Page 11 of Capitally Engaged

He looked at me like I suggested he never vote again, not simply proposing two adults share a single bed.

“Correct. We’re two adults who are practically strangers. And you want to share a bed?” He said this slowly, like if he took long enough, his message would sink in.

I rolled my eyes.

“We’ll build a pillow wall, or maybe you have a board for bundling, if you’re that worried about your virtue. But that reminds me, we need to work on making touching each other look natural before tonight. Do you need to finish anything up before we start getting ready?”

Preston glanced between his laptop screen and my face.

“And here I thought you just meant showering and getting dressed.”

“I mean, we can do that together too, if you want...” I got the exact shade of pink out of Preston’s cheeks as I hoped I would. Teasing him was far too easy.

“I didn’t mean, I thought just, not showering...” He stumbled over his words, his brain seeming to short-circuit.

I put him out of his misery. “I just meant simple touches. Hand holding, leading me by my back, not jumping when I put my hand on your shoulder, dancing. You know, the basics.”

“I only jumped because I didn’t hear or see you. I’m notthatbad at this.”

“Okay, then, prove it.”

Preston stared at me, seeming to steel himself. He stood up and walked over to me.

“Let’s start with dancing,” he said, pulling out his phone and selecting a song. A soft, crooning voice rose from the small speaker.

“Go big or go home. I like it,” I said, waiting for him to set the phone down and walk the rest of the way to me. I put one hand on his shoulder and the other tucked into the dip in his waist above his hip. He matched my position, using the large hand that covered most of my small back to pull me incrementally closer. We started to spin in place in time to the song.

“So, have you done a lot of fake relationships in your life? You seem to have quite the list of touches prepared.”

I shook my head, meeting his eyes.

“No, this is a first for me. I guess you could say I’m into watching people.”

I heard it as soon it was out of my mouth. Preston barked out a laugh, and I used the hand on his shoulder to smack him gently in admonishment, a snicker escaping despite my best intentions.

“Not like that, sicko. It’s just... I observe people and the way they interact with each other. Are their touches natural or strained? Can they not keep their hands to themselves, just counting down the moments until they rip each other’s clothes off? Are they keeping up appearances for the people they’re with but their motions are cold and filled with unsaid, angry words? You can tell a lot by touching.”

“And that’s all from your time as a reporter.”

I shook my head. “Not entirely, but it wasn’t unhelpful when I was chasing a story and trying to uncover the truth.” Observing people as a novelist was an occupational hazard, especially when you spent a lot of time in public alone. Making up back stories for people out together ranked among my favorite ways to pass time, and often resulted in something I could use in one of my books

Preston looked like he wanted to push for more from me, but decided against it. He rolled his fingers along my shoulder, readjusting his grip.

“So, how are we touching right now? Like strangers?”

I shook my head again. “Not quite strangers, but right now, our body language points more to a single-digit-date-type couple. Not sure it’s quite at engaged level.”

Preston searched my face with his eyes, seeming to decide something before pulling me flush against his body. The hand on my shoulder curled into my hair to rest my head in the space next to his neck. I found myself closing my eyes, breathing him in, as his thumb moved up and down on my back in gentle strokes.

“How’s this then?” he asked, my cheek feeling his voice rumbling from his chest.

Just then, the song ended, the silence ringing through the apartment. I pushed myself back, my body flushed.

“That’ll definitely do if there’s any dancing. And we covered other touches by starting with the dancing. So smart. And efficient. I’m... I’m going to go take a shower now, start the rest of the getting ready process.”Now whose brain was short-circuiting, Jax?

Preston nodded, his face hard to read.

“There’s an extra towel for you hanging in the bathroom. It’s the blue one, mine’s red.”

---