Chapter Twenty-SixMicah
Chapter Twenty-Six
Micah
There is nothing quite so satisfying as beating Houston at something he’s good at.
The Triviateers are ahead by eight points, the Inquizitors taking up second place, when the trivia host announces a ten-minute break.
Tamlin, Houston’s gorgeous and incredibly smart teammate, excuses herself to go to the restroom, and Houston slips out of his seat so quickly that it’s like he wants to put every bit of distance between himself and Tamlin that he can.
“Enjoying yourself?” Kit asks with a sly grin. He probably saw as easily as I did that there is some serious chemistry between those two.
Houston rolls his eyes. “You do know that Tamlin Park is a journalist known for ruining athletes’ careers, right? There is no possibility of enjoying myself if she’s around.”
I know absolutely nothing about sports—a sore spot for Houston—but even I know the only way to ruin an athlete’s career is to expose something true. “What?” I ask. “Do you have something to hide? Maybe you’re just afraid of how attracted to her you are.”
Houston growls, though it’s nowhere near as impressive as Fischer’s. “I am not attracted to her.” He pulls out his phone, and his demeanor instantly shifts as he smiles at whatever he sees.
“He’s definitely attracted to her,” Fischer mutters so only I can hear.
“Yes! You see it too! He may hate it, but there are definite sparks.” I turn to him and grin when he pulls his eyebrows together, clearly confused about something. “What?”
His lips curl up in a tantalizing half smile. “You see potential everywhere, don’t you?”
“Always.”
“I love that about you.”
Whether he meant to use that word or not, we both tense up.
I think back to my conversation with Brooklyn yesterday, when I told her that attraction and love are two vastly different things, but right now I can’t tell which one I’m seeing in Fischer’s eyes.
He doesn’t seem afraid of the word love, but that doesn’t necessarily mean he sees the potential like I do.
I would ask him if Kit wasn’t watching us so intently. As much as I want to get a clear answer from Fischer about what this relationship of ours is now that we’ve progressed to teasing kisses and long looks, I don’t need my brother-in-law analyzing us while we have it.
So I reluctantly pull my gaze away from Fischer and turn it back to Houston, who looks like he’s having the time of his life as he types out a text.
“Ten bucks says he’s texting a girl,” I say quietly.
When Houston gets focused on something, he tends to forget the world around him, so I’m not too worried about him hearing me talk about him.
Kit chuckles. “I’m not taking that bet. You’re obviously right.”
“The question is who,” Skyler says.
Fischer moves his hand from my knee up to my mid-thigh, and a shiver runs through me. Not because I’m cold but because his fingers on my skin send a rush of heat through me. So this is what he’s going to do instead of joining in on the conversation?
“It’s probably his date who stood him up,” I say a little breathlessly.
Fischer smirks and brushes his fingers across my leg with slow deliberation.
“Another movie star?” Skyler guesses.
Kit tries to sneak a look at Houston’s phone but doesn’t seem to manage it. “I’m guessing not,” he says with narrowed eyes.
“It’s probably his neighbor,” Brooklyn says.
I honestly forgot she was here. She and Jordan were so wrapped up in their own conversation that she sort of vanished into the background.
“His neighbor?” I raise my eyebrows. “Isn’t his neighbor married? And, like, fifty?”
“New tenant moved in this week,” Jordan says with a mischievous grin. “Her name is Darcy.”
Houston glances up and we all flinch, but then he goes right back to his phone. Now he’s frowning, though, and he settles back into his seat right as Tamlin returns.
I gasp when Fischer shifts his hand from my leg to my back, tracing the curve of my spine from my shoulder blades down to my tailbone. I definitely turn red because Kit and Skyler both give me a knowing look.
“Would you stop?” I whisper to Fischer as he trails his fingers up again until they tangle into my curls.
“I’m quickly learning I do not have a lot of patience,” he whispers back.
Yeah, I know the feeling.
“And now for our lightning round!” the trivia host says into his microphone. “Sports!”
Fischer’s thumb and forefinger dig into the muscle in my neck, and I can’t hold back a groan of pleasure.
At least the game is almost over and we can get back to what we started before dinner.
At this point, I don’t even care if we win, so I’m going to let Skyler and Kit handle this round.
All they have to do is hold the line and keep us in the lead.
Tamlin answers the first question before the host even finishes it, which is impressive. Houston answers the second question. Kit manages to get one answer in there, but it’s clear Houston and Tamlin are now in a showdown, and I’m pretty sure none of the other teams are even trying.
Which makes it easy for me to fully turn my focus to Fischer as he twists to put his right hand on my knee while he continues his neck rub. For a guy who doesn’t like to be touched, he has really figured out this whole touching thing.
“Would you rather,” he says, drawing out each word as he leans in close.
“Yes,” I reply.
He smiles and then licks his lips. I stare at those lips in anticipation. “You didn’t let me finish the question.”
“I stand by my answer.”
“Then here’s a different question. When I take you home, can I kiss you goodnight?”
My breath catches. “I’m pretty sure we’ve already established my stance on that matter.” But then I understand his meaning, and I put my hand over his at my neck to still his movements. “Goodnight?” I repeat. Which means this date is almost to a close.
He nods. “Much as I would like to kiss you until dawn, I’m going to try to be a gentleman and not keep you up late.”
“I sort of imagined tonight going differently.” I cringe when he lifts an eyebrow. “Not like…not like that.” I can’t believe I just implied something so intimate in the middle of a game of trivia.
Speaking of… I glance up right as the host announces the last question of the night.
I have no idea where our team stands, but Houston looks like he’s had the worst night of his life.
He’s not necessarily angry, but he definitely looks confused as he stares at Tamlin.
He can deny it all he wants, but he’s intrigued by that reporter. He might even admire her.
Kit answers the final question, and the Triviateers are declared the winner. Despite the intimate conversation I was just having with Fischer, I cheer alongside Kit—I like to win, okay? And when Fischer gives me a smile, I reward him with a kiss to his cheek.
“You can kiss me goodnight,” I tell him. “And it had better be a good kiss.”
He laughs at that one. “What if it’s not?”
I’m about to tell him that he’ll be dead to me if it isn’t, but then I catch the vulnerability in his eyes.
For a brief moment, I inexplicably forgot how much this man struggled just to hold my hand.
I don’t even know if he’s ever kissed someone before tonight.
He’s been making all the moves, just like he said, but I have to remember that there’s a good chance a lot of this is new to him.
Shifting my smile to something gentler, I press my palm to his cheek. I love how he closes his eyes and seems to really take in my touch. “Fischer Bradley, I don’t think you and I are capable of sharing a bad kiss. Even if we are, it won’t make me like you any less.”
He exhales, giving me a look that says I could not have said anything more perfect, and then he swoops in, stopping right before his mouth reaches mine. “I am at my limit,” he says against my lips. “Please tell me we can leave.”
“We can absolutely leave.” But then I catch sight of Houston as he follows Tamlin to the door, and I groan, dropping my head onto Fischer’s chest. “We can leave right after I talk to my brother.”
Fischer growls, the sound rumbling through me.
“I know,” I tell him, “but I have to make sure he knows the plan for his appearance at the Greenwood on Saturday. It’ll be quick, I promise!”
“Promises, promises,” he grumbles and then tugs me out of my seat so we can join the throng of people on their way out now that trivia is over.
Houston’s on his own by the time we make it outside, though Tamlin waits at the curb not too far away. He seems relieved when he sees us as if he wants nothing more than a distraction from whatever conversation he just had with her.
“I wanted to talk about Saturday,” I tell him.
He smiles. “Perfect. Tell me all about this event so I know what I’m getting into. Spare no details.”
Yep, he definitely wants a distraction, and though Fischer growls again, I figure he can be patient a little longer while I help my brother stop thinking about how much he’s into the woman he claims to hate.
***
The drive back to my apartment is quiet, which I expected.
What I didn’t expect was the way Fischer holds my hand so tightly, like he’s afraid to let go.
He’s clearly got a lot of things running through his mind right now, and I’m guessing none of them have anything to do with Saturday’s reopening.
He and I pretty much have the event on lockdown.
I think he’s thinking about us.
“Why were you in Santa Fe?” I ask.
His fingers curl even more tightly around mine. “I went to see my parents.”
That is not the answer I expected. “Really?”
Smiling, he nods. “Someone convinced me to work on the relationships I have in my life before I lose them.”
“Is that why you’ve been so…” I’m not sure how to put it into words, so I use his own. “Why you’re making all the moves?”
He slowly lifts my hand to his lips, keeping his eyes on the road. “Partially. Mostly, you’ve gotten under my skin and driven me crazy.”