Page 4 of Ink & Snow
“The fuck,” I said, because it was like an icebox up here.
I turned left into the kitchen and put the cake on one of the counters. Right there, between the sink and the dishwasher, the window stood open. Snow had blown in, covering both the countertop on that side of the kitchen as well as the floor.
“You have to be fucking kidding me.”
I slammed the window shut, nearly slipping and falling on my ass as I did so. I cursed some more, moved to step out of the kitchen, and did fall on my ass.
“Fucking hell,” I said, looking at the ceiling, which had some very nice crown molding the photos hadn’t shown at all. Huh.
Loud steps echoed toward me from the hallway, and moments later, the door burst open.
“Hello? Everything okay?”
Some dude appeared in the kitchen hallway. He was around my age or in his late twenties, though it was difficult to tell with his pom pom winter hat. The hat was black, which was reasonable, but it had pink reindeer on it, and the pom pom was pink. That was completely fucking insane.
“Are you okay? I’ll call Dr. Ben.” He came into the kitchen to squat next to me and pulled out his phone.
I let go of the shock his hat had induced. “I’m fine. No need to call anyone. Although maybe the sheriff.”
His eyes widened. They were real pretty, blue with a circlet of gold in the center. His lips were very pink, but not a lewd pink. They were a subtle color, flower petals crushed and diluted, then carefully applied though he’d not done any such thing, came naturally by that look. My cock took interest, and I realized the universe had finally done me a solid. At a minimum, Pink Pom Pom was the nice guy piece of ass I needed to get over fucking Cecil.
“Was anything stolen? Did someone come in through that window?” he asked.
I grinned and tried to look dapper. Not easy in a puddle of melting snow on a kitchen floor I hadn’t personally cleaned, but I knew to work with what I had.
“Did you?” I asked. “Steal anything when you came in here uninvited?”
He blinked his eyes a few times. “Oh! I’m sorry. You’re talking about me. I’m your neighbor, Amory Saintclair. I ownWicked Lines,the tattoo place next door? I saw the car, figured it was yours since I didn’t know it, and the light was on downstairs. I knocked, but no one answered, and the door was open, so I came in. Then I heard a noise and figured you might need help, so I ran upstairs and—well.” He pulled off a sheepish look that made him appear very young.
I scrambled to my feet, and Amory Saintclair ofWicked Lineshelped. It was awkward. It made me feel frail and entirely too self-conscious.
“I forgot to lock the door,” I told him. “And one of the movers left that window open.”
“Oh, that’s why it’s so cold. That’s not very responsible of them.”
“It really fucking isn’t.”
He smiled at me. “You sound mad. Don’t be mad. Life’s too short. I’ll help you clean this up.” He pointed at the cake. “At least you found the mayor’s cake.”
“The mayor left me a fucking cake?”
That smile again. “It’s not afuckingcake, it’s chocolate cake, and it’s just a little welcome to Clair de la Lune. I’ll mop this up for you. I know where Fran keeps the cleaning stuff for downstairs. Won’t even take me a minute.”
Yup. They were saccharine, brainwashed cultists, all of them. Only this one was cute, so I figured I might as well keep him.
“Would you really?” I asked, giving him a long look and batting my eyes.
He scratched the back of his head, blushed slightly, and looked first at my eyes, then my mouth. Ding ding ding! I had a winner here, either gay-curious or the real thing. With any luck, I could fuck Cecil out of my system before bathtime.
“Sure.” He pointed at the puddle. “Watch that. I mean, I’ll be right back, watch out so you don’t fall again.”
The fuck? Did he think I was geriatric or dumb enough to fall on my ass twice in as many minutes?
I put on a sweet smile regardless, deciding I could forgive the cutie who would help me fuck my way into unfettered singlehood even if he didn’t know it yet.
“Of course. Thank you, Amory.”
He nodded, pointed at the apartment door. “I’ll go. Get the mop. For the water.”
