Page 23 of In the Light of the Moon

I groaned toward the ceiling, “I don’t know! I’m just nervous. And my dry spell immediately after two unsuccessful relationships has me feeling all off.”

“Take your time if you need. But he’s here to stay, Sylvie.”

I whined, “How can you even be so sure? He’s been an ass for the majority of our interactions. Even if he’s been sweet most recently.”

Josie just shrugged and focused back on whatever she was working on, “Not sure. Just have a hunch.”

Orion had been nothing but a gentleman when he’d picked me up. Granna was acting weird, well more strange than shesometimes did around people that weren’t me or Roz, but she seemed to like Orion enough.

The lighting above us now was pleasantly soft, and though I could tell that Orion was more nervous than our last two encounters, I was, too. Getting drinks and helping me study, while slower to navigate in the beginning, didn’t have the stakes that this date did.

A moment of silence passed, but it wasn’t awkward. It was like just letting the newness of this fill the space, and I felt my nervous buzzing slow. The server came back to deposit a daintily poured cocktail in front of me and a bottle of beer before Orion.

“I can’t believe I’ve never been here before,” I commented after taking a sip of my drink. It was delicious. “And you said that you’ve ordered food from here often?”

He nodded, “Yes, the green curry is my favorite.”

“Your favorite food ever or just here?”

Orion met my eyes then lowered them as he took a sip of his beer. “Just here. I’m not sure I can narrow down my favorite food to one dish. What about you?”

I hummed in contemplation then smirked, “I have to agree. I’m also not very picky, so as long as it’s fairly good, I’ll enjoy just about anything.”

A small smile crept up Orion’s face, and I couldn’t help but zero in on his lips. They were so much softer than I thought they’d be when we kissed. And when he gave me that peck on the cheek that I could still feel on my face. I wondered if he was going to kiss me again tonight. “My father used to tease me about how picky of an eater I was. Still am, somewhat.”

“Oh, yeah? And do you get to see him often?”

Though Orion’s smile didn’t fall completely, it dimmed in sadness. “He was from here but died a few years ago.”

It was a strange camaraderie I felt in that moment, but his palpable grief made me feel closer to him. “I’m sorry to hearthat. Mine passed away earlier this year. It’s why I moved in with Granna.”

“And where did you live before?” Orion started to shrug out of his jacket, and I felt my tongue trip up on my response when I took in his exposed arms for the first time. His right one was enveloped by tattoos that ended just at the line of his wrist.

“Ah, I’m sorry, what?” My voice had taken on a breathiness that I tried to sate with another sip of my cocktail.

When I chanced my glance back to Orion, he was wearing a curious expression. The muscles at his jaw were jumping, and his eyes met mine in an intense lock that lasted a few breathless moments.

He leaned forward, pressing his arms into the wooden table between us, and I tried to, very covertly, take in the tone of his muscles and the various art pieces on his skin. “I was asking where you lived before moving here.” His voice seemed deeper, now, and all the nervous air around him vanished. It was the Orion that I saw when I’d watched him smoke, completely entranced. It was the Orion who pressed me up against the side of the bar and kissed me like he needed it more than air.

Though he dressed simply, the dark t-shirt and jeans didn’t look cheap, and I’d definitely noticed how they pulled at the flexing of his muscles in all of the right ways.Taking it slow, taking it slow, I chanted at myself, even though I was finding it very difficult to not imagine that tattooed arm pulling me close and holding me tightly.

The silence between us this time was charged, the noises of the restaurant around us seeming to disappear. It was like a vacuum, feeling as though we were the only two in the room, and it reminded me of the first time we met. How mesmerized I was by him.

“Order of satay chicken,” a food runner came round and placed our appetizer on the table before flitting away, and the spell between us lifted.

Orion blinked a few times, white lashes fluttering, and directed his attention to the food in front of us. I cleared my throat again, “I was raised just outside of Hartford. My mother died when I was a baby, so my father and I lived in his hometown near my family on his side.” The chicken skewers were hot and spicy, the peanut sauce perfectly seasoned. I nodded in appreciation for the food while we both chewed.

“How are you liking your classes so far?” Orion asked after the last fizzles of tension between us faded.

“I’m really enjoying them. My advanced creative writing class is my favorite, obviously.” He tilted his head in question, and I realized that it wasn’t necessarily obvious to him. “I enjoy writing. Short stories mostly, but I hope to be a novelist one day.” I continued, “Do you enjoy teaching?”

“Yes, generally.”

“Was that always what you wanted to do?”

Orion tilted his head from side to side, “Not entirely. Though, I don’t think there was a clear path before I decided on pursuing my doctorate. Like you, I took a break during my schooling.”

That comment made me feel far better than expected. There was always a bit of shame in the back of my throat when I told people that I was still finishing my undergraduate degree ten years after starting it. “Oh? And what did you do during that time?”

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