Don’t get me wrong, he’s definitely attractive, but I’ve got too much on my plate right now. “Sorry, I meant to meet up with me and Micah.” That didn’t come out right either.
“I could be into that,” he says.
“God help me.” I tell him about the documentary for Tanya before any more images of having Slater and Micah at the same time can cloud my mind and my judgment.
He accepts my offer to be part of the documentary but agrees it’s for the best that Kelly not know about it.
The three of us meet by the fire pit once most of the guests have gone to bed. The light from the fire adds an old-school camp aesthetic to the video that I think Tanya would love.
“Did you and Tanya keep in touch?” I ask once the camera is rolling.
“Oh, yeah. She even came to my college graduation. She sat in the way, way back because she knew my mom would be upset about her being there, but she didn’t wanna miss it. She was good people.”
“And what about the house? You didn’t want it for yourself?” Tanya never used it. At the very least, I’m surprised Kelly didn’t demand she release it to the family.
“No.” He waves me off. “Uncle Roger got that house for her. It could only ever be hers. I did offer to maintain it for her, though, in case she came back.”
“Meaning?”
“All the least fun parts about homeownership. I made sure it stayed clean, got repairs when things started to wear down from age, kept the grass cut. Stuff like that.”
“Just because she was nice to you back when you were in college?” At this point, I’ve forgotten about the documentary; I’m genuinely intrigued by the depth of his generosity.
He chuckles. “When you say it like that, it sounds crazy, but yeah. My uncle was the best man I knew, and he loved Tanya with everything in him. Even after she left, he still said her name on his deathbed. And even though she couldn’t give him her heart, she continued to handle his with care, and that’s enough for me. She’ll always be good in my book.”
Once we’re finished recording, Slater bids us a goodnight, the twinkle in his eyes letting me know he’d still be up for what he thought I proposedearlier. I won’t be taking him up on that, but my thoughts keep drifting back to Micah as I lie in my bed.
I’m confident that he’d be better off finding someone else to satisfy his emotional needs, but I can’t help but remember how good we are together sexually. Why shouldn’t we be able to re-explore each other’s bodies and leave it at that? What’s the harm in proposing that to him tonight? What’s the worst that could happen? I mean, I was already humiliated in front of Kelly, so if he rejects my offer, maybe I’ll be able to finally let go of the idea.
I throw on my socks and tiptoe out of my room—avoiding the creaky floorboard I noticed earlier—toward Micah’s door.
I knock as softly as possible, hoping it’s loud enough for him to hear me.
He opens the door in just his briefs.
Yeah. I’m going to fuck the shit out of this man.
“You need something, Dani?” His voice is sinfully scratchy. A voice I have vivid memories of waking up to.
“I do, actually.”
“Wanna come in and tell me what it is?” He rests his hand on the door above his head. He knows what he’s doing.
“Yes.”
As I move to step around him, he lowers his arm to block my entrance. “Be really sure you want to come in here before you do, Storm.”
I’m so fucking sure. I reach for his waist when a loud siren pierces my ears. We both duck and cover our ears.
A fire alarm? At this time of night? That can’t be a random test.
Other guests come trailing out of their rooms in various stages of sleepiness, not paying us a lick of attention as they file down the stairs.
“We should go,” Micah instructs.
How bad do we think the fire really is? No. No. Pull it together.
As we file outside quickly, I catch a glimpse of flames coming from the kitchen. We hear the sound of fire extinguishers well before the fire truck arrives.
