“He’s working with Ollie. I didn’t expect us to be back so early.” Ares reaches over and places his hand on my upper thigh. His thumb makes lazy circles on the top of my leg while his fingers slide under my thigh. Having his hand on me while my other hand is still wrapped around Dante’s sends a thrill of excitement to my stomach. Both touches are completely casual, but they cause a rise in my body temperature.
I know Gloria is in the other room, maybe that’s why I feel so at ease with them both touching me. I know nothing will come of it. There’s no pressure to pick one or the other. I can just be in the moment and take the comfort they’re offering.
I’m so caught up in my own thoughts that I jump when Dante lets out a roaring laugh. His head turns to Ares. “Did you see that guy? What a baby.” Ares's hand squeezes my leg, he knows Dante startled me. “He’s an idiot. Who gets their first tattoo on their neck? She tried to warn him,” he continues as he shakes his head, still engrossed.
“Gloria, have you seen Ares? His car is here, but…” Mia’s voice trails off. I had lifted my head from his shoulder and tried to scoot even closer to Dante the second I heard her voice, but Ares's hand keeps me locked in place. Making it even more obvious, his hand moves up and down, stroking my inner thigh. “I knocked on your door,” Mia finishes, her eyes bouncing from Ares's hand, up to my face, and then over to my hand held in Dante’s grip.
“What did you need?” Ares sounds so casual.
“Oh… Mr. Albertson returned your call. I know you’ve been waiting to hear from him, so I… I wanted to let you know.” Her head tilts to the side as her eyes narrow on me. “Hi, Laura.” Her lips lift, but it looks nothing like a smile. More like she’s pretending to smile. “No work today?” Mia walks over, taking a seat on the back of the sofa, her hands laid demurely on her turned out knee.
“No,” I croak, and clearing my throat I amend, “No, not today. Are you still working?” I tilt my head in much the same manner she did, my brows raised in question.
“No,” she scoffs, elongating the word. “Did we even work today, Ares?” Mia chuckles a little.
“Oh, Ares told me you’re looking for another place to stay.” Looking at her, I add, “Still having a hard time?” I fill my voice with mock sympathy, and she knows it.
Brushing imaginary lint from her perfect black sweater she answers, “Ares invited me to stay as long as I need to. Truthfully, I haven’t really been looking very hard. I’m used to Ares’s whims, who knows how long we’ll be here before he moves us back to the city?” Mia shakes her head with a happy little grin on her face.
Ares’s hand pauses for only a millisecond. “Mia, I told you. I’m staying here. You can go back to the city. Working remotely shouldn’t pose a problem.”
Her eyes dart over to Ares like she’s surprised to hear him say that. “Yes, but we’ve been working together as a team every day for four years. I think you’re seriously underestimating how vital your involvement has become.” Mia stands, making her way around to the front of the couch. Her eyes leap to the vacant spot at Ares’s side, but she settles on the sofa opposite us, straight across from Ares.
Dante squeezes my hand, seemingly still engrossed in the TV show, like this type of shit happens every day. I squeeze his back, but mine isn’t a show of support; it’s a cry for help. Why is she sitting down, is she going to stay? There goes my time to relax. Maybe we should have just gone into the bedroom.
“So, Laura, you’re still in high school, right.” Her eyes evaluate me quickly. “A junior?”
“No, I’m a senior like Dante.”
She nods her head, her eyes crinkling a bit. “I remember those days. Seems like forever ago.” Mia leans forward dramatically. “Everything felt so serious, like it would all last forever.” She sits back into a prim position with her legs folded off to the side.
“Yeah, it must have been a while ago. What are you, like twenty-nine, thirty?” I know damn well she isn’t even close to thirty, but I can play her insult game, no problem.
Ares makes a choking noise next to me, covering it quickly with a cough. “Gloria,” Ares calls out, “did you say dinner was ready?”
“Oh no, dear, it’ll be a while yet. You just enjoy that show you're watching.” Gloria’s voice is sugar sweet, but I know she’s not talking about the television program.
“Twenty-three,” Mia grates through a tight smile. “I’m twenty-three.”
“Really?” I jerk my head back acting surprised. “Huh.” I shrug looking back at the TV. Mia has been nothing but a little chilly to me. I know her more direct approach has more to do with Ares sitting next to me than it does anything else.
The conversation dies off until the next commercial. Dante finally looks over at me, his eyes wide as he shrugs his shoulders, like he’s asking what should I do? I tilt my head to the left in Mia’s direction. I don’t want to look at her if I don’t have to. Who knows what would happen if I decide it’s time to go all bossy and demanding again? Somehow I know that Ares wouldn’t ever react the way Dante did, but I want Ares to do something. Hell, I’d rather just go into the room instead of sitting out here with her.
It’s like Ares knows exactly what I’m thinking, because his hand wraps around my thigh again, holding me in place. I glare over at him, but he ignores the laser eyes I’m trying to burn him with.
“Really, I don’t know what would possess a woman to cover her body in tattoos,” Mia says, trying to initiate a conversation.
“I don’t know about tattooing, but I’d like to paint a woman’s body.” Dante’s eyes smolder as he stares at me. “I can just imagine the colors.” He bites his full bottom lip, still not looking away.
I swallow, thinking about how that would feel to have his hands all over me as he brushes my skin with strokes of paint. I break the stare, if I don’t, I might lean over and kiss him. I’m not sure I’m ready for that step yet, not with Mia watching us so closely.
Mia is looking at her lap, using the back of her fingers to inspect the front of her thighs. Ares lifts his hand off my leg. I think he might move, or stand, but he wraps his arm around my neck. I lean forward pulling my hair out from under his arm enough so that it’s not pulling.
“Any plans after dinner, after you take Laura home?” Mia fishes, directing her question at Dante. I think she would ask just about anything to get off the topic of body painting she’d inadvertently started.
“She’s going to stay over,” Dante answers casually.
“Your parents allow that?” Mia sounds positively scandalized at the thought. I shrug with indifference. I don’t owe her an answer even if I had one. “Ares?” Mia looks to him for an explanation.
Ares rolls his eyes. “Come on, Mia; you were at Cole Castle’s house more than your own in high school.”
Mia’s face goes bright red. “You had a revolving door of girls in your bedroom,” she accuses.
Ares looks at me then, his lips twisted up in a grimace. “That was years ago,” he adds, shaking his head in denial.