1. Aidan #4
“No,” I told him, trying not to laugh at the look of terror on his face.
I glanced around and wasn’t surprised that the dirty bastard had taken the chance to take off when I wasn’t looking.
He wasn’t one to avoid confrontation, but I knew he hated the idea of an audience even more than I did.
“I’m his ex, and I am pissed. But you’re safe, I promise. You don’t look like him.”
“We’re literally identical,” Reno pointed out.
“In looks, but you don’t make the same stupid expressions he does,” I told him quickly, then turned to Colin. “I promise I can be professional; this won’t be a problem.”
“You’re getting a free pass because it’s obvious no one was expecting this,” he told me softly, and I felt a rush of relief.
If I had been warned about what was waiting for me, I wouldn’t have been so obvious about my emotions.
It was nice to know I was going to get the chance to prove myself before I was judged.
“But make sure this doesn’t bleed into the work, alright?
Be awkward and weird about it for a bit, but don’t spread any shit. ”
“Promise,” I told him quickly, knowing that workplace drama from a soured relationship was one of the biggest fears for many people.
Especially when you were working in such a tight-knit, isolated group.
“And you can throw me in the back of the truck and make sure Jake hits every bump on the way back if I don’t. ”
“Can I?” Jake asked, sounding a little too eager.
“No!” Colin yelled at him, turning his attention back to me. “But I get your point. I’ll catch up with you guys later, alright?”
“Better you than me,” Reno muttered and went to grab my shoulder, watching the way I leaned away. “Probably shouldn’t touch you…shit, this is weird. I dunno how you’re dealing with it.”
“Hmm, you single?” I asked, knowing I was probably making Colin regret giving me the chance to prove I wasn’t a drama bomb waiting to go off. But damn it, there was a little imp in my brain that couldn’t resist the opportunity to be a little shit.
“And straight,” Reno said with a grin as he motioned for me to follow him. “Even if I wasn’t, I’m not helping you get revenge on my brother…not that kind of revenge anyway. But if you tell me what he did, I’ll give you a list of approved revenge I’m willing to help with.”
“Yeah, as much as I love the idea,” I admitted. “I don’t think I want to be doing that. Maybe when I’ve got a few beers in me, but right now? Your face is enough of a reminder of what, or who, has pissed me off.”
“It feels weird to apologize for my face, of all things,” Reno said with a shake of his head, noting the large bag on the floor and grunting to pick it up.
“Don’t,” I said with a sigh. “I need to get used to seeing his face. But yours? The more I’m around you and talk to you, the easier it’ll be for me to see Reno instead of Mikhail.”
“It’s a little weird to hear people say that,” he said as he picked up my bag and made a face that told me he wasn’t expecting it to be as heavy as it was.
“They told me to pack well, but not my whole life…but nothing about packing light,” I said by way of apology as he corrected his balance and stood upright.
“Obviously,” he said, and there it was: Mika’s voice coming out of Reno’s mouth.
Not that I expected them to be so different there wouldn’t be anything similar, but it was a little jarring.
Which was fine; I wasn’t lying when I said I needed to be around both of them.
Mika because I needed to figure out how I was going to work alongside him without wanting to tear him a new one, and Reno so I didn’t keep seeing Mika in his face and unconsciously treat him poorly because of it.
The men didn’t need to suffer because I couldn’t control myself… or because one of their own was a—
I cleared my throat. “Lead the way.”
Reno stared at me, lingering in the doorway. “Anyone ever told you that you should skip the middleman and just slap a neon sign on your face that broadcasts your thoughts? Because you have a terrible—”
“Poker face,” I finished with a sigh. “And no, I’m actually pretty good at poker. I’m good at hiding my feelings when I’m thinking about it, but not when I’m…off balance.”
“I’m—”
“Reno?”
“Am I about to get yelled at for apologizing?”
“You’re about to be told that if you apologize one more time because you unfortunately share genetics and once, a womb, with the son of a bitch I’m mad at, I’m going to find the largest boot and shove it up your ass.”
“Kinky?” he wondered, then wrinkled his nose. “And that would be Xander's or Jake’s boots. One of those two would be more willing to give up their boots for that than the other…no, wait, Jake would probably think it was funny if you beat my ass, he might help.”
“Noted. Now, can we do the tour?”
“Sure,” he said and swung into the room that was a shared bedroom from the looks of it.
“Rooms are shared unless you’re Cait or Xander; they have their own small cabins.
Uh, some of us don’t sleep in our rooms all the time.
Carter and Mav crash at the forward building, still not sure how that works, but whatever, we’re all weird here.
Jake usually sleeps in his room, but Colin…
I don’t know, he sleeps wherever and whenever he wants, including at his clinic. ”
“Clinic?”
“Small ass building near the science building.”
“Science building?”
He snorted, dropping my bag on the bed that didn’t have anyone’s stuff near it. “Yeah, didn’t they tell you? This outpost also gets used for scientific purposes, which means people like, uh…my brother and I got cross-trained.”
“Meteorology,” I spouted before grimacing. “And some dabbling in something with geology. Don’t know if he got a minor degree in that or not, though.”
“Right, well, botany,” he said, gesturing to himself. “And forestry. Nothing official, but entomology as well.”
“Bugs and plants, this seems like a good place for you to work,” I said with a snort.
“Huh, most people are surprised when they learn I’ve got a whole PhD,” he said, sounding taken aback but pleased.
“Dunno why,” I said as I looked around the room.
“I’ve met people who look like bikers who could recite sonnets, and people who look like pencil pushers who are covered in tattoos and freelance at clubs for the bands.
People are a collection…multitudes. Not a strict set of traits that go from point A logically to the end.
We zig and we zag…or at least, most of the time. ”
Reno gave me a funny look and then shrugged. “I guess.”
“What was that?”
“Nothing, just…a thought.”
“Uh-huh.”
“Fine, a memory.”
I sighed. “Just say it. I won’t murder you for bringing up your brother.”
“I see his name is still being left out,” he muttered, rubbing the side of his head through the blond hair he kept slightly longer than Mika did. “Just, you know, he mentioned you, talked about you.”
“Right,” I said as evenly as I could. It was going to sting for a long ass time that I had known nothing about Reno except that he existed and was technically the older of the two. “And what did he say that you remember?”
“That he loved trying to figure out the way your brain worked sometimes. How you could be so…I don’t know what words he used; it was a while ago.
But it was something about how you could be so understanding and broad-thinking, but you could also be so quick, sharp, and to the point, that it was like you never considered any other option at all.
And you just…learned to roll with that chaos in your head without feeling the need to get it under control,” he said with a shrug.
“And I told him that not everyone needs to have their i’s dotted, their labels neatly printed, and a mental checklist for everyday tasks…
and uh, I’m not going to say sorry, but you know—”
“You’re thinking it,” I said with a shake of my head. “Just give me a few days, you’ll be able to talk about your brother without the look of murder in my eyes.”
“I don’t have to; it’s fine.”
“Reno. I’m a grown-ass man who got taken by surprise, is all.
I can control myself. And I’m not going to make you not mention someone who’s literally been with you since conception, for fuck’s sake.
I’m a little dramatic, not mean,” I said with a snort.
“Now, onto the damn tour already. I’m over my feelings. ”
He looked at me. “Huh, starting to see why you two might have got along.”
“Seriously?”
“Right, tour.”
And to top it all off, I realized I was officially going to have to spy on my ex-boyfriend.
Fantastic.