Not that I would haveobjected to the other kind of spending the evening, either.
I’d been worried when I lefthis office a couple of days ago that he’d be mad at me for almost kissing him.It’d been a moment of weakness, of wanting to give him the support he soclearly needed in his life.
Hell, of wantinghim.I couldn’texplain exactly what it was I liked about him except that it waseverything. I liked the wayhe smiled, but also the way he frowned, and the look he gave me and everyoneelse when he thought we were being stupid, and…
And I liked the way he fedme bites of pie and mocked my hot beverage of choice and drank his coffee blackand unsweetened.
It wasn’t even about thesex—not anymore, though I had to admit to myself that I wasstillthinking aboutit. Somehow, he’d ruined me for sex with other people after one enthusiasticblowjob.
But there was more thanthat. So much more.
The world seemed to stopspinning for a moment when Miles opened the door.
He always wore a suit and hewas always at least reasonably neat, but this was Miles all dressed up. Therewas a rich warmth to the classic black of his suit, set off by a fun green tiethat shifted to purple as the light changed when he stepped back.
He was freshly shaved, andhis always slightly-ruffled hair was slicked back, and…
“Are you wearing concealer?”I asked, getting maybe a little too close for professionalism.
Miles shrugged easily. “Only under myeyes to stop people telling me I look tired,” he said. “You want me to doyours?”
I didn’t have an answerto that. I’d never considered whether or not I looked tired.
I’d worried about whether Iwas presentable in ways I could control with a comb and a razor.
“Well…” I began, steppingback to give Miles some space. “It’s working for you, anyway.”
His pretty eyes lit up, andI realized now why I’d never noticed the dark circles before. I’d been too busylooking a half-inch above them.
“Do I… do mineneeddoing?” I asked, unsureif he was serious.
Miles chuckled. “No,” he said. “No,you’re somehow always the picture of glowing health, and I hate you a littlefor it because I doubt you sleep any better than I do.”
I wasn’t sure how torespond to that, either. Neither of us had easy pasts.
But for whatever reason,Miles made me forget mine. He wasn’t exactly a shining beacon of sunbeams andmarshmallows, but… there was still something about him. Somethingeasy.
Not in the sense that he’d invited arandom stranger to his hotel room, but in the sense that it was nice to just…exist near him. It didn’t feel like a struggle or an effort.
He was the kind of personthat took other people exactly as they were, I realized. I liked him because hejust accepted me for who I was.
And because he was cute.
“Good genes,” I said after alittle while, figuring that was as likely an explanation as any.
I thought about the circlesI’dseen under Logan’s eyes and wondered if he was okay.Reallyokay.
We’d have to talk sometimesoon. He probably needed it as much as I did.
“Yeah,” Miles said, a smileplaying around his lips. “But you look okay in a suit, too.”
I couldn’t help laughingat that. “That was terrible.”
“But you laughed.” Milesshrugged again. “You look very serious tonight. You’re notscared, are you? Ofhanging out with a bunch of rich people for a few hours?”
“I’m not scared of anything,”I said. “Well. Except roaches.”
Miles frowned. “Really?”
