering the short, flowy black and white geometric print dress I borrowed from Ellie’s closet instead, I surveyed the industrial space of Verdigris. The gleaming dance floor was packed with bodies and pulsing techno music pounded from every corner.
This wasn’t my crowd. I didn’t know anything about people who went out with the purpose of being seen. I went out because my soul required live music for its survival. Trendy clubs, fancy dresses, artificially generated music—I didn’t see the appeal.
“I didn’t think you were coming.”
Pivoting, I found Sam gazing at me. In dark trousers, a light purple Oxford shirt open at the collar, and suit coat, he was all player tonight.
Sam stepped forward and reached for me, then stopped abruptly and shoved his hands in his pockets. He looked utterly confused—and that was the Sam I knew. He was always caught up in complicating his own thoughts.
He needed to worry less and enjoy life more. I could handle his quirks—the picky eating, the refusal to touch anything he deemed unclean, the subsequent hand sanitizing—but I couldn’t understand how he spent so much time deliberating his every step. He took the expression ‘look before you leap’ to monstrous heights. I knew he’d be happier if he let some of that shit go.
Maybe then snuggletime would turn into snugglefucking.
I could hear the wheels turning in his head when I leaned into his kiss or demanded that he offer his chest as my pillow, and those wheels never turned him in the direction of his hand under my shirt or my ass bent over the bed.
I closed the distance between us and wrapped my arms around his shoulders. “But aren’t you happy to see me now, Freckle Twin?”
I felt his laugh on my temple, and held onto him a little longer. I pressed my face to his neck and inhaled, and as peculiar as it sounded, he smelled like wood.
Perhaps it was more peculiar that I savored that woodiness.
“Of course,” he murmured. “The VIP lounge is down the hallway.”
“Not yet.” Shifting back, I met his eyes. “Who are we going to be tonight?”
