Page 23 of My Demon Manny

Instead of sitting right up against the armrest like usual, I stayed closer to the middle, curious what Archer would do.

When he came back, he walked over to Gunner's crib first, smiling down at the kid before walking over to the couch. Sparing barely a thought, he settled beside me, so close our arms brushed as he leaned forward to pick up the plates, offering one to me.

Taking the plate, I settled comfortably, and then almost swallowed the bite I'd taken when Archer leaned into the backrest too, pressing the length of his arm against mine.

Neither of us looked at the other as we ate, and yet my whole being was focused on that line of warmth against my side. Why was he so warm?

Thrice during our meal, I had to forcibly stop myself from leaning into him.

I'd thought slowly flirting with him to test the waters would be a good idea, but I hadn't expected him to take the plunge outright.

What was I supposed to do now? Did I continue this dance and see who came clean first? Or did I ask him outright if he wanted to date?

Gah, why was doing things the human way so bloody complicated?

Archer

Lux was so warm against me. I wasn't sure what had possessed me to sit so close to him, but there I was now, with my arm pressed against his, his skin soft and smooth against mine. It made my fingers itch to touch him more, and I buried them in the sandwich to keep from reaching out.

"Whoa, what did that sandwich do to you? Does it taste bad?"

How deep did my attraction go that I thought his frown was cute as a button?

"No, it's good. I was just...lost in thought," I concluded lamely, and Lux gave me a look that said he didn't believe me.

Lux returned his attention to his sandwich, and I took another bite of mine, sneaking glances at him out of the corner of my eyes every once in a while.

By the time we finished our meals, I was worried my pupils were going to be permanently stuck in the corner of my eyes. I was sure he'd felt my gaze on him, but he hadn't questioned it, and I was grateful for that.

For the rest of the day, Lux continued touching me. Nothing overtly inappropriate, just a soft brush of fingers as he handed Gunner to me, or a pat on my shoulder to get my attention. They were little things, but each touch of his made me want for another.

I'd just finished with work when my phone buzzed, Jerry's name flashing on the screen.

"Hey, Jerry, what's up?"

"What's up is Kat and I are coming over, and we're going to take the little dude home with us while you and Mr. Manny go out and get drunk."

"What? We can't do that!"

"You can. And you know why? Because you had a traumatic fucking experience, and you need to let loose for a bit and deal with it so it doesn't come back to bite you in the ass. I'm sure you already have an appointment with your therapist—" I did, "—but this will help, promise. And not just you. I'm sure Calux is pretty shook up too."

"Yeah." I couldn't disagree with that, not when I knew he was. He was doing better now, but he'd been affected. Deeply.

"Are you sure? Will you and Kat be okay with Gunner?"

While Jerry and Kat used to be married, they were just friends now. Friends and roommates. Neither of them had any feelings for each other, but their present boyfriends or girlfriends rarely understood that, or accepted it. It made dating harder, but at the same time they were determined not to destroy their friendship for the sake of dating, which I really respected.

"We'll be fine. We'll be there in thirty."

In a whirlwind that I fondly called my best friends, Gunner and his packed bag of supplies were carted off by Jerry and Kat, but not before they'd made us dress up and dropped us outside our usual bar.

It was hard to let Gunner go, but I trusted Jerry and Kat with him. They'd been my friends almost all my life, and I knew they'd take care of him.

"So, I guess we're getting drunk?"

Lux snorted at my unsure tone, and led the way to the entrance. When the bouncer asked to see his ID, it was my turn to be amused.

Lux grumbled under his breath before pulling it out and showing it to the man, who squinted at it for a whole ten seconds before letting us in.

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