12. Mia
12
MIA
E ven though my nervousness about having to talk to Henry lingered, I woke up excited for the Dunn company’s annual family picnic. It fell on the following arcade night, but I doubted Jason would care about missing it this week. He loved the picnic, as did many others. Employees brought their families. Many even brought their dogs. It was truly a family reunion, and they didn’t skimp. Renting out a huge park space, they had food booths with catered food, a beer garden area, so many games and rides and activities for kids. Bands would take turns at the dance floor laid out, and the other funnier games for adults, like the pie throwing that Henry and I had fun at previously, would be a draw.
Sometimes, it saddened me, seeing my “family” at the office showing up with real families. I didn’t have one. No parents or grandparents. No siblings or cousins. Not even an aunt or uncle. It was just me, and witnessing others with loved ones sparked an ember of heartache to flare hotter.
This year, I wouldn’t have the time to be sad or mope. The beer booth that Henry and I had partnered up to volunteer at was busy. I wasn’t surprised. This picnic rivaled the Christmas party spirit-wise. Around jokes and laughter, we fell into the fast-paced demands of serving drinks. I didn’t even have the time to ask him about that kiss. I suspected he wanted to follow up about that lunch hour when Ann made Jason cry, too. So far, we hadn’t found a moment to simply talk, and we wouldn’t here, either.
“You’re spilling. Spilling. Spill alert!” I told him, the warnings with increasing volume.
He cursed under his breath, rushing to flip up the tap on a beer after getting another sleeve of plastic cups from the side of the counter.
I laughed, too amused when he tipped over another drink in his haste to get that cup out of the way.
“You’re getting sloppy back there, Boss,” someone teased as they waited for a drink.
“It’s hot in here,” Henry joked back good-naturedly.
“More like steaming,” I added as I pushed my sweaty hair back behind my ear again.
“Then I guess it can’t be so bad if you’re both wearing more beer than you’re serving!” someone else taunted.
I moved the handle on a tap too quickly, splashing foam to fly up. “Whoops!”
Henry laughed, coming closer to swipe his finger along my chin. “Got a little there.”
With all the drinks served and no one at the other side of the counter, we finally had a moment to breathe. To catch up. To just be. And we did so with him locking me in an intense, smoldering gaze as he dragged his finger along my skin, then licked the foam off his fingertip.
Oh. Help. Me. God. I swore my knees turned to rubber. I felt shaky and unsteady, so primed and revved up from his heated stare.
“Thanks,” I replied, wondering if I sounded as breathy and helpless to this desire as it seemed like I did.
“I’m glad you’re here.” He stepped closer, seeming to search my face. “With me.”
“Nothing beats volunteering to supervise the pie throwing booth, though.”
He took one more step toward me. If he neared me any further, he’d be in my space. Within reach to kiss. I licked my lips, glancing at his, and an unbidden flare of desire stunned me.
I’d fantasized about this man. I’d dreamed about him. But in this moment. So close and seemingly alone for a fluke instance in this shaded tent… I felt raw and rabid with lust to the point that I’d start drooling or panting.
“I’m having fun,” he confessed. “With you.”
“Me too.”
“You’re having fun with you too?” He reached out, his finger moving through the air to connect with mine, but he seemed to have second thoughts as he lowered it before making contact.
“I’m having fun with you,” I clarified, pushing at his chest slightly.
He was quick, snapping his hand up to keep mine pressed there. Beneath the T-shirt that strained over his muscles, his heart raced. I pressed harder, just barely, with the tips of my fingers to feel the steady, fast thump.
I wasn’t alone in this. He was experiencing the same tension, the same excitement and thrill that I was at being alone and close.
“Your heart’s so fast,” I said. “I thought all that running was supposed to make you super fit and lean. Heart healthy and all.”
He swallowed, claiming that last foot that stood between us. Almost flush to him, my hand kept captive under his on his chest, it seemed like an intimate alternative to a hug. Our arms pressed together, the only buffer between us, but with the molten burn of his blue eyes on me, I felt strapped and bound to him, to this desire sparking and crackling between us like a live wire.
“Of course, it’s racing. I’m near?—”
“Hey, hey, hey!”
I flinched at the sound of a hand slapped on the wooden counter. Henry sighed, closing his eyes for a moment and mouthing a short line of profanity. I jumped back, whipping around to face Owen.
“Hey!”
“Thirsty?” Henry asked wryly, as though he wished he could punch his best friend for interrupting.
“Yeah. I think I am. Whatever you’ve got on tap.” Owen smiled at me. “How’s it going so far?”
“Busy. But fun.” Even if you prevented me from getting another kiss from the man of my dreams. “Having a good time out th?—”
“I need a mojito. Like, now.” Ann stepped closer to the bar from behind Owen. She paused in frowning at the loud, rowdy picnickers surrounding us, partying it up like we liked to. Peering at me from over the top of her sunglasses, she sniffed, like I was an incompetent hired help. Not a person.
“A mojito?” Owen chuckled, ever the easygoing one to defuse any situation. “Nah. You need a picnic drink.”
“A beer ?” Ann sneered. “I don’t think so. A mojito. Now.”
“No please ?” I snapped back, racking my brain for how to even make a mojito. I recalled Gina once saying they took too long to make, so she seldom ever ordered them.
“I doubt we have all the ingredients to create a mojito,” Henry said, giving Owen his beer. “Think simpler.” Then he snapped his fingers and pointed at his friend. “As a matter of fact, maybe you two could step in for us for a minute.” He tugged at his T-shirt collar. “We could use a break for a while. That way, you can see what’s back here to make whatever drink you want.”
“Sure. I can do that. I mean, you don’t mind, right?” Owen faced Ann.
“What?” She grimaced. “You expect me to work?”
“Volunteering. Remember how you were saying volunteering is as important to you as philanthropy is?” Henry took my hand and guided me to the exit flap in the tent.
Owen met us there, and Henry patted his back. “I owe you one,” he said softly.
Ann was still whining, following Owen as he told Henry, “Yeah, you fucking do. Now get lost and have some fun.”
“Thanks,” I whispered to Owen as Henry tugged me further from the tent. He didn’t let me go, and I wasn’t in a rush to correct him. Freedom tasted sweet, and with his touch, his fingers wrapped around mine, I felt positively giddy out here.
“We were due a break sooner or later,” Henry reasoned.
“Hey, you don’t have to justify it to me. I feel bad for him, though.” I pointed at the food booths. “Want to get dinner?”
“You asking me out?” he teased before releasing my fingers.
I wish. I really, truly wished I had the bravery to make such a move on him and go for what I wanted, work policies be damned.
“BBQ, or just burgers?” he asked.
“You pick.”
He steered me toward the burgers, and we both said hi to people as we walked by. Once we were in line, he turned to face me, not forward. “What was that all about last week, anyway?”
I lowered my eyes. He had to be a lot more specific than that.
“With Ann, and Jason crying about boarding school. When I asked the next day, when he’d calmed down, he said she told him that she wanted him gone and away.”
“Yeah. Laura had to pick up her meds, and I offered to watch him at work until you came back to take him out to lunch. He was running around a bit.” I shrugged. “Nothing crazy, just all that energy little kids have, and she seemed annoyed. He accidentally bumped into her a couple of times and she threw out that ridiculous crap about his belonging at a boarding school.”
He shook his head. His lips were pressed tightly in a firm line of disapproval at my testimony. While I knew he’d be angry about what she said, I didn’t want him to be mad. I wanted the happy Henry back. It was so seldom that we could have fun in a setting like this that I wanted to be selfish and enjoy every second.
“I put her in her place and told her off. But dammit, the second he started crying, my heart broke to pieces. He doesn’t deserve hearing someone say he’s not wanted or doesn’t belong there, that he should be sent away for just being a rambunctious kid.”
“Thank you.” He looked me in the eye, letting me see the full sincerity and honesty of his words. “I can always count on you to stand up for him.”
I tipped my chin up, indicating that he should move up in line. He did, backpedaling so he could still face me.
“I’m hoping my father will give up on her hanging around. I’ve made myself clear. I’ve given her no indication that I’m interested,” he said.
“I can tell.”
He studied me, slowly smiling with a wicked look in his eyes. “Yeah? How so?”
“You don’t encourage her. You tell her that she’s not a priority.” I laughed lightly. “For any other woman who’s not a gold digger hellbent on snagging a man, those are pretty strong hints.”
“You don’t think her seeing me kissing you wouldn’t give her a clue?”
I looked around, checking who was in line. My cheeks warmed up as a blush stole over my face.
“I haven’t forgotten about that,” he said, cupping my elbow as I stepped forward in line. His touch kept us close, moving as one.
“I haven’t either.” I drew in a deep breath for courage to ask, “Why did you? Why did you kiss me?”
“Because I couldn’t think of a good reason not to.” He grinned, amused. “Why’d you kiss me back?”
I swallowed, my mouth suddenly so dry. “Same. My brain blanked on why not.”
His chuckle was low and naughty, but he didn’t push me here. We got our food and ate near the music. Talking about missing arcade night prompted us to launch into another kindly debate about who’d beat whose record. Before long, we were finished with our food. I crumpled up the wrappers and glanced at the people on the dance floor.
“I don’t know about you, but I’m not in a rush to go back to that bar booth.”
I shook my head and lost the fight with a smile. “Me neither.”
“Want to go by the pie booth and see how it’s going there?”
I stood, tossing our trash in the garbage can nearby. “No.” I tilted my head toward the music. “I want to dance.”
He stood, following me there, and we found a corner where we could dance to the live band. It wasn’t anything like the kind of music I worked to, the melodies and songs I had to learn to dance to at Danger. But it was music. I felt the beat, and it tempted me to let loose and just be. To enjoy and embrace the rhythm flowing toward me. Henry was no slouch. He wasn’t a great dancer by any means, but he didn’t shrink away from dancing with me. The only breaks in his focus came when someone approached to say hi.
Eventually, the songs changed. A more upbeat and newer song played, and while it wasn’t accurate to how the original artist wrote it or performed it, the band didn’t butcher it, either.
“Damn.” Henry smiled, watching me and moving less. We stayed together, but I gave in to the lure to really move, to welcome my body to follow the beat and keep up with the tempo. More of the moves that I had to use at Danger came into play, but I was just freestyling, letting the music control me like it used to when I was younger.
When I was a kid, I took dance classes. As I grew older, I stuck with it, on dance teams in high school and cheerleading as well. I’d always enjoyed dancing. It wasn’t just a job to me, and like those moments when I was on stage, I rejoiced in the thrill of moving to the music and letting go of all my thoughts and worries.
I lost track of time as I danced, but when I noticed Henry looking at me oddly, I instantly realized my mistake. He watched me closely, wearing a strange, confused expression on his face like he was trying to puzzle something out.
Me. I realized with panicky clarity that he had to be thinking back to when I’d danced on stage at Danger. I was moving similarly enough. If he was so hooked on finding me as Gina said he was, constantly offering more money for the “mystery” dancer to come work at his new club opening in Miami, he’d recall exactly how I danced.
Shit. Shit. Shit. I didn’t want him to get too curious. I didn’t want him to ask. I had to keep everything separate.
“Daddy!”
Jason was there, running toward us, and I let loose a deep, long exhale of relief.
Thanks, kiddo. I had been saved by the boy. He’d shown up and darted toward us just in the nick of time.
“Hey!” Henry caught him and twirled him a bit. “Having fun?”
Laura eased up closer, sipping a drink and dancing toward us. “Heck yeah, we are.” She winked at me as she waved. “How about you, Mia? Having a blast?”
“Yes!” I took Jason’s hand, spinning him in a circle and bringing him closer to me. For the next hour or so, we danced, joked, and laughed as a group.
Despite a long yawn as his energy rapidly faded, Jason begged for another round of games.
Laura shook her head. “Look how late it is. We need to get you home and in the bath to get some of that cotton candy out of your hair before bed.”
“Can you come?” Jason asked me.
I tensed, just slightly, at his question. He’d been asking me to come over more and more lately, and I wasn’t sure if I could keep up these smiles and pretend all was well. Each time I came to Jason and Henry’s home, mostly for the sake of watching Jason in a pinch, I fell deeper into the fantasy of wishing I could stay there. That it could be our home, together, where I could pick out onions in the prepackaged sandwiches or meals for Henry as he preferred. Where I could trail after Jason and collect his shoes that he always lost. And where they could let me settle into that plush chair by the fireplace when I wanted to read on rainy days. It was all too easy to envision us being together like that, and knowing it was nothing more than a dream cut my heart in half.
“Mia and I need to stay and help clean up,” Henry told him.
“Yeah. We need to finish with the picnic things,” I told him.
We had a crew coming in to do that, actually. They’d hired a company to take over the teardown and cleanup, but I imagined we’d need to at least check with the bar booth we’d sicced on Owen and Ann. Since we left them there, other scheduled volunteers showed up. Oddly enough, I didn’t see Owen or Ann anywhere else for the rest of the night.
Maybe I was having too much fun to notice them. Or maybe Owen really was that good at keeping the determined woman away.
After we told Jason and Laura goodbye, we walked through the picnic grounds to check on everything. Crew members from the rental place were already in command, taking down tents and moving tables and chairs aside.
It seemed like we were in the way as we went through to pitch in with the cleanup wherever we could. In the end, we gave up and walked back toward the parking lot. I’d taken a subway and then walked here, but Henry drove and his car was waiting here.
“I had a lot of fun tonight,” he said as we walked.
The crowd had thinned out as the picnic ended. While we helped tear down and clean up, most had left. It was just me and him out here, alone. And it saddened me when he didn’t try to take my hand.
He shouldn’t. He’s your boss.
“You know…” He glanced at me, smiling. “Laura took Jason home already.”
“Uh-huh…”
“I’m not sure that I’m ready to call it a night.” He paused by his car, facing me with a slightly nervous expression. Like he was waiting with bated breath for what I’d say.
“Me neither.” I’d already told Gina in advance that I wouldn’t be working at Danger tonight. It was early yet, compared to my standards of dancing late several times a week.
He unlocked his car but didn’t get in. In the distance, another band played. It was likely set up at a bar near the park, but the music drifted to us.
“Then let’s keep the fun going.” He grabbed my hand and pulled me close, then let me out in a little spin.
“Sounds like a plan.” We danced once more, just the two of us, mostly alone in this parking lot with music playing live in the background. Despite the sunset and the darkness filling the sky, we had plenty of light to see each other and where to step on this gravel.
We drew closer and closer together, pulled toward the other in this inexplicable bond. Before I could stop long enough to wonder when it had happened, I was in his arms. He hugged me close, and I draped my arms over his shoulders to cling to him too.
“Now this isn’t so bad,” he said, riling me up with that husky, low growl. “You and me. Just us.”
I nodded, loving the idea of that. Just us. No interruptions or rules to keep us apart.
Staring into his eyes, I was suckered into such a potent draw of desire that I convinced myself that I should test out a what-if theory.
If I kiss him this time…
I sighed as I reached up, going with the idea and acting on it before I’d lose my nerve. He grunted lightly as we collided, my mouth flush to his. Letting in the tingling thrill of pressing my lips to his, I kissed him with all the pent-up frustration and need I’d been bottling in for too long.
… how will he react?