Friends Without Benefits
“Ah yes. Friends without benefits, right?” His eyes narrowed, again with mock seriousness. “Do you still want to be friends without benefits?”
I nodded my response, because I didn’t trust myself to speak.
“Hmm, okay.” His smile was small and sly. “What can’t I say? That you’re beautiful?” His voice was still soft, like a stupid caress.
The heat spread; I wrestled like a Klingon with the urge to blush. “Yes.”
“You don’t tell your friends when you think they look nice?”
“It’s not the same—don’t—” I huffed. “Don’t do it.”
“What do you typically do with your friends who are girls? Since you seem to eschew males from that circle.”
I needed to get control of this conversation before he had me wobbly legged and falling into his arms like an idiot. “Talk about sex.”
He paused. His smiled widened. “Okay. We could do that.”
“Really?” The single word was a disbelieving squeak; my plan to obtain control officially backfired.
“Yeah. It might be nice for you to have a man’s perspective. What else?”
“Uh . . . we drink, cuss, and knit.”
“Well, I think I’m definitely down with the drinking and cussing but I’ll need your help with the knitting.” His full-fledged charming smile was back, but he hadn’t lost the lingering appearance of a responsible adult male.
“You’re going to learn how to knit?” My eyebrows bounced upward again.
“No. Knitting is for girls. I’m going to learn how to crochet. But . . .” He dipped his chin to his chest and issued me a look that meant business. “Since we’re going to do this, I have a request of my friend.”
I stiffened. “What’s that?”
“I’m going to give you music homework.”
I stared at him. “Say what?”
“I’m going to give you music to listen to, not boy bands, lots of different artists and genres, and you have to listen to it.” He shrugged, hands still in pockets. “We can talk about it when we hang out.”
The request sounded benign. Almost too benign. “Fine.” I couldn’t think of a reason to object but didn’t want to appear to be too accommodating. “Then I have a friendship stipulation.”
“Why do you get two?”
“It’s less of a stipulation and more of just a request.”
“Fine. Let’s hear it.”
“Will you please let me fire your security guards?”
He sighed, scratched his neck. His gaze was sheepish. “They are pretty bad.”
“I know someone who has a security company. He owns the building where I live—well, part of it, my floor anyway, and is engaged to my best friend. He has a division that provides private security and he’s kind of a badass wizard. They are very discreet and you don’t have to worry about your privacy at all. Please, will you just talk to him? You’ll like him. He’s really bossy, just like me, and mostly always knows best, just like me.”
Nico smiled but then quickly suppressed it. He shrugged again. “Fine. That’s fine. Give me his number.” Nico handed me his phone.
I released a breath I wasn’t aware I’d been holding, feeling relief down to my bones as I programmed Quinn’s number into Nico’s cell. I couldn’t stop my large smile. “This is great. And you will not regret it. You should call him today or I can call him.”
“I’ll call him.”
“You promise? You’ll call him today? If you don’t call him today I’ll find out.”
“Yes. Yes, today.” He rolled his eyes, but I could tell he was enjoying my bossiness. “Do you worry about me?”
I didn’t want to lie, but I didn’t want to tell the truth either, so I settled for a statement that applied to all of humanity; “I don’t want anyone to get hurt.”
“Even me?”
My response escaped before I had a chance to disarm it. “Especially you.”
His eyes lit, burned brighter. “Why?”
Curses!
“Because. . .” My brain was failing me. I flailed, resorted to making a few weird scoffing and tsking noises, raised my hands and lowered them, then said something true but not the entirety of the truth; so, once again, avoiding. “Because I really like Angelica. She seems like a sweet girl and has already lost quite a lot in her short life. I wouldn’t like her to lose you too.”
“Hmm. . .” His expression betrayed his skepticism. “She likes you too.”
“She does?”
“Yes. She does. Why wouldn’t she?”
“Kids usually don’t. I’m not generally great with kids. My friend Fiona’s kids call me That Strange Lady.”
“What a coincidence, that’s what Angelica calls you too.”
I gave him my very best I am not amused face. He, of course, thought this was hilarious. His laughter eventually became infectious, and soon we were both laughing.
“Funny, funny guy.”
“Smart girl.”
“Somehow I don’t believe you when you say that.”
He studied me for a moment, Nico swayed forward, his voice velvety, his eyes dreamy. “You should. You should always believe me. I will always tell you the truth.”
At his words my stomach dropped to my feet, and the room tilted a bit. I could only nod.
My silence seemed to fuel his amusement. He glanced at the floor then shifted a bit closer. His tone was silky, measured as he asked, “Still friends?”
“Yes. Friends.” The words almost caught in my throat.
Chapter 13
As Nico and I exited the infusion room I felt listless, aimless in a cloud of confusion, and self-recrimination. I floated distractedly on the despondency that accompanies getting exactly what you want then realizing what you want is stupid.
Nico, apparently a gentleman, held the door open, and I walked out. Therefore, I saw Dr. Ken Miles first. He stood tall and fit and pretty and leaned against nothing. Rigidly upright, He glared at something behind me.
Dr. Ken Miles’s stare darted to mine. I frowned at his plain hostility because, honestly, I was perplexed by his presence. He had no reason to be on the fourth floor. He had no business in the CRU. And, furthermore, he had absolutely no right to needle me with pale-blue eyes rimmed with accusation.
I drew in a slow breath, preparing myself for a temper tantrum of some sort, and shuffled over to where he stood—then I saw it, just over his shoulder. It was a smirk. More precisely, a Megalomaniac Meg smirk.
When Brutus betrayed Caesar I’m sure everyone in the general vicinity was shocked out of their brains. I’m guessing Rome collectively voiced baffled disbelief when the news spread. Millennia later it’s still a big deal. Maybe one of the biggest oh snap moments in the history of forever.
Meg’s readiness to monkey-wrench me, however, wasn’t at all shocking. Rather, it was annoying in its expectedness and most of my irritation was focused inward; I really should have seen it coming. Being complacent to the Meg-threat was like ignoring the Borg. You just didn’t do it.
I closed my eyes against an epic eye roll and paused some feet away from Dr. Ken Miles and Meg’s smirky face. Nico halted at my side, his bicep brushing against my shoulder as he crossed his arms. I glanced at two nurses. Neither were smiling, but both were watching with the rapt attention befitting a movie theater. I almost asked if they were planning to pass out popcorn.
Dr. Ken Miles was gritting his teeth and issuing a closed-mouth smile at the same time. It effected a peculiar look, gave him the air of someone who’d just tried coc**ne for the first time or was making a half-hearted attempt to control anger.
Everyone was looking at me, waiting for me to speak. I imagine I might have looked a bit like a petulant teenager when I lifted a single eyebrow and prolonged the thick silence. Finally, and with great reluctance, I sighed.
“Hi, Dr. Ken Miles.”
His features pinched. “Meg called me.”
“Oh? Did she need a consult?”
“No. Do you want to introduce your friend?” If a man could sound prissy then Dr. Ken Miles sounded prissy in that moment.
“Sure.” I turned slightly toward Nico and indicated to him with my hand. “Nico meet Dr. Ken Miles. Dr. Ken Miles, meet Nico.”
Neither of them extended a hand to shake. I was nearly blown over by the gusting funnel clouds of testosterone.
“I know who you are. You’re that funny guy, right? That guy from that show—I can’t remember the name of it.” Ken’s eyes moved over Nico, as though sizing him up. It was all rather weird and vexing.
I allowed myself a brief glance at Nico. He shrugged. “Yep. That’s me.”
“Huh.” Dr. Ken Miles’s grin morphed into another weird smile, like he smelled something bad but was trying to disguise his discomfort with a smile. “You should do something funny then.”
“Excuse me?” Nico sounded distracted, as though he hadn’t been really paying attention to the conversation up to that point.
“You know.” Dr. Ken Miles crossed his arms over his chest, widened his stance, the X-ray he carried dangled from one hand. “You should do something funny, right now. Say something funny.”