“Someone free-spirited. Artistic. A little bit shocking in their non-conformity.”
“I like that color. Hey” – he squeezed her hand – “good luck with Rye.”
“Am I overdoing it with the cleavage? Don’t want to look desperate.”
Déjà had an ample amount of, well, everything, and her dress complimented her shape, but she’d pulled the neckline low enough to expose the lacy edges of a black bra. The thought of Cosmo in lingerie threatened to make Micah’s heart stop, but he was useless in this scenario.
“You’re asking the wrong person. Sorry.”
She laughed and rolled up her window, then pulled out of the parking space. Micah hurried back up the steps, glancing at the dark bushes before opening the door and locking it behind him.
Cosmo stood at the sink, running water over a colander of pasta. “Was about to go out there to rescue you.”
“You’ve seen horror movies, so you should know that’s a terrible idea.”
Cosmo scraped garlic and shallots off the cutting board with the edge of a knife and into a skillet, where they sizzled and released a savory fragrance that made Micah’s stomach groan. “You still seem on edge. Are you getting presque vu that something is going to happen?”
“No.”
“Are you thinking about… About what happened toyou?”
Micah tensed. He had been but only in the general sense that he didn’t want Cosmo hurt. “I’m just worried that the note from Zedd is some kind of trick.”
“Darling, he’s not clever enough for tricks. He has no subtlety. If he said I’ve won and he’s leaving me alone, then it’s the truth. Do you want to make a bet?” Cosmo pulled out his phone and tapped the Flashbulb app. “I’ll bet you that there isn’t a single harassing comment from one of his throwaway accounts that’s datedafteryou threatened him at the gallery. If I’m wrong… I’ll delete my account.”
Micah raised his eyebrows. Magenta aura or not, he hadn’t expected Cosmo to wager that. Not when it seemed to be something he enjoyed so much. “And if you’re right?”
“Then you spend the night in my bed,” Cosmo whispered. Micah sucked in a breath, and Cosmo said, “It doesn’t have to be anything sexual. I just want you to stay with me tonight even without a threat to my safety. Wouldn’t want you to have brought your toothbrush for nothing.”
“I’ll take that bet.”
“Good.” Cosmo added a can of tomato paste to his skillet of sizzling aromatics, then tapped his notifications. He clucked his tongue. “I’m a ‘frigid twink’ am I? That’s a new one.”
Micah scowled. “Is that from Zedd?”
“No, just some rando who didn’t take kindly to my snarky reply. The last comment from that account with Zedd’s band pic is dated the same day you were at the gallery. And none of the other comments mention Zedd.” He showed Micah the screen. “See? The comments stopped.”
“What about your DMs?” Micah asked.
Pulling a bottle of vodka from a cabinet, Cosmo said, “DMs weren’t a part of our original bet.”
He wasn’t sure why that mattered when they were trying to make sure Cosmo was truly safe from Zedd, but Micah had a card up his sleeve. “Then I’ll sweeten it. If I’m wrong, not only will I stay with you tonight, I’ll go to therapy.”
“Oh, we’re getting serious now.” Cosmo set down the vodka and swiped a lock of hair from his eyes. “That’s asking too much. It’s not something you should be pushed into.”
“C’mon. My parents would take that bet in a heartbeat. Well, the me going to therapy part. I don’t think they’d want me to spend the night in their bed. I outgrew that decades ago.”
“Alright, but if you change your mind, I won’t hold you to it.”
Micah stirred the simmering sauce on the stove as Cosmo tapped at his phone and handed Micah other ingredients: heavy cream, a cube of butter, Parmesan cheese.
“Well, I have a lot of bots asking me to become an ‘ambassador’ for their queer clothing line. And for twenty-nine ninety-nine I can buy ten thousand subscribers. How about that?” Cosmo frowned and clicked on a message.
“Is it Zedd?”
“Hard to say. They have a default profile picture, no followers, and no bio.” After staring at the message, Cosmo stiffened. His mouth flattened into a hard line, then he handed the phone to Micah. “Don’t you dare click those pictures. You’ll lose your appetite.”
The message said,Don’t you know how much I want to take care of you? I’ll do it so well.
