Plus, I’ve got a manual override for them all, in case things overrun or don’t fit to time.
I’ve already been working flat out for the past few hours, but there’s still loads more to do. Taking a deep breath, I head over to unpack my next crate of devices and get them in place, ready for the run through.
Then I jump in with both feet.
Exactly two hours later and I’m a sweaty mess. My hair is sticking to my forehead and I could do with a change of clothes and a shower. Glancing around the room, I see a lot of tired but cheerful faces.
My stomach rumbles and I jump down from my spot in the eaves and head along to the area where they’ve set up the catering for the gig staff. Even that’s a mammoth job. There are so many hungry people to feed and the queue is massive.
I’ve almost reached the back of the queue when Dorian appears in front of me, halting my progress by putting his hands on my hips.
“I’m stealing you for a couple of hours,” he says with a cheeky smirk.
“You’re... what?”
“You’ve never seen much of Hawthorne before, right?”
I nod, eyes drifting to the piles of food behind him. “Right.”
“Well, unless we go right now, you’re never gonna see any of it. Please, Sin, let me take you out.” He shifts his hands until he’s running them up and down the bare skin on my upper arms, leaving goose pimples in their wake.
I have a shit ton of stuff left to do, but something in his expression is making me want to say yes. He looks almost nervous, and Dorian doesn’t seem to get nervous about much at all.
“Is this a date?” I ask.
“Yep. I’m going for a second attempt. I’ll try my best not to give you pneumonia this time.”
I snort. “I don’t think you can blame yourself for the weather, Dorian.”
“Still.” He links our hands together and tugs me along. “I want to try again. You had a good time last night with Micah and Cal, right? Until things turned weird, at least? And you enjoyed your late night trip to the stadium with Iri?”
I raise an eyebrow. “Are you competing or something?”
He blows out a breath, cupping the back of his neck. “I don’t want you thinking the only dates I take you on suck.”
I roll my eyes at him. Last night’s date with Cal and Micah wasn’t exactly smooth sailing, either. And after my time with Iri, I spent most of the night feeling physically sick to my stomach with the nerves over seeing the size of this place when it was empty.
“Two hours. Lunch. That big brain of yours needs a break because we both know you're going to work until you drop today.” Then he reveals his trump card, pulling off his shades and revealing those gorgeous eyes that only I get to see. “Please?”
“All right then.”
“Yeah?” He steps back and beams at me and it makes my insides flip over.
He’s annoyingly gorgeous.
And persuasive.
Charming. Surprisingly sweet... yeah, I like him a lot.
“Yep. You win. Come on, you need to feed me before my stomach eats itself.”
He’s still beaming as he leads me out into the sunshine outside. I blink at the brightness, and Dorian doesn’t miss a beat before pulling a spare pair of shades out of his pocket. His own are back in place and he carefully places the second pair on my nose, pushing them up with a satisfied nod. They fit perfectly and see my grin reflected in his matching pair.
He then takes hold of my hand again and we make our way down the busy street, weaving through the crowds of people. Dorian keeps a firm hold on me, his other hand on my hip as he shifts his bodyso he’s between me and the road. He points out landmarks as we pass, as well as his favorite restaurants. It turns out he’s one of those people who categorizes every place he goes into very specific groups.
“That place does good hangover pancakes.”
“This little bistro place is run by a demon chef. He’s insanely talented. Makes the best food for a Tuesday afternoon when you wish it was Friday already.”
