16. Chapter Sixteen

Chapter Sixteen

Avery

T he chatter at Randy's flooded through my senses as the strong scents of coffee and bacon greeted me.

Myles trailed close behind me. It was a miracle I'd dragged him out of the house, but he hadn't left for close to a week. He had a few more chapters to write, but he got stuck on one final plot thread he hadn't sorted yet, so I'd told him to pile in the car for a trip.

"Where do you want to sit?" I asked as we stepped farther in. My instinct was to go for my normal area to the right, where a lot of us gathered post-club night, but Myles also had his usual spot on the opposite side of the room in the writers' corner.

"Oh, shit. Is this like a Capulet and Montagues situation with crossing the lines?"

"Considering my friends and your friends aren't mortal enemies, not so much," I responded, my tone dry.

"Dunno. I think I better watch out for poison," Myles said, his eyes gleaming with his typical humor.

"You'd be watching out for poison regardless."

Chloe was already there with Claude, who occasionally dropped in to club nights with us. On the far side, Grae sat next to someone who was hunched behind their laptop. The new person was a bit slender and either my age or middle aged, but it was hard to tell. They had long blonde hair pulled back into a ponytail, and their soft eyes had laugh lines around them.

Fuck, this would be tricky. Where did we go?

Myles passed me, heading right between the two spots for an empty booth in the middle. Brilliant.

Chloe hopped out of her seat, all but dragging Claude with her. "Are you avoiding me, Avery Miller the Third?"

"There's no third. Just me."

I slunk into the seat beside Myles, who'd plastered himself to the wall. Even though he opened up around me, he became quieter when other people got added to the mix. The man observed everyone and everything though. I'd never met someone who was simultaneously so attentive to details while forgetting all of them in other life aspects.

Chloe dropped into the seat opposite me, glancing between the two of us. "Well, this is cozy." Her eyes gleamed with a hopefulness I'd been feeling myself. Everything between Myles and me had been natural, easy in a way little else was. Most people required social managing, or I had to present a different version of myself, and it exhausted me. With Myles, I didn't have to think. I just existed in his space and he in mine, and it was the closest to perfection I'd ever reach.

"How's it going, Aves?" Claude asked. Their fuchsia hair glinted under the diner's low lights as they settled against the vinyl booth seat.

Myles nudged his thigh against mine, and I shoved back, a grin creeping to my lips.

"Not bad. Getting everything ready for my fair in two weeks," I said, running my fingers through my hair. "Myles, this is Claude."

He offered a wave, apparently struck mute by his normal sarcasm. A moment later, Grae plunked next to me.

"You weren't even going to say hi?" Grae asked, his accusation directed at Myles.

"Eventually…maybe," he said.

I snorted. "We got torn on which direction to go."

Grae was passing us extra looks, just as much as Chloe, and between the two of them, I had the feeling they'd be causing trouble within minutes.

"Have you finished your book yet?" Grae asked.

Myles made a waffling motion with his hand. "Epilogue left."

"And you're out of the house?" Grae's eyes widened in surprise. Myles snuck me a shy glance, and my heart thrummed a little harder. Maybe he hadn't gone just for himself. The fact that even in his spell of seclusion, he made space for me, that he carved me into his life, meant everything. Lately, my bed felt lonelier than ever, and the urge to go to his room and ask if I could crash with him reared up in a big way.

Except why not?

Weirdly enough, I didn't think Myles would say no. If he needed to hop up in the middle of the night to go plunk away at his keyboard, he could, but in the meantime, I'd get to curl up with his warmth and heat.

"Aves, what help do you need for the fair?" Chloe jabbed me to get my attention.

I rubbed my arm. "Fuck, you've got pointy little fingers. Better pare those down before you play, babe."

Chloe snorted and lifted her pointer and middle, which didn't have tips. "I come prepared."

"What fair?" Grae asked. The other person from their entourage slid into the booth next to Claude with a subtle nod to greet us. Writers were enigmatic, mysterious creatures.

"The wellness fair she's hosting," Myles said. "You're going."

Grae snorted. "I'm glad I get such a say. Tell me when, and I'll be there."

The simple support from Myles warmed my heart more than I could handle. My family was all abuzz about Zack's promotion, and I hadn't bothered with following up about trying to get them to come to my wellness fair. They had the information, but I assumed they wouldn't show, as per usual. Chipping away in that direction would lead to more disappointment.

However, Myles, Chloe, even though she was leaving, and so many other friends had already offered to help and support in whatever way possible. I needed to place my focus where it belonged—on the people who did show up for me.

And recently, having the comfort of whatever this was with Myles had me soaring higher than ever before.

The idea of asking him to be my boyfriend rested on the tip of my tongue, because I wanted this.

"So, do you two always go to the diner together ?" Chloe asked, clearly fishing.

Yeah, no, any talk of relationships would be private. Myles shifted beside me, and his leg pressing against mine sent a thrill of adrenaline up my spine. This secret touch belonged to us, even around all our friends.

"Well, I need to find someone to go to the diner with, since my best friend is leaving me." I stuck my tongue out at her.

Chloe rolled her eyes, attuned to my avoidance strategies.

"What is everyone doing over here?" Zo approached. "You're throwing off my equilibrium."

"Zo, my angel, my morning dove, my—" I teased them like normal.

"No, I'm not going to sleep with you." They gave me a droll look.

Myles stiffened, and I didn't even think about my reaction. I looped an arm around his shoulders and leaned against him. Yes, I was perennially a flirt, but until we were on firmer ground, I didn't want him getting any wrong ideas.

Zo arched a brow, glancing between the two of us. "So, joint check tonight?"

I nudged Myles. "I mean, I can grab dinner, since I'm the one who dragged you out in the first place."

"No, I'm going to eat like a demon because I'm pretty sure I didn't have anything today. Maybe a Tic Tac?" Myles gripped the back of his neck.

"So yeah, joint check," I said to Zo.

"Oooh," Claude said, their eyes sparkling with amusement.

"This is driving me nuts," Chloe muttered barely under her breath.

I grinned wide, not budging from my lean against Myles. The scent of patchouli on his skin, the heat emanating from him, filled me with comfort while simultaneously turning me on. He was too fucking cute with the blush spreading across his cheeks, and I wanted to hop onto his lap, if only to tease him further.

"What are you going to do to celebrate finishing the book?" Grae asked Myles.

Me, hopefully.

Their friend hadn't said a word, just typed at their laptop, occasionally looking up over the top at us. Myles wrinkled his nose. "Probably take a long bath. Maybe eat a whole meal without prompting?"

"What if we go to the cupcake joint up the road?" I could still taste the sweetness of the vanilla-on-vanilla cupcake he'd gotten me for my birthday, and my heart fluttered.

"Oh, fuck yeah." Myles bounced in his seat.

I relaxed my arm around him and drew it back to my side. Now that the idea of sleeping in his bed had crept into my brain, it was all I could think about.

"And now you have special cupcake joints?" Chloe burst in, placing a hand on her chest. She brought her hand to her head and let out a mock gasp.

"I mean, we could always go get cupcakes," Claude said, the voice of reason here.

"It's not the same. Avery's cheating on me," she said with a sniff. God, I would miss her chaos and fake drama. She was such a little brat sometimes, and I hated the fact we wouldn't be able to bounce off each other constantly the way we'd been doing for years.

I arched a brow. "Clearly."

"Is anyone going to order anything?" Zo asked, their arms crossed.

"I think it's safe to bring a few carafes of coffee and waters," the writer behind the laptop said.

"Okay, what's your name?" I asked. The not-knowing was killing me.

They gave a little smirk. "I'll be out of your hair soon. I'm just finishing up some work."

Well, that was odd. "Okay, Zo, yes to the coffee."

They already strode toward the counter lined by barstools, the double doors leading to the kitchen behind it. The special on the sign listed an egg white omelet with red pepper and protein flakes? Ugh. Who was in charge of the menu here?

Sitting next to Myles and not kissing him was hell. I nudged my leg against his again, wanting to savor all the touch I could. He'd barely been around the past week, since he'd been locked at his laptop in work mode, and I missed him lurking around the house.

"Just what the fuck is the writers' corner anyway?" Chloe asked. "If you don't even know who you're sitting with?"

Grae shrugged. "Socializing's not a requirement. We're there to work on our projects."

"Q's been here for as long as I can remember," Myles said.

"So your name is Q?" I asked, not quite sure what to do with my hands, since I wanted to run them all over Myles.

"Maybe it is, or maybe I just really like Star Trek ." They winked.

Odd, but I'd seen odder here. The Christmas conga line at three in the morning was still largely talked about.

"If Zo comes back with the coffee, could you order my usual?" I asked Chloe. "I've got to run to the bathroom." I stepped on Myles's foot. Hopefully, he'd pick up the cue, but all he did was wrinkle his brow, so I poked him in the side. When he glanced at me, I tried to deliver an intent look that wouldn't signal to the entire rest of the table, but Chloe would pick up on anything like a hawk.

"Pancakes. Got it." She tapped her fork on the tabletop.

I stood, my skirt swishing around my thighs. My heart thumped a little harder. When it was just Myles and me back at the house, we existed there so naturally I forgot there was a whole world outside our little bubble. That we hadn't put labels or definitions on anything yet.

Hell, it had only been a month since I moved in, and somehow Myles had gotten to know me better than almost anyone else. His natural honesty coaxed it out of me. I'd spilled out my feelings of inadequacy about my family, how much I would miss Chloe, and we'd even confessed about our dysphoria moments over the past few weeks.

Fucking mind-blowing that a connection like this had been in Boston all this time, lying in wait for me.

I slipped into the bathroom, the bright fluorescents blaring down at me. Randy's bathroom had pale blue tile on the floor and stalls lining either side. An easy bathroom experience wasn't available everywhere, so I valued places like this one all the more where I didn't have to weigh my personal safety against my personal sanity.

The cool tiles pressed against my back, and I scrubbed at my face. The cue probably hadn't been clear enough, and Myles was sitting at the booth, waiting for me to return.

The door creaked open, and I almost shot forward.

Myles peeked inside. "So, that was a hint?"

"Mmph. Yes." I didn't waste time but yanked him by the front of his shirt and brought his lips to mine.

He tasted like the mint from his toothpaste, and his beard brushed against my chin. I slipped my tongue into his mouth, deepening the kiss as my whole body woke up. My skin tingled like electricity ran across it, and relief poured through me. I'd been thinking about kissing him all day, but I'd dragged him from his room and brought him to the diner and never got the opportunity.

When I pulled back, his sky-blue eyes were wide. "Any special reason for that?"

"Secrecy gets me hot, clearly."

"Chloe is going to straight up murder you if you don't tell her." Myles folded his arms across his chest. "Or me. She made a slicing motion over her neck while deadass staring at me."

I ran my hand through my hair. "Yeah, but it's so much more fun to tease her."

Myles shook his head, a hint of a grin creeping to his lips. "I see how it is. I'm the sacrificial lamb here." Still, the hesitance to his features gave me pause.

"I'm not afraid to say anything around them. You know that, right?"

He glanced up, his gaze relaxing, and I heard the click of his swallow. "We could keep torturing them a bit longer though."

"Man after my own heart." I dipped in and brushed another kiss against his lips. So much bubbled up within me, so much I wanted to tell him about the realizations pouring through my veins like water through cracks during a flood. Except I needed the space with just him and me for that. Because if he wasn't as into this as I was, I would need a hell of a lot of whisky and episodes of Braqueurs to binge-watch while I drowned out my feelings.

However, there was one question I could ask.

"Can I sleep with you tonight?"

Myles blinked. "Like, hooking up tonight?"

I shook my head, nerves trickling through me. This was Myles though, who stared at me with an affectionate crinkle in his eyes that he reserved for me alone. "Just sleeping in your bed. With you."

"I mean, I don't know when I'm going to sleep. I'll try to knock out the chapter when I get home, but I can't make any promises—"

"Hey, if it's not comfortable, or if you're worried about timing, that's okay. Don't forget I'm a night owl too. I'll be up working on signage and prep for the wellness fair while watching slutty knights parade across the screen."

"Are you watching the sexy King Arthur show without me?" Myles smacked a hand to his chest.

"Finish your book, and I'll rewatch the episodes with you," I teased. "We'd better get back out there before everyone starts gossiping that we fucked in the bathrooms."

"Everyone's fucked in the bathrooms at Randy's. That's just fact."

I started toward the door, but Myles grabbed my hand.

"Hey. Sleep with me tonight. I want you in my bed too." His light eyes revealed everything—the gravity of his statement and the vulnerability that came with it. His room was his sanctuary, yet he was letting me in completely.

I could only hope he did the same with his heart.