Page 22 of Passing Ships

“I should have. It just wasn’t a big deal, and I didn’t want you to make it a big deal.”

“It is a big deal, Amiya.”

“Not to me and not to Lennon either. Trust me. I haven’t heard a peep from him since that night. So, it’s safe to say that we got it out of our system.”

She stops and faces me. “If it’s not a big deal and it’s all out of your system, why the pissy looks and attitude?”

I give her a sheepish smile. “I might have been a little bratty earlier. I guess I’m not used to a guy not wanting a repeat performance, and it might have bruised my self-esteem a wee bit,” I admit.

“I knew it. You like him.”

I wave her off. “No, I don’t. My ego just got away from me for a minute. I’ll take full responsibility for that, and I’ll fix it.”

“Are you sure there won’t be any weirdness between you guys?”

I slash a finger over my chest. “Cross my heart.”

“And I don’t need to find one of you somewhere else to stay?”

“We’re adults. We can share a house. It’s not like we’re stuck in some cheesy romance novel, where there’s only one bed and we have no choice but to fuck like rabbits and fall madly in love,” I state.

She rolls her eyes. “Fine, but don’t ever hide something like that from me again, even if you do think it’s going to make me mad,” she demands.

“Promise.” I toss my arm around her neck. “Now, let’s go get you that drink.”

Lennon extends his hand for my keys.

After my talk with Avie, I went to sit beside him and bury the hatchet.

Truth is, I’ve thought about him a lot since our little rendezvous. He’s even starred in a few of my fantasies lately. And the fact that he’s been radio silent, even though I added my contact information to his phone while he was in the bathroom that night stung. It’s not like I expected him to call and profess his undying love for me or anything, but I figured I’d get a dirty text or a dick pic at the very least.

At one point during the holidays, I considered going into Avie’s phone to get his number so I could send him a scathing message or initiate a naughty exchange—whichever I decided at the moment—but I thought better of it.

He’s not interested.

End of story.

I hand him my keys, and we say our goodbyes to everyone. He places his hand on the small of my back and leads me through the gate to my car.

We ride in silence through the darkened streets to the cabana.

“What’s your favorite color?” I ask him out of the blue.

His eyes cut from the road to me. “Why?”

“I figure if you and I are going to be friends, we should get to know each other better,” I say.

“We’re going to be friends, huh?”

“Yes, we are. For Sebastian and Avie. Now, answer the question,” I insist.

“Blue and gold.”

“That’s two colors,” I point out.

“Yep. The colors of the Navy.”

I wrinkle my nose. “Okay. I’ll allow it. Favorite cocktail?”

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