Page 35 of Watching Ames

“And she did,” Alex agreed, voice warm with affection toward this small woman he’d only known for a few short weeks. It was still surprising, the way he treated her like a kid sister he’d known for years, only to find out they just recently met. It made me question how deep their friendship could be, if there were more to it that I was missing, but it hit me just as quickly that I’d known Alex for even less time, and yet he was the one I kept turning to in my times of need. How swiftly and deeply our friendship had grown, and continued to grow, even with the drama that his and Wren’s relationship lacked. Alex’s face grew mockingly serious as he added a condition to Wren’s kind gesture, “But not without her own sort of payment.”

Wren leaned closer, whispering, “Information. I love a good love story, so I politely -”

“Incessantly,” Alex corrected.

“- asked a few questions about Alex’s lady. It was like pulling teeth, but eventually he told me about how he was trying to win her over from a shitty boyfriend by sending her gifts. And damn if that wasn’t the most romantic thing I’d ever heard. So I wrapped that gift basket with all my skill. And then I gave Alex my phone number, telling him if he really wanted to win you over, he might need more wrapping help in the future. And really, he couldn’t beat a lesbian florist. I mean, not only do I get women, I own a business that deals in romantic gestures.” She turned to me, hand to her chest as she said with total sincerity, “Sorry, Ames, but really you had no chance.”

Wren’s false seriousness was broken by a grin, and I laughed along with her as she wrapped up her story with a shrug. “He stopped by a couple days later, right at closing time, needing help wrapping a pair of headphones. Dev was with him, and the three of us hit it off, I guess. They invited me out to dinner with them, and they haven’t been able to get rid of me yet.”

She finished her story with a small, self-conscious smile, flicking her eyes between the two men that invited her into their friendship so easily. Dev leaned over, wrapping his arm around her shoulders as he mussed her hair, his voice low but still audible as he told her, “More like you’re not going to be able to get rid of us.”

“And if you tried, we’d track you down. You’re not getting rid of us that easily,” Alex said, and instead of flinching at the almost-threat, Wren brightened at their reassurance, shaking off her self-consciousness as she joked, “Duh, getting rid of me would make your lives infinitely more boring.”

The night didn’t last much longer after that, Dev leaving to drive Wren home once she started yawning and the fire died down. They left with relaxed goodbyes and promises to see Alex and me again soon, both of them hugging me as if we’d been friends forever. And I got the sense that this was what it was like to be in Alex’s world. Once you were in, you were in all the way. There was no having to mold yourself into what they expected or hiding the worst parts of yourself.

“I like your friends,” I blurted as Alex shut the door.

He turned toward me with another almost-smile, and I couldn’t remember the last time I’d seen so many on his face in so few hours. The knowledge turned the soft contentment of hanging out with his friends into something else, something that sent a buzzing awareness through my veins that was hard to ignore, now that we were alone in his house.

“They liked you too,” he said, mouth twisting into a grim expression as he added, “I’m sure they’ll be calling me incessantly, trying to spend more time with you. Wren especially.”

I smiled at the thought, but couldn’t help the yawn that split my mouth open, spurring Alex into movement, grabbing my suitcases as he headed toward the stairs.

“Come on. I’ll bring your stuff up and you can get ready for bed. It’s late.”

I followed him up the stairs, watching as he set the suitcases next to the bedroom door. He turned toward me afterward, stepping so close I had to wrench my head back to meet his eyes. My breath caught at the intensity in his gaze, and for a moment the only memory that ran through my head was the kiss we shared outside our coffee shop, the memory feeling so much older than it was. But Alex just tucked a loose piece of hair behind my ear, and I smiled softly even before he tugged on my ear, the motion from him so familiar.

“Why do you always do that?”

His hand paused where it had started to fall toward his side, instead reaching back up toward my ear. His fingertips grazed the shell of it softly, and I loosed a soft breath at the feeling, the side of his lips twisting up as he pulled my lobe again, slower this time, thumb brushing over the piercings there. “This?”

“Yes.” My voice shook, but I couldn’t bring myself to care, too curious to back down now.

“Hmm,” he murmured, continuing the soft strokes of his thumb over my ear, before they ventured just below, brushing the line of my jaw. “I told you I wouldn’t lie to you. But I think I’ll keep that tidbit to myself.”

With that, his hand slipped to the curve of my neck, fingers spanning my throat in a momentary, loose grip that had my heart racing. His hand dropped back to his side, so quickly that I wondered if I imagined his hand there entirely. But the dark hunger I saw in his blown pupils told me it had been real, that he felt what I did.

But I swallowed down that feeling, scared by just how intensely I felt it, and instead whispered a soft goodnight.

“Goodnight, Ames.” The deep rumble of his voice speared me through, even after he left the room.

Chapter20

Her

I wokeup the next morning feeling better rested than I had in days. After tossing and turning for an hour, going over everything that had happened in the past couple of weeks, I had decided not to think too hard about my friendship with Alex. It wasn’t worth the stress, and knowing I was going to be in his space for the next week meant that I either had to accept my situation and make the best of it, or be miserably unsure of my decisions every other moment. So I resolved to stop questioning myself, at least for the time being. And as soon as I made that decision, my tense muscles had relaxed, finally allowing me to fall into a dreamless sleep.

I showered and got dressed, thankful again for Dev and Wren for bringing my clothes the night before. The familiar ripped black shorts and cropped tank made me feel enough like myself that I ventured downstairs, drawn to the smell of coffee and sounds of light clanging coming from the kitchen.

“Morning.”

Alex’s head turned at my words, lips tilting up slightly as he met my eyes. He gestured to the coffee sitting at the island, steam still curling from the top of the cup, and I gratefully made my way toward what I already considered my seat, immediately taking a sip. It was exactly how I liked it, and I didn’t bother asking how Alex knew how I took my coffee, recalling his watchful eyes the morning before when I made my own.

“How do you like your eggs?”

“Whatever is fine,” I said, watching as he cracked a few eggs into a pan, another pan holding half-cooked sausages. “So, what’s on the agenda for today?”

Alex winced a bit as he said, “Wren and Dev had roped me into having a cookout for the Fourth, before you were staying here. But if you’re sick of them after last night, I can -”

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