Chapter Fifteen #2
Okay, even to my own ears, that sounds pathetic. I can literally buy one myself, but there’s a certain giddy enjoyment in winning something high-value that you simply don’t think to buy yourself, even if I have one sitting in my digital cart ready to check out.
“Oh, yeah? What name did you pick for your nonexistent robot child?” Ryan playfully queries, the teasing note in his voice not going unnoticed.
I open my mouth, ready to share, but think better of it. He’s enjoying my misery too much. So, instead, I look away from him and mutter, “I’m not telling. You’ll laugh.”
Sure enough, I hear the jackass trying to dampen it before he clears his throat and promises, “I swear I won’t laugh. I want to hear the name you chose.”
Slowly, I turn to look at him, finding that gorgeous face trained into an expression of sincerity and seriousness, even though those cocoa-toned eyes are filled to the brim with amusement.
Apparently, I’m a sucker for it, because I answer with twitching lips. “Captain Link Licker.”
I watch intently as the man before me, dressed smartly with one hand tucked in the pocket of his pants, fights for his life not to laugh.
He fights it so hard, like a man delving headfirst into a war of wills, to the point where a funny little pink hue creeps up his neck.
True to his word, though, he doesn’t laugh.
He wins this round, a pro in combat, even if it takes him three swallows, two throat-clearings, and what looks to be a muttered prayer on his lips as he shuts his eyes and begs for restraint.
“I’ll buy you the floor vacuum,” he offers, wiping a hand over the lower half of his face in an attempt to wipe away the smile that almost broke free.
Rolling my eyes, my own lips drawing up in a smile, I decline the offer. “I have one already waiting to be bought, but I appreciate it. Captain Link Licker will be mine eventually. I just really wanted to win it.”
“Competitive?” he guesses, standing upright as the elevator pings and the doors open on the lobby floor.
Shaking my head, I answer honestly, “Not really, no. I just like the little rush you get when you win something, and that something was a vacuum I’ve had my eye on since it was added to the claw machine.”
“The what?” he asks, gone from amused to confused again.
I flash him a grin, walking side by side as we leave the elevator.
As we pass Callie sitting at the reception desk, I throw her a big wave that she returns before answering Ryan.
“It’s where the prizes are. My assistants and I rolled a whole bunch of papers with the prizes printed on them into those little plastic balls you can pop open with a squeeze.
Every prize is different, ranging from a paid week off to the newest digital camera on the market.
The winner gets a turn on the machine, and whatever they pull is the prize they receive.
It’s been a hit in the studio for the past three years. ”
He pulls a face that almost looks impressed, and a flicker of pride swells in my chest. If there’s one thing in this world that I pride myself on, it’s taking care of others, and sometimes that comes in the form of wacky wardrobes once a month just for a bit of fun.
It’s proven to be a great way to show my appreciation for my employees at Static.
“Anyway, if you’re free at some point today, you should come check it out.
Someone wore one of those inflatable dinosaur suits last year and wrapped a necktie around it.
Give a creative team a challenge and they never fail to rise to it,” I randomly offer, my mouth running faster than my brain.
I stop that bitch by taking another sip of my drink, and I turn toward the garage where my baby is parked, hopefully still unaffected by any possible Decepticons.
Walking casually beside me, likely heading to his own car, Ryan thinks it over for a second before he shrugs. “I’m pretty free all day. I was going to head out and look for a café I could sit at and work in for a while.”
I pause for a moment, thinking over my next words before I offer them.
“If you’re looking for somewhere quiet, you’re more than welcome to come to Static.
We have a whole coffee lounge, because I’ve apparently hired a building full of coffee addicts.
It’s a chill space, the coffee is delicious and free, and most of the photographers are heading out to different sites throughout the day.
I’ll be there all day catching up on paperwork, and I have a shoot later today, so you’re welcome to hang out if you can’t find anywhere else. ”
I’m not entirely sure why I even offer my workplace as a suitable spot for him to chill, but the words are out there now, and there’s an odd little flicker of hope in my chest that almost begs for him to accept the offer.
Maybe I’m simply yearning for something attractive to look at, or maybe I’m doing it out of the goodness of my heart.
Whatever the reason, I pretend like it’s no big deal, the epitome of nonchalance as I let him ponder the offer.
He’s still pondering when I reach my car, my perfectly intact car, so I unlock it with the fob attached to my keys and flash him a smile after tucking my purse and camera bag onto the back seat.
“Offer stands, no pressure. Have a great day,” I lamely conclude once I’ve shut the back door, hoping the cringe I feel isn’t showing on my face, especially when all I receive in return is a contemplative look that I find oddly charming.
Suddenly feeling awkward, I salute the guy with my coffee cup like an actual idiot and haul myself into my car. Before the door shuts, however, Ryan hurries around to the other side, the satchel I didn’t even notice him carrying tucked against his hip.
The passenger door is opening before I can even comprehend what’s happening, Ryan’s toned form sliding into the seat beside mine as though his ass simply belongs there. Hell, it just might, the sight of him sitting in my car rendering me stupid for five very long seconds.
Brain short-circuiting at the hotness that has bestowed my life, I blink rapidly as I gaze at the man like I’ve never seen the opposite gender before in all of my twenty-six years of life, Ryan’s lips twitching as he turns to look back at me.
My mouth falls open, shuts, and falls open again before I finally ask, “Did you lose your car?”
For some reason, it makes him laugh as he places his coffee cup in one of the two cup holders between us, answering, “I’m taking you up on your offer, and since we’re now heading in the same direction, I figured I’d carpool with you instead.”
“Huh,” I quip, laughing a little out of pure shock.
I’m used to doing these things to people.
Being on the receiving side is… well, it’s a little maddening, if I’m forced to be truthful.
Thankfully, my years of experience have built a tolerance for certain things.
So, with a very quick mental pep talk and a roll-with-the-punches kind of attitude I expect from others, I shake myself out of it and nod like it’s the most acceptable thing in the world.
“Fair enough. In that case, buckle up, buttercup.”
Flashing a grin that could quite possibly disintegrate panties, he does as he’s told, and I start the car and pull out of the garage. I’m forced to focus more on the road than the musky cologne that suddenly fills my car, the scent making my mouth water more than the coffee did.
I don’t know how I manage it, truthfully, but I keep us safe and sound on the road, even when Ry strikes up a conversation about my job. Sounding genuinely interested with every question, I find myself relaxing more and more, answering him with an animation I wasn’t aware I was capable of.
It isn’t until we’re rolling into the parking lot beside the studio that it dawns on me that Ryan Young has successfully distracted me from my anxiety about being late with only the use of a delicious coffee, his presence, and his comfortable chatter.
The moment realization hits is the very moment I wonder if I might actually be in danger when it comes to the new men in my life.