Chapter 12 #3
He searches my face and then hops off his stool to move closer.
I pull him into my embrace, where I know I can keep him warm and safe.
“I promise this isn’t a dream. This is the start of your new and beautiful life.
I can’t wait to see where the journey will take you, but I know it’s going to be wonderful. ”
I only pray that he’ll continue to allow me to be part of it.
Something inside of Skylar seems to let go at my words, and his entire body relaxes into my embrace as his arms circle around me. I never want this perfect moment to end.
“Has anybody ever told you that you’re like a giant, cuddly teddy bear?” he mumbles into the thick hair at my neckline above my apron.
I laugh. “Not in so many words, but Ryder tells me I am a champion hugger. That says a lot coming from him since he doesn’t like to be hugged by very many people.”
He tilts his head back and looks up at me. “No lie, you could be a fucking professional, man. I’ve never had a hug so good. Not since my grandma died.”
I squeeze Skylar a little tighter. “You can hug me anytime you want.”
We stay like that for a while, and I savor the sensation of his warm body in my arms and his head resting against my chest. It produces a serene kind of contentment inside me.
He’s my penguin.
But I still don’t know if I am his—and that scares me so much.
Eventually, Skylar pulls back and wipes his eyes on the sleeve of his Henley before downing the last of his Shirley Temple and chuckling.
“You’d think I’d been drinking all night with how weepy I am all of a sudden.
It’s not really like me, but somehow when I’m with you, I find myself letting out emotions that I’ve kept locked up for more years than I can count. ”
“Is that… a good thing or a bad thing?”
He considers that. “A good thing. Sort of cathartic, you know? But most of all, I feel safe with you, Hal. And I can’t tell you how important that is to me. It’s fucking everything.”
I swallow hard.
Okay, Hal. It’s now or never. He basically just gave you the perfect opening. Don’t you dare waste it.
I lock my eyes on him while I clutch the edge of the bartop with one hand, fearful I might fall off my stool because I’m so nervous.
“You’re special to me too, Skylar. So special. I know we’ve only been officially dating for a day, but I’m”—I swallow back the nervous lump in my throat—“but I’m falling for you. So hard.”
His eyes widen.
I feel my cheeks warm under his stupefied gaze. “Shoot. I probably confessed that way too soon, huh?”
His lips twitch and his eyes sparkle at me. “Maybe a little. But it’s cool, cuz I’m kinda falling for you too.”
I honest-to-goodness gasp. “R-really?”
My heart pounds like a bass drum in my chest, and I’m lightheaded suddenly.
It wasn’t an ardent declaration of undying love, but I don’t need it to be. Just knowing Skylar’s feelings for me are heading in the same direction as mine is more than enough.
“For real,” he says, then lets out a shaky breath. “Fuck. This is all kinds of overwhelming. But in a good way,” he hurries to add.
My sweet, little penguin.
“Some force in the universe brought us together for a reason. I wholeheartedly believe that.”
“Destiny, huh?”
Romantic penguin destiny all the way!
To my surprise, Skylar reaches out and takes hold of my free hand in his. Then he lifts it to his mouth and places a gentle kiss on the back of it.
He nearly makes me swoon like one of Ryder’s romance heroes on the spot.
“Fuck, Hal. You’re one of the most open and honest guys I’ve ever met.
You wear your heart on your sleeve, and that’s real fucking brave.
” His voice turns hoarse with emotion. “Thank you for telling me how you feel. Let’s keep taking it slow—I think that’s what we both need.
Besides, spending more time with you and getting to know each other better still sounds damn good to me. ”
My heart does a pirouette in my chest, and my whole body tingles like it’s electrically supercharged.
I nod. “Me too. All I ask is that we keep being open and honest with each other, and we can talk about any problems or uncertainties together. Communication is the key to a successful and long-term relationship. I’ve seen it with so many of my friends who’ve found their life partners.”
Skylar’s eyes go wide, and I realize I may have gotten a little too enthusiastic. “Life partners?”
Smooth, Hal. Way to stick your big hairy foot in it. Jumping from falling in love to permanent commitment—are you trying to scare him off?
I take a gulp of my Shirley Temple for courage. Now that I’ve said it, I won’t backtrack.
“That’s what I’m looking for, and I hope we can become that for one another,” I say, bravely soldiering on.
Skylar’s voice shakes when he says, “I don’t know that I’ve ever thought I would be that for anyone, that anyone could want me for life.”
Time to really put my heart on the line.
“I’m not the kind of guy who would court someone I wasn’t serious about.
With the way I’m wired, so to speak, I don’t do casual.
My dream is to find the one I’m meant to spend the rest of my life with, just like penguins do.
I can’t predict the future, but I believe we have the potential to be precisely what each of us needs most in a life partner. ”
Skylar’s mouth drops open. “Wow, I—”
A strange wind picks up out of nowhere inside the bar, interrupting Skylar as it blows napkins and debris around. A strange, crackling energy pulses in the air and makes my hair—and I have a lot of it—stand on end. Instinctively, I pull Skylar into my arms to shield him with my much larger body.
“What the hell is going on?” Skylar asks, a note of alarm in his voice.
I share his concern and hold him tight. “I don’t know, but I promise I’ll keep you safe.”
The drunken gnomes’ singing comes to a screeching halt, and they start clambering over furniture to make a beeline for the front door.
“Son of a demon-fucking bitch,” Akram snarls as he suddenly vaults over the far end of the bar with uncanny grace, a deadly-looking sword nearly as big as he is clasped in one hand. “Move back!” he orders.
It’s then that I realize dark horns I’ve never seen before have appeared atop his head.
The gnomes shriek and race for the exit, beards blowing in the sudden wind, revealing far more than any of us want to see.
“Akram, what the heck is happening?” I demand.
Energy sizzles in the air all around us.
Akram snarls, flashing a deadly set of fangs, and raises his enormous sword in a two-handed grip.
The lights all over the bar flicker eerily.
And that’s when a dark, swirling portal begins to open in the middle of the room.