She grabs ahold of my hand playfully, catching me off-guard. I lead her off the dance floor toward an empty table and prompt her to take a seat, asking her if she needs water.
“No, I’m fine. What’s going on?” she asks, her eyes twinkling under the string lights. I take a seat next to her at the table.
“I’ll be frank—I saw you in the hallway earlier. I just wanted to make sure you’re okay.”
She pauses, seeming to gather her thoughts before speaking. Even tipsy, Iris makes an effort to think before speaking. Remarkable.
“I’ll be okay.” She gazes at me with warmth in her expression, resting her hand on my knee, causing a jolt of electricity to shoot up my thigh. “Thank you for checking on me, I appreciate that.” She leans back in her chair, looking up at the ceiling. “Those little lights remind me of stars. I love stars almost as much as I love clouds.”
I chuckle, running my fingers through my hair, unsure of what to do. She clearly has had a hell of a night.
“Iris, would you like to stay or go home? You’ve had a long night, but the choice is yours. However, I’ll be with you the rest of the evening regardless of your decision.”
She scrunches her nose and eyebrows. Confusion crosses her features. “Why?”
“Because we're friends. I want to make sure you are okay.”
“We’re not really friends, we’re working together,” she corrects. Ouch. “At least, that’s what I thought… I don’t usually befriend my clients.” She closes her eyes, leaning her head back again.
“Well, I don’t befriend my event planners, so this is new for both of us.” I smirk. She quirks a brow and releases a loud laugh, then covers her mouth after noticing how boisterous it was.
“I think I want to go home,” she sighs. “Can you maybe give me a ride? I don’t want Callie to have to leave early because I’m a grandma.”
I chuckle and nod, letting her know I’ll be right back. Little does she know, I have absolutely no idea who Callie is. I assume she is the friend Iris was dancing with earlier, so I venture back to the sweaty dance floor to find her. Upon finding her, she turns toward me with a confused expression on her face.
“Iris wants to go home and asked me for a ride—I will get her home safely,” I quickly pull a business card out, handing it to her. “This is my cell. You can call or text me if you have concerns.” She seems skeptical at first, but then she looks back at the table Iris is still sitting at, noting her providing us with a double thumbs up.
“Okay, can you please have her text me when you drop her off? She shares her location with me too, just so you know,” she says cautiously.
“Duly noted, Callie. I’ll have her text you.” I walk back toward Iris, who definitely seems ready to go.
“I’m with Callie, dude. Iris is sharing her location with me, too, just so you know.” Kai cackles, elbowing me.
“I’ll get her home safely—not that it matters to you. I imagine you’ll be crashing in the back seat anyway.” I grit my teeth as he grins. As we reach Iris, she glances into my eyes hesitantly.
“I'm ready. I drank a lot of water, so I’m sobering up. I apologize in advance for anything I said earlier. I'm a bit of a lightweight when it comes to tequila.” She blushes.
“If that’s you under the influence, you donotwant to see me wasted,” I joke, making her smile, carelessly wrapping my arm around her as we exit the party and stroll out to my car. She takes off her wings and situates herself in the passenger seat while Kai obnoxiously jumps into the backseat. I see his bright grin in my rearview mirror. She’s visibly more calm in my car this time than she was last time. I reverse out of the parking space, head to the main road, and hand her my phone so she can fill in her address.
“Thanks for, uh, being my friend,” she says shyly, handing my phone back to me. “Tonight was… unexpected. I’m so ready to get out of this ridiculous costume, shower, and change into a T-shirt.”
Just imagining her in an oversized T-shirt without pants causes me to jolt. I’m envisioning her in one ofmyT-shirts.
And I realize, for the second time since she walked into my life, I’m in trouble.
Fifteen
Iris
Jasper opts to walk me to my door despite my protests against it. While trudging up the stairs, I shiver from the frigid air then sigh in relief, knowing I’ll be resting in my warm, cozy bedverysoon. As much as I pride myself in my ability to embrace chaos, tonight has tested my limits. My apartment being the closest unit to the staircase, it doesn’t take long for me to know something is not right. For starters, my apartment door is ajar, and I distinctly remember shutting it before leaving earlier.
I inch to my front door slowly, when Jasper reaches out to pull me back. “Why don’t I check things out first?” Immediately,I panic. I didn’t even clean my apartment before leaving today, it is in no condition for guests—let alone the hot vampire I’m working with.
“No, really, it’s fine.” I smile sheepishly, I’m sure. “I’ve got this.” I step ahead of him, bracing myself for whatever waits on the other side of my front door. I open it as quietly as possible, peeking my head inside. The smell hits me like a ton of bricks.
As I walk inside, my feet sink further into my living room carpet with every step. Water iseverywhere.The carpet—soaked. The couch—soaked. Poor little Truman—soaked. I hustle to my linen closet to grab a towel, then bundle a very grumpy Truman into my arms. A burly maintenance technician is currently leaning over my kitchen counter, trying his best to dry the countertops with a towel.
“Oh, hey, you’re home!” he exclaims as if we’re friends seeing each other at the local grocery store. “So, the bad news: a pipe froze and burst above your unit, setting your kitchen and living room’s sprinklers off. The good news: I was alerted fast, so I was able to shut off the water before it flooded your entire unit.”
