Page 28 of Tops
“What does that mean?”
It almost made me smile whenever I confused him. I don’t think he realized that was when his mask slipped. Oh yes, I knew all about masking. Tanner was hiding something, but not just from me. He was hiding something from himself. Takes one to know one.
“I think we are due for a neutral sit down so we can figure out who’s more alpha or some weird shit.” I wasn’t sure how else to word it. Telling him I had the sensation I needed to fuck him or fight him probably wasn’t the best idea.
“Neutral like a rooftop garden?” Tanner asked as his face relaxed, and a small smile hinted at the edge of his lips. It was always like spinning magnets between us, the push and pull constantly swapping.
“I guess it’s as good as we have for now,” I said softly, giving him a smile before reaching around to push the button to open the door again. It would have been easy for my fingertips to brush across him as I pulled my arm back, but I didn’t. One slight touch might be all we needed to break our restraint.
I slipped out of the small elevator the moment the panel slid to the side, needing to put some physical distance between us before I lost my mind. After a few steps, I finally took a deep breath, noticing the air was fresh and smelled like flowers. My eyes traveled every inch of the roof, made entirely from windows. Flowers and tropical trees were planted all around while water fountains bubbled. It was a small slice of heaven protected in a glass case from the cold, hard city.
A blue butterfly flew around my head, causing a bubble of laughter to break free.
“I thought you might like it here,” Tanner said as he slowly approached me. There was a smile on his face, but he wasn’t looking around at the plants.
He was looking at me.
We hadn’t sat down and talked while we were on the roof. Instead, he let me wander between the plants until my mood improved. Then he announced we had been missing for long enough since he started getting messages from Hannah.
The trip back down the elevator seemed to take a fraction of a second compared to the journey up. This time, when the doors slid open, they revealed a long corridor.
“Take that all the way down. There is a door that leads into the parking garage. Right inside, there is the door into Bottoms. You should be familiar by then,” Tanner said, crossing his arms over his chest. Guess the grumpy version was back.
“You sure you don’t want to join me for movie night?” I smiled and winked as I stepped out of the elevator backward so I wouldn’t have to break his gaze. I didn’t turn and head down the hallway until the door slid back into place, cutting off our connection for now.
10
Movie Night Madness
SinceIcameinthrough the garage entrance, I didn’t see Colten before I slipped back into my bedroom. Hannah was lying in my bed, but my stomach dropped when I realized she wasn’t alone. On the other side of the bed, Colten sat in a chair watchingBirdemic: Shock and Terroron the screen. Hannah propped herself up and smiled as I shut the door behind me.
Colten didn’t bother to look at me before he stood, securing a single button on his suit before pushing his glasses back in place.
“So, the two of you just getting to know each other?” I blamed Tanner for the remaining venom in my voice, refusing to consider it could be jealousy.
Hannah looked at me and then looked back to Colten before smiling wide. “He was about as entertaining as a statue for the most part. But this little revelation makes it all worth it,” Hannah gushed. A glance over at the wine bottle showed that it was empty.
“I should leave the two of you to your movie now that everything seems attended. No sense in having the suit around to bring down your night,” Colten said, his eyes refusing to look my way as he quickly headed out. His words ate at me like he was the one with venom.
“Colten, wait,” I called after him as I slipped through the door before it shut.
Sorry, Hannah, just a little bit more boy problems to attend to, and then we would get to our movie.
“Colten,” I yelled as I watched him walk down the hallway. “I’m sorry, okay? I was really upset and thought you were involved in something illegal.”
He stopped walking but didn’t turn around. His suit was so well-tailored that I could see how his back tightened as his muscles bunched together.
“I have an anxiety disorder that kind of spirals out of control. You didn’t deserve to be treated like that,” I said, just loud enough for him to hear.
He didn’t say anything. He just started walking again. Before I could decide if I should run after him or not, he disappeared into the shadows in the distance. I sighed to steady myself before returning to face Hannah, now that I had run off on her twice.
Hannah was waiting for me like a lioness, ready to pounce, when I opened the door. She looked at me like I was guilty of keeping secrets from her. Secrets so interesting, she turned the movie off. That was practically a sin during movie night.
In my defense, I hadn’t been able to talk to her since we were both staying in safe houses. I think I had earned a little leeway considering everything.
“I have so much to tell you.” It all came out in a rush as I smiled, quickly shut the door, and jogged over to the bed. I had never gotten to be this girl before, one who gushed over her crushes with her best friend.
“So, Colten too?” Hannah smiled around a piece of popcorn before biting down on it.
