“I’m waiting,” I gently sang, taking a sip of my drink in a taunt.
“Why don’t you guess?” He copied my pose, crossing one of his arms over his chest while holding his drink with the other.
“Hmm.” I studied him. “Blake?”
He frowned, shaking his head. The way he considered it for a moment threw me, but I ignored that as I took another sip of the vodka and tried again.
“Jackson?”
“No.” He chuckled.
“Jake?”
He shook his head.
“John?”
“Do all your options start with the letter J?” He countered with a warm chuckle. I caught a whiff of his cologne, and it was as if the smell was crafted just for me. I tensed, stopping myself from leaning into him and smelling it more.
“Should I start from the top of the alphabet?” I giggled. “Aiden? Alex? Andrew?”
“Yes.” He jerked his head up, a devilish smile tugging at his lips as he finally took a sip of his drink. I watched his throat bob with a swallow, and suddenly, my mouth lost all its moisture.
“Which one? Andrew?”
“Yes,” he confirmed as he took another sip. “Andrew.”
“Huh…” I tilted my head. It didn’t feel right, but I couldn’t exactly place why. It wasn’t as if I had a specific image of what an Andrew looked like. If he said his name was Chad, I’d ask where his blonde hair and polo shirt with the popped collar were.
“…Andrew…” I said it again, shaking my head once. “Does anyone call you Drew?” That sounded better. I still couldn’t explain why. But it did.
His dark brows furrowed, emotion flickering across his face too quickly for me to clock it. “Yes.”
I grinned. “Can I call you Drew?” He gave me a silent nod of consent. “So, Drew,” I bit my lip. “…Do you even care to know my name?”
“Vanessa,” he replied without hesitation. Which made alarm bells go off in the back of my mind.
“How do you know it already?” I questioned. He stared at me, the corner of his lips turning up a slight degree before he replied, “It’s stitched onto your apron.”
Oh. Oh, duh.
“Well, Van is stitched. Not Vanessa.”
“What else could Van be short for?” Drew challenged.
“Van…nerism?”
He scoffed, shaking his head at my silly suggestion.
“Okay, Van would obviously be short for Vanessa. Good guess.”
He lifted his glass toward me in a silent thanks before studying the rest of my office. I followed his gaze with mine, noticing how he was looking at all the little trinkets and things. All the same things Hush studied and fiddled with when she was here last time.
Something fluttered in my stomach, unease of some kind. I liked this moment; it felt human. Natural. Not that Hyvenmere was unnatural, it just…wasn’t totally familiar to me, yet. I would always find comfort in the familiar. Sitting in my office, having a drink with Drew, after tiptoeing around each other for a little bit…I liked it.
“So.” I scooted closer to him, fiddling with my cup in my hand. Electricity skittered up my arm from the contact I initiated when our arms brushed against each other. “What brings you back tonight?”
He didn’t look at me, which gave me a moment to study his profile. The straight line of his nose, the sharp lines of his jawand neck. He looked both familiar and not. He was a fit guy; his clothing was snug against his biceps and thighs.
