Page 27 of Give Me a Shot

“Mo, come on, man, I’m sorry,” Khalil said, reaching out a hand.

Mo grumbled, shaking his head, and made his way to the kitchen. He needed some water. He heard the swish of his mom’scaftan as she followed him, but she didn’t say anything as he went into the kitchen, found a can of sparkling water in the fridge, and closed the door behind him. She waited until he’d had a sip before she came up next to him and rested a hand on his upper arm.

“Do you want to talk about this Jess?” she asked.

He wasn’t sure what to say about Jess. He couldn’t tell his mom about the way they’d met; it wouldn’t exactly paint Jess in the best light from his mom’s perspective. He could say that she was willing to do something for a group of people she didn’t know very well. That showed she had good character. Coupled with how attractive she was—

Attractive?

His cheeks flushed hot. He took a quick sip of water before clearing his throat.

“Not much to say,” he said. “Working with her on the Ren Faire project.”

“Okay,” his mom said, her eyes twinkling. She patted his arm and returned to her printouts on the kitchen island.

—

A few hours later Mo left his parents’ house, a large container of Bahgrir for him and gazelle horns for Maddie in his hand. His mother always sent him home with their favorite desserts. He paused before opening the door of his truck. The truck that Jess would be getting into in less than twenty-four hours’ time. He’d forgotten while inside, but now looking at it, the prickly anxiety of driving with Jess to the meeting formed a lump in his throat. This anxiety was deeper than the constant, low-level buzz of it that he lived with every moment he wasn’t in one of his safe spaces.

Maybe it’s so strong because I’ve just stepped out of one of my safe spaces.

He got into the truck, settling the container carefully in the passenger seat so it wouldn’t slide around on the drive home, and tried to parse why he felt so…scared about the drive with Jess the next day.

It’s not like she’s going to attack you.

He knew it wasn’t physical safety that was bothering him. It was emotional. Jess hadseenhim. And she hadn’t judged. That should have made him want to be around her, not run away. Maybe that’s why he’d been honored when she’d reached out to him for help about her car. That’s why he’d been stomach-wrenchingly nervous as they’d talked beside it, her hypnotizing brown eyes too intense to look into. Why, even when they hadn’t spoken, he’d been happy to see her occasionally at the School, her beautiful sable hair gilded by the sunlight when she was on the archery range. He turned on the engine.

In spite of feeling the need to make her a gift, Mo hadn’t fully acknowledged that he was attracted to Jess until that afternoon. Some deeper part of himself must have realized it and made him open his mouth and put him in a situation where he couldn’t run away. He sighed, scratching at his beard.

I swear, I am my own worst enemy.

That was the deeper anxiety. She made him feel seen and appreciated for who he truly was. She’d given him the opportunity to help her in a concrete way with his skills. Like many men, for Mo that was all it took. Her beauty was just the icing on the emotionally overwhelming cake. He sighed.

I have a huge crush on Jess.

Chapter Eight

Jess

Sitting on the couch in her apartment, bag already on her shoulder, keys in her hand, Jess wondered what was wrong with her. Mo had called to say he was on his way—she raised her wrist to check her watch—seventeen minutes earlier, and she’d immediately gotten ready to leave. Once she was, she’d just sat down and folded her hands in her lap. No finding any last-minute detail to take care of, no taking out her phone to pass the time; she just sat. In part, it had been a good reflex. She hadn’t noticed that her lower back was a little bit achy until she was seated and still. Her current inertia was surprising, though.

Just want to be ready when he gets here. Don’t want to keep him waiting.

Mo had seemed very uncomfortable when he’d offered her a ride. At first, she’d thought it was because he’s a reserved person and it was awkward for him to offer. But that morning, she’d begun to worry that he somehow felt obligated. She couldn’t guess why that might be, though. Meowing slowly and low, Steinem drew her attention to where he was sitting on the floor watching her, just out of reach.

“I’m okay,” Jess said.

Steinem narrowed his eyes and sniffed at her. He meowed again.

“I am,” Jess answered. “You don’t have to believe me.”

Steinem turned his ear to the right, his head following. Jess caught the sound of a car pulling up to the front of her house.She hopped to her feet, peeked through the blinds, and saw Mo’s truck at the curb.

“Later, Sty Sty,” she tossed over her shoulder.

Her heart was pounding as she took the steps too quickly. She reassured herself that she just didn’t want to make Mo wait, it wasn’t like she had a reason to be nervous or excited about seeing him. He was just a nice friend giving her a ride—

Holy. Shit.

---