Time stopped.
For one magical moment, he kissed me with such fervor that I spilled my coffee on the beige carpet. I pulled him closer but allowed him to control the kiss. My head was a mass of confusion, but right then, it just felt so naturally perfect. I felt like I was learning a lesson in head versus heart. He nuzzled my throat and breathed in my scent. I melted against him.
“You know what I think?” He whispered after what felt like a long time. “I think you should tell Raoul that he’s on his own now. Don’t risk yourself for something he brought on himself.”
Shaz was ticked over Raoul’s unwelcome advances, which pleased me regardless of our situation.
“I don’t know what to do anymore.”
“There’s no sense trying to help him. For all we know, he really deserves what’s coming to him.”
“Maybe.” I nodded. Raoul certainly wasn’t the nicest guy. I could believe that someone would have a just grudge against him.
Since I continued to anguish, Shaz changed the subject. “Hey, why don’t we order pizza for lunch? We can hang out here and watch talk shows all day like we used to. Maybe play some video games?”
I smiled at the memory. We’d once spent an entire week like that. In the heart of a Canadian winter, the blizzards had kept traffic off the highways. Commuters were stuck at home that week, a weeklong snow day for Stony Plain.
“Sounds great. Chicken and mushroom with honey garlic wings?” I was surprisingly hungry at the mention of food. “And some pizza bread.”
The afternoon went by too fast for my liking. A couple episodes of Jerry Springer and a handful of court shows held our attention as we stuffed ourselves with pizza and wings. Shaz made another pot of coffee that we sipped, curled up together on the creaky couch. We laughed and giggled our way through a session of Guitar Hero. As I laughed with Shaz and pretended to be carefree, I felt rejuvenated.
After successfully beating him on battle mode for the third time in a row, I chortled, “In your face.”
He responded by grabbing me in a move faster than my eyes could follow. Our plastic guitar controllers went flying. I squealed as his fingers deftly found that one ticklish spot between my ribs. To escape, I threw myself to the floor, but he followed me down and pinned me beneath his weight.
I looked up into his bright green eyes. They held an affection that I hadn’t realized I’d been missing. He continued tickling and held my wrists above my head as I wrestled to break free.
“Shaz, please,” I begged in a high, pleading note as desperation set in. Too much tickling could end very badly.
“Who’s the dominant wolf now?” He growled playfully in my ear.
A series of soft knocks on the apartment door caused us to freeze. After a heartbeat, Shaz jumped up. The sudden absence of his body heat caused goose bumps to break out on my skin.
I didn’t realize that I had been vibing off of him until the energy fell away. The metaphysical remnants remained like a coating of fairy dust on my skin.
Shaz flipped the lock, and I rolled over on to my stomach to push myself to my knees. I was in direct view of the door and didn’t want to be seen splayed out on the floor.
A woman’s voice called out brightly, and a brunette with a ponytail and a grey tracksuit burst into the entryway. She threw her arms around Shaz excitedly, and my breath caught. I tugged my top to cover my belly.
“How are you? I thought I’d come by and see if you want to catch a movie or grab dinner later.” She stopped suddenly when she noticed me. “Oh, I’m sorry. I didn’t realize you had company.”
Shaz looked awkwardly at me and made a strange gesture in the air between the brunette and myself.
“Casey, it’s nice to see you. This is Alexa O’Brien. She’s a very good friend of mine. Lex, this is Casey Edmonds. She lives in the building here.”
Casey’s dark eyes flicked to me on the floor and noted the shirt that I tugged back in to place. I saw the assumption in her eyes, and I encouraged it. I fixed my hair as well, as if she’d interrupted something. Maybe it was catty, but Shaz hadn’t mentioned any lady friend, and my cheeks were burning.
“Nice to meet you, Casey.” I got to my feet and went to her, hand extended.
She tossed her wavy ponytail and sniffed. I knew she didn’t want to take my hand and, when she did, it was with the barest of touches. I resisted the urge to crush her flimsy human fingers in my grip.
“You too,” she murmured before turning back to Shaz. It was an obvious attempt at a dismissal, and I felt the energy around us begin to grow hot with my anger.
“Would you like to come in for coffee?” Shaz’s fingers worked furiously through his platinum hair, a nervous habit that he’d had as long as I have known him.