Page 16 of My Demon Manny

"And the grump? How is it taking care ofhim?"

I chuckled, wondering if Archer could hear us. I wasn't sure how exactly to answer his question without revealing just how much I enjoyed that particular part of the job.

"That's fun too," I settled on saying, and Jerry watched me for a moment, humming thoughtfully.

"Lux! Could I get a hand please?" Archer called from the kitchen, and I glanced from Jerry to Gunner just as Gunner threw his toy, watching it roll over to me.

"Go. We're fine. I'm calling you if he poops, though," Jerry warned, and I laughed as I handed the toy back to Gunner.

"Sure thing."

Making my way to Archer, I hoped the rest of the evening would pass by just as smoothly.

Archer

We'd decided to eat in the living room so Lux could join us and we could still keep an eye on Gunner, and as we ate, the conversation drifted from work to Gunner, to random topics like a movie that came out recently, or some band Jerry was currently obsessed with. It was all light and fun, and I realized I'd really needed a night in with a friend.

I'd long since grown out of the club scene, but that didn't mean I didn't enjoy spending time with Jerry and Kat.

"Oh, one time when we were in college, Archer here had one too many, and you know what he did?"

I blinked, realizing the conversation had somehow drifted away from the band discussion I'd tuned out at to my past escapades.

"Shut up, Jerry." I scowled at him, but he merely cackled like the little ass he was.

"What did he do?" Lux's eyes were bright with humor, and I shot him a look that he ignored. He did know I could fire him, right? The fact that I wouldn't do it didn't mean he shouldn't still be careful.

"Well, first he pissed in front of our economics professor's office, then he puked all over the statistics professor's office door. We barely made it out of there without getting caught."

Seriously? Out of everything I'd done in my college years, that was the story he decided to tell?

"Oh my god, that's horrible!"

Lux gave a soft, almost musical laugh, his eyes sparkling when they caught mine.

I sucked in a breath as our gazes locked, and for a few moments, it was just the two of us in the room. Damn, had his blond hair always looked so soft?

Gunner let out a cry, breaking the spell between us, and Lux put his empty plate down and hurried over to him.

"Oh, looks like someone needs a diaper change. Come on, Gungun."

Was it just me or was there a faint tremor in Lux's voice?

It was only after they were gone from the room that I realized Jerry was watching me with a curious look on his face.

"What?" I stuck another bite of food in my mouth, chewing as he continued to stare at me.

"You're into your manny."

The declaration almost made me choke on my morsel of food. Shaking my head, I coughed, grabbing my glass of wine and taking a much needed sip.

"I am not."

Jerry raised a brow at me. "Archie, we've known each other practically our whole lives. You really think I don't know what you look like when you have a crush on someone?"

"I'm not a teenager, Jerry. I don't have crushes."

"All right, let me rephrase. You don't think I know what you look like when you want to bang someone and also raise your kid with them?"

---