Page 82 of The Lair

My eyes might be playing tricks on me, but I’m pretty sure that’s a smirk on his face. “I didn’t peg you for a busybody.”

“I have my moments.”

“You do, huh?” The weight of his hand moves up to my shoulder, the one furthest from him. And I don’t overthink it too much as those long, thick fingers span around it, holding me against him as we walk. “She’s his special friend.”

“What does that even mean?”

“It means they’re partners. My uncle says he’s too old for girlfriends, and he doesn’t want to get married.” He drops his hand when our group stops moving just a few feet away from the water. “Does that satisfy your curiosity?”

“Kinda.” And because I want to take advantage of one of his very rare playful moods, I gather the courage I didn’t know I had and ask him, “What about you?”

His eyes remain on the lake, his head towering above everybody else’s. “What about me?”

He’s playing coy. Too bad my boldness is bigger than my fear of rejection tonight.

“Do you have a special friend?”

I’m not imagining the way his body leans into mine. “Why do you want to know?”

I’ve never been more grateful for the darkness as I feel my cheeks heating up. “I’m a busybody, remember?”

I tune out the loud crowd around us, too aware of the man beside me. A small eternity seems to go by before I get an answer.

“No special friends for me. Haven’t had one in a while.”

“Oh.” I hate myself a little for being so relieved about this before I realize it wouldn’t matter. Travis is my boss and landlord, and nothing is going to happen between us. Ever.

“I don’t have any special friends either,” I say because I want him to know this for some reason.

He takes me aback by asking, “What about Charlie?”

“Charlie?” That gets him a frown. “You think I’m dating Charlie?”

He slides me an unreadable look. “Maybe not dating, but something else.”

He thinks I’m sleepingwith him?

I fight the urge to gag. Charlie is like a younger brother to me. Just the thought of him likethatmakes my stomach turn. Buton the outside, my stare is nothing but calm. “Why? Because I hugged him once?”

When Travis looks away again, I don’t miss the tick in his jaw. “You seem close.”

Why does he sound so serious all of a sudden?

“Am I not allowed to be friends with my co-workers?” I ask him genuinely. If I’m doing something wrong that could cost me my job, I would like to know. Although, knowing Travis, if my friendship with Charlie were a real issue, he would’ve already warned me about it.

“Of course you are,” he says. “Forget about it.”

I don’t understand why he’s being so weird about this, but I don’t have time to ask because the first explosion of red and blue goes off over our heads, and everyone around us starts cheering.

Parents put their children on their shoulders, and couples start snuggling against each other. Travis’s arm is still touching the side of my body, and even though he might not hear me over the fireworks, I still say, “Charlie is just my friend. We don’t have feelings for each other. Trust me on that.”

I feel his scorching stare on my face, but my eyes stay on the sky.

Travis says nothing else as the fireworks show goes on. I’m enthralled by the beauty of it and the sense of being part of a community, of being surrounded by so many people for the first time in so long. I don’t remember the last time I welcomed the New Year like this, and now that I’ve had a taste, I’m not sure I’ll want to spend another December 31 alone.

I watch the fireworks until I notice something.

Every time a firework goes off, Travis flinches. It’s a small twitch of his hands, almost imperceptible, but I see it.

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