Chapter EightFischerOctober 15 #2
“You sing?” I don’t mean to sound as shocked as I do, and I wince.
She swats my shoulder. “Okay, Mr. Skeptical. Now you’ll never get to hear me sing.”
I hope I do. “Come on, let’s take that walk while we wait for them to come back.”
“What if they come back while we’re gone? I don’t want to get in trouble.”
I stand and hold out my hand. “You can blame it on me.” I’m good at taking the blame, apparently. The difference is this time I would do it willingly. “I think you need the sunshine to recharge.”
There’s that smile that is uniquely hers. She takes my hand, sending an electric shock through me, and hops up. “And you need sunshine in general,” she says with a smirk. “I don’t know how you can live in Sun City but be so pale!”
“That’s what happens when you work from sunup to sundown.
” I try to say it casually, like it’s a completely normal, healthy way to live, but the last few days have made it harder and harder to find the motivation to keep working late.
Knowing Micah is waiting for me with questions has been pushing me to send Grant home at five so I can be out of the office before seven.
I think Kale is more convinced than ever that I’ve been possessed by someone else, to the point where he has been avoiding me any time I come home before he’s left for work. While I’m still wary of him in general, I appreciate him giving me privacy.
Micah waits until we’re in the elevator before she says anything, and her hand grows tight around mine as if she thinks I might try to run away. Where would I go? We’re now trapped in a metal box full of the scent of her perfume. I can neither run, nor would I want to.
“Why do you work so much?” she asks gently. “I know you guys are finishing up the remodel of the lodge, but I get the feeling you’re like this whether you’re on a deadline or not.”
I clench my jaw when the elevator jerks, and I shut my eyes so I can’t see our warped reflections. I want to answer her question truthfully, but I also want to do it quickly. “I’ve always had high standards. For myself and from others.”
“Like Grant? Does he really expect you to work twelve-hour days?”
I’m so glad when the elevator stops and lets us out onto the main lobby floor, where sunshine spills out over the linoleum. Letting go of her hand now that there are other people around, I lead the way out into the fresh air and breathe a sigh of relief.
Micah takes a moment to catch up—her little legs can’t keep up with my long strides—and then she pierces me with a stare. She may be smiling, but it’s a sinister sort of smile. “You know I’m going to make you answer that question, right?”
“I know.”
“Good.”
We set off down the street, toward a park just a couple of blocks away, and I put most of my focus on keeping my steps slow so I don’t get ahead of her.
“Honestly, Grant probably doesn’t know that I work late most days,” I admit. “I send him home long before I leave for the day.”
“You really control his life, don’t you?”
Shrugging, I stuff my hands into my pockets. “He hasn’t always been like this, but he’s going through a lot right now.”
“Like his divorce?” She laughs at whatever expression makes its way onto my face. “You merged his calendar with ours, remember? I know he has his court hearing on Wednesday.”
I groan. “Worst timing in history, but it’ll be better once it’s over and done. His wife is kind of the worst.”
“How long have you known Grant?”
Oh, what a loaded question. “I’ve been working for him for three—”
“That’s not what I asked, Fischer.”
Rolling my eyes, I use this as a reminder that despite our text conversations, she really doesn’t know me.
And it should probably stay that way. Fun as it has been to talk to her, she’s actively trying to date and find romance, and this friendship can only last until she finds a guy she likes.
They say men and women can be friends, but I don’t know any guy who would be okay with his girlfriend texting some dude late at night.
This friendship has an expiration date, and she will be better off without me anyway.
“I’ve known him for a while,” I mutter. It’s easier than going into specifics.
We’ve reached the park, which is full of people enjoying the mid-sixties temperature.
Sun City stays pretty comfortable, and even in October like this, people tend to embrace the sunshine.
People like Micah, who immediately stretches out her arms and lifts her face to the sky as she walks. She really is recharging…
“Isn’t sunshine great?” she says, her eyes closed.
I shift closer to make sure she doesn’t run into anyone or anything. “Yeah.” Though, I’ve never enjoyed it the way she’s enjoying it. I’m usually the guy in his air-conditioned car with sunglasses, eager to get inside so I can enjoy the sun through the window.
When she pauses to do a twirl, I take a moment to roll my sleeves up. Maybe my bad mood has been in part from a lack of vitamin D. Maybe I just wish I could feel whatever she’s feeling as she grins at the sky. I wish I could know what makes her so happy.
“What’s your favorite flower?” I ask.
She turns her smile to me, her eyes sparkling in the sunlight. “You have to guess like everyone else.”
“But I’m not trying to date you.” I cringe. Could I have been more blunt? I don’t think so.
Thankfully, Micah doesn’t react to that statement outside of taking a step closer. “Maybe not,” she says, “but you still have to guess.”
It won’t be anything she’s already received, but that hardly narrows the field. This isn’t a game I can win, so I change topics. “Chocolate or vanilla?”
She leans in closer, like that might help her figure out why I’m suddenly so curious. It won’t; I don’t even know the answer myself. I just know I like these breaks from my soul-sucking job, and Micah and her positivity are the only things keeping me alive lately.
“It depends on what it is,” she says eventually. “Chocolate for cake, vanilla for ice cream. Preferably together. But I like them both.”
Of course she does. She likes everything. I adjust one of the rolls on my sleeve, and the movement pulls her eyes downward. “Would you rather go camping or go on a cruise?”
“Cruise,” she says, though it comes out airy. She must really like cruises.
“Sunrise or sunset?”
She looks back up at me, her smile different from what it was before. There’s a knowingness to it, though I have no idea what it is she thinks she knows. “Sunrise,” she says. “But I love sunsets too.”
I don’t remember the last time I saw either. Maybe I should try to fix that. I move in closer, mostly because she’s talking quieter and I don’t want to miss any of her answers. “Thrift stores or boutiques?”
“Boutiques for window shopping. Thrift stores for things I’ll actually wear.”
I glance down at her dress, noticing for the first time the cut and style because I’m finally starting to feel awake. The blue polka-dotted sundress gives off Audrey Hepburn vibes, and though she could have thrifted it, it looks more like she made it herself.
I reach out, fingering the soft fabric as if I can find the answer by touching it. “Buy clothes,” I whisper, “or make them yourself?”
Her little gasp is answer enough.
I look up, a part of me wondering if it’s really a bad idea to consider more than friendship, but then someone comes up behind me and slams into Micah’s shoulder.
“Oh my gosh!” he says, grabbing her like he knocked her to the ground rather than just clipping her. “I am so sorry! Are you okay?”
Though she glances at me, Micah smiles and shakes her head. “Yeah, I’m okay. Are you okay?”
These paths aren’t small. This guy had plenty of room to avoid us.
He grins, shifting his arms so he can surreptitiously flex. With his sweaty tank top hanging loose on his shoulders, his arms are on full display. “I am now. I’m Brennan.”
I’m going to puke. Is this really how she finds all her dates?
She bumps into them at the park—literally—or in line for coffee?
Not that I have plans to change the status quo with Micah, but if that’s what I’m up against, I might as well just declare myself an eternal bachelor right now.
With no desire to witness this moment in action, I take a step away and focus on a clump of daffodils that have popped up beside the path.
Maybe those are her favorite? They look like her vibe.
“I’m Micah. This is my friend, Fischer.”
My gaze snaps back to them. I so did not want to be a part of this, but now Brennan is sizing me up and not bothering to hide his smirk when he decides I’m not worth challenging. Do I really look that pathetic?
“Sorry, didn’t see you there,” he says. Oddly, I think he might be telling the truth. He only had eyes for Micah.
Resisting the urge to flex to match him, I jerk a nod in Brennan’s direction. “Hey. You should probably watch where you’re running so you don’t take someone out next time.”
“I’d be okay with taking you out this time,” Brennan says to Micah.
I groan. Yeah, I handed that one right to him. I’m an idiot.
Micah glances between us, her eyebrows pulled together as if she can’t understand why we aren’t the best of friends now that we’ve been introduced. “You want to take me out?”
“Dinner on Friday?”
She doesn’t even know this guy. He could be a serial killer, for all we know.
“I could do tonight,” Micah says with a smile.
Wait, is she serious?
Brennan looks like he might drop dead from shock.
Apparently he wasn’t expecting her to agree, and his smile quickly shifts into one that makes him look like he just sank a three-pointer right at the buzzer when his team was down by two.
He even looks at me, as if verifying that he didn’t hear her wrong.
“Tonight? That would be great! Let me give you my number.”
To my surprise, Micah doesn’t reach for her phone. “How about I meet you at La Bella at seven o’clock?” she says.
Though Brennan deflates, he’s clearly smart enough to recognize the need for compromise. “That sounds great. I can’t wait.” He kisses her hand—gag me—and then runs off at a quick pace that I know he wasn’t doing a minute ago as he approached. What a joke.
“I get it now,” I mutter.
Micah looks at me. “Get what?”
Rolling my eyes, I start walking again because that’s probably the only way I’m going to be able to not grumble every word I speak to her from now until I can get back to the Ember office.
We’re only halfway around the park, so I need to do everything I can to keep her from thinking I’m a total jerk.
“All the flowers,” I say when she catches up to me.
“You have them eating out the palm of your hand without even trying.”
“What are you talking about?” She sounds genuinely confused, though I can’t bring myself to look at her to see if her expression matches her voice.
Does she really not know how the male world perceives her? I could see it the instant we met at Ember. “Whatever you’re doing,” I say, “it’s clearly working. Your whole sunshine act pulls them right in.”
“Are you upset that Brennan asked me out?”
“I’m not upset.” The way I grunt those words says otherwise, but I can’t help it.
There’s no way she’s this naive when she literally has men lining up to date her.
She puts on an innocent front, but not even Micah Taylor could be that oblivious.
There was no surprise in her words when he asked her out, and she had a ready restaurant in mind.
This is why we wouldn’t suit even if I were interested in dating.
She would move on long before I was ready to let her go.
“Fischer, did I do something wrong?”
My steps falter as soon as I hear the waver in her voice.
Cursing under my breath, I count to five before I turn to face her, and then my heart sinks at the sight of her confusion.
She really doesn’t know? I have a hard time believing anyone can be so ignorant, but I’ve never seen Micah fake emotion before.
She’ll tease, but when it comes to the real stuff, she’s more genuine than anyone I’ve ever met.
I groan, ducking my head. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to upset you. We can drop the subject and talk about…” I can’t even think of a topic because there’s nothing I hate more than small talk. “We should get back to the office in case they come back.”
“We should make a plan in case they’ve already scheduled things that aren’t going to work,” Micah mumbles back. Great . I broke her.
“Hopefully they only made decisions, and they’ll leave the doing up to us.”
“Hopefully,” she agrees.
And then we walk the rest of the way in silence.