“It is overcast,” Charm says.
“Yessss,” I say, drawing out the word when he doesn’t say anything else.
I look around the kitchen to see if I can figure out why they’re being cagey, and startle to find Cato leaning on the counter behind me. He smirks but doesn’t give any hint about what they’re up to.
“It’s not snowing much though. Do you want to go out to the fire pit? We can have dessert out there,” Charm says.
“That sounds fun!” I say, already forgetting about their weirdness at the promise of a cozy fire and food.
“Let’s go start the fire. Henri and Charm can bring the food,” Orion says.
We get our coats on, and I follow them out into the snow, walking along in their footprints since the snow is so high.
Magnus and Orion dust off the fire pit while Cato cleans off the log benches and sits down. He pulls me onto his lap, making me squeak.
I try to get up, but his arms are locked around my waist, so I end up wiggling around on his lap. Cato makes a rumbling noise, and I twist around to glare at him.
His expression is tight, intensely focused on me, more serious than I’ve ever seen him. My snarky response dies on my lips.
Cato’s eyes drop to my mouth, and his grip tightens as he hardens beneath me.
His face is barely a hair's breadth from mine when Orion says, “Do you want to light the fire?”
Cato jerks back, loosening his hold, and I scramble off his lap.
I stumble away, breathing hard.
Orion doesn’t comment on our almost kiss. I don’t know if he saw, if he knew what we were doing. He justhands me the matches, and I light one with shaking hands.
I can’t look them in the eyes, and I keep my head down while I get the fire going.
Orion’s hand brushes mine when I give the matches back, flustering me even more.
I was so close to a line I’m not allowed to cross, I was literally on top ofit. I can’t believe I let it go that far.
Thankfully, Cato seemed just as surprised as I was to find himself in that situation. Now that we've come to our senses, I’m sure we’ll avoid anything close to inappropriate in the future.
“Cherrywood is one of my favorites, it always smells so good,” Orion says, apparently oblivious to what happened.
“It does,” I agree without thought.
It’s one thing to play around with Cato, but I can’t actuallyget withmy bosses no matter how good they smell or how hard they get for me.
I’m still jittery. I need to sit down before I collapse.
I can’t risk sitting next to Cato, so I move toward the other benches, but Magnus steps in my way. I look up, confused, but his face is expressionless.
Orion moves in behind me, keeping me trapped.
My heart is pounding so hard I can feel it in my ears.
I look to Cato for help, but he’s still watching me with that intense expression.
“The moon is visible already,” Orion says.
I squint at him, unsure whether we’re going to kiss or not, and he nods toward the sky. I follow the gesture, finding the half-moon visible over the station.
“It’s pretty,” I say.
