Page 74 of Turnabout Is Fair Cosplay
“Of course.” I bump my knee against Mike’s as I lean closer. “This is what’s going to happen. I’m going to get you to talk. And if I like what I hear, I’ll move closer.”
“What about me? Will I like what I hear?”
“Oh, there’s no doubt. They teach classes in law school about how to tell people what they want to hear.”
Mike grins before taking another pull of his sparkling water. I do the same. “But you’re not a lawyer anymore.”
“True. But my lips taste like ginger now. So it doesn’t really matter, does it?” I rest my hand on top of Mike’s before hopping off my stool.
“That’s a cheap shot, Beatrice.” He pulls me into his lap. It’s not at all awkward. The bar is crowded. I was getting up anyway. “They teach you that in law school too.”
“They teach cheap shots everywhere.” I slide my hands up Mike’s chest until they’re dangling behind his neck. He’s holding me at the waist, his thumbs making little circles against the sliver of exposed skin at my middle. “Say something, Mike.”
“When was the last time you sawTwelfth Night?”
“Do we count DVDs of student productions?”
I’m expecting him to smile, but instead his expression turns pensive. “You watched it?”
“I watched all of them.”
His hands still at my waist. “Which was your favorite?”
I stare at him for a beat. His hair is pulled back in a bun, the psycho makeup gone. Sure, the white shirt and loose suspenders feel a little out of place for a rowdy pub in PB, but compared to my ensemble, he completely wins the normal card.
“Romeo and Juliet. You completely stole the show. But that’s easy when you’re Mercutio. Now.” I tilt Mike’s chin up so he can meet my gaze. “I’m going to smile and lean in close. I may even giggle. And then I’m leaving. You want a ride home? Or is my 1977 still a sore spot with you?”
“The sorest, but I think we owe it to Vlad to see this through.” I thought his eyes were intense back at the escape room, but that was nothing to how he’s looking at me now.
“If you want Lena to really leave you alone, it’s not going to be because I fall all over you. She’ll only see it as a challenge. It really comes down to you.”
I flip my hair before leaning in closer. Gosh, how does this man still smell delicious after the night we’ve had?
He slides a hand up to rest on my shoulder blade. “Go on.”
“I walk out that door, without looking back, and you watch me leave like I’m a winning lottery ticket, and she’ll get the message. Particularly if you get up moments after I’m gone, like you’ve just realized you’ve forgotten to plug in Grandma’s oxygen tank.”
“Could we leave Grandma and her oxygen out of this?”
I giggle before taking another sip of my ginger ale.
Mike brings a gentle hand to my face. “And my idea of kissing you now for ten minutes before finding a quieter corner where we kiss for thirty wouldn’t be as effective because…”
“Because Lena might be the only one here who is willing to participate in that scheme.”
“But say you were?”
“I’m not.”
“Why not?”
Yes, why the heck not? Mike is gorgeous, brilliant, and I’ve never been more attracted to him. No defense I argue would have a prayer of standing up in any court. I know there have to be reasons, good reasons, but my mind is too distracted to find them. So I obfuscate. “Because I’m prickly and covered in spines. Remember?”
His hand squeezes my back before he sighs. “You have no idea how much I regret calling you a cactus.”
“Embrace it, Mike. I have.”
The corner of his mouth tugs into a smile. “I drove myself. I won’t need a ride.”
