“Stalker,” she teased. “I appreciate it, though. I’ve felt a little off ever since seeing Calculator Cal at the restaurant opening. He never said anything about me being there to Victoria, so she doesn’t know I know, but the office still feels hostile. My career is really important to me, and I can’t help but feel like I’m being pushed out.”
A hot coil of frustration curled in my stomach. It wasn’t fair what was happening to Macey, and now I knew I needed to dosomething about it. Macey’s career was important to her, and I wanted to help her succeed.
“Macey, there’s something I should tell you about your boss,” I started, then hesitated. Was this really the right time to tell her about my theory?
I looked at her face—wisps of hair from her braid falling onto her forehead, glitter on her eyelids that only accentuated the joy in her deep brown eyes—and I couldn’t bear upsetting her tonight. I’d tell her another day.
There was still time.
“What?” she asked, my blank expression probably confusing her.
“Your boss sucks.” I forced a nonchalant laugh.
She laughed along with me. “Yeah. She’s not always so bad, but she’s much harder on me than everyone else. I’ve tried so many times to patch the holes in our relationship, but I’ve never succeeded. I think she’s made me stronger, though, even if she didn’t mean to.”
“It’s not on you to fix someone else’s insecurities.”
“You think that’s the reason? She’s insecure?”
I nodded. “You’re confident and good at what you do. Most people would want to partner with someone like that, but a few will do what they can to drag you down with them.”
“Maybe you’re right,” she said. “But there’s got to be something more to it. I don’t know.”
She started to move toward the next photograph in line, but something caught her eye. “We have to see this.” She giggled as she dragged me across the gallery floor. We landed in front of a large portrait.
It was a whale.
Ever since the Whale Fest event, she was oddly obsessed with whales.
“Did you know,” Macey started, “that whales use physical touch to maintain social bonds?”
I stood behind her, close enough that strands of her hair brushed my chin. “Oh?”
“They swim close together, rub against each other, and even hold fins like how people hold hands.”
I enveloped her body within mine, placing a hand on her hip. When I rubbed a thumb over the space in between the end of her shirt and the top of her skirt, a gold and glittery thing that hit mid-thigh, a shiver skated down her body.
Masculine pride filtered through me.I did that.
It was borderline pathetic how fast Macey consumed me. The entire cast ofDie Hardcould enter through the front door, and I’d never notice. I wouldn’t take the opportunity to meet the stars of my favorite movie if it meant not touching Macey for a minute.
“What else did your whale book teach you?”
“Um.” Her breath caught when I moved both hands to her waist, holding gently. “In some species, males and females form long-term partnerships. Which is a big deal, when you think about how many animals are only with each other for one goal, like breeding.”
“Is that what you want?”
“Breeding?” She sounded horrified.
“No, Scribbles.” I placed my chin on top of her head, taking a minute to observe the photo in front of us. A wild whale in the ocean, free and happy. “Long-term partnership.”
“It is,” she said, then leaned back into my chest. “What about you?”
I swallowed and took a deep inhale as I wrapped my arms fully around her. “I never thought I was capable of that.”
“And now?”
“Now I think I am.”
