Page 17 of Shockproof

Quieting my mind.

My anxieties.

My fears.

Around the time the chorus hits – finally arriving at the title of the song – Harvey finds the courage to not only stand but move his shoulders.

Awkwardly.

So awkwardly in fact that I’m not actually sure if he’s dancing or trying to stretch out a sore muscle until he leans backwards a bit to try to put some hip into it.

Rather than laugh or discourage his embrace of new to him music, I simply smile and continue to sing along. Allowing my eyes to open and shut as I surrender to the sounds successfully shifts me away from the stress of the search. The pressure for answers. The straining of my mental capacity that’s struggling to sort through what’s truly relevant and what’s not.

Yet again, I find myself spiraling into serenity when the door to my office abruptly swings wide open except this time, I’m prepared.

Of course, by prepared I mean the firearm is grabbed, the safety turned off, and the loaded gun is aimed at whatever assailant is stupid enough to try the same shit his predecessor did.

While pride is the initial response I spot on my cowboy’s face, it’s almost instantaneously replaced by disapproval over what I’m sure he feels is a lack of distance between me and the man I’m fairly certain I just gently let down for good. “Explain.”

Lowering my weapon occurs in tandem with me playfully snipping, “Or…you could sayhelloupon interrupting the dance party.”

Dark, dreary blue drops to the floor from his tightening lips. “What the fuck is he even doin’ here?”

“He-”

“Why the fuck isn’t he in hisownoffice?”

“He-”

“And why the fuck were you havin’ a dance party together?”

“I just…needed a minute!”

“You just needed a minute…?”

“To breathe!”

“Breathe.”

“Compose myself!”

His eyebrows launch to the ceiling in disdain. “Compose yourself.”

“Yes!” I restore the safety, place the pistol back down on my desk in a frazzled fashion, and rest my butt against the edge. “I asked him to stick around to lend me a hand on some of the paperwork to help expedite the process. And then…one thing led to another-”

“Never a sentence a guy wants to hear their girlfriend say,” Blu mumbles into the middle of my explanation.

“-and I needed a small brain break.”

“The dancin’,” he grumbles, blue lettering still bubbling at his feet.

“So…since Harvey had never heard of Rihanna-”

“You’ve never heard of Rihanna?” Slater’s other best friend croaks from the doorframe he’s leaning against. “LiketheRihanna? Like in another time and place would be my baby mama Rihanna?!”

Harvey takes a similar position to mine at the opposite side of the workspace he’s closest to. “Perhaps?”

“Andthisis the dude you’re worried about with your woman?” Levity in Blu’s tone is unmistakable. “Wahl,” he gently taps him on the arm with the back of his hand, “the man doesn’t even know about the Umbrella Empress.”

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