The bar hums with low music and warm lights, a comforting contrast to the chill outside. I slide into the booth across from Rachel grinning as we reach for each other at the same time.
"Finally," Rachel says, squeezing my hands.
"I swear every work trip I go on gets longer just to spite me."
"But it comes with perks, doesn't it?"
"Of course."
"So. Tell me everything. Or wait....no, I should go first. New job, new team, new chaos." I mutter excited.
Rachel leans back, eyes bright. "I have been dying to hear about Rubical. Do you like it?"
"I do." I answer honestly.
"It's intense, but good. I feel… capable there. Like I'm actually where I am supposed to be."
"That's huge." Rachel lifts her glass. "To Nellie, thriving."
We clink with an easy and familiar laughter. I am midway through recounting a particularly painful debugging session when Rachel's gaze drifts past my shoulder and lights up.
"Oh. Perfect timing."
I frown.
"What do you..."
"Dev!" Rachel waves enthusiastically.
Dev! As in Devan is here. I turn.
Devan stands just inside the bar, still in his work suit, jacket open, tie loosened just enough to feel intentional. The soft lighting catches the sharp line of his jaw, the impossible blue of his eyes. He looks out of place and completely at home all at once.
A breath catches in my throat.
"Did you invite him?"
The question sounds so stupid now I have time to reflect. Of course he invited him.
"Yeah? I mean, I figured since I've been gone, we should all hang out. Was that...?" Rachel blinks, surprised
"It's fine." I say quickly, standing.
"I thought we were having a girl's night out."
Devan approaches with a smile slow and familiar.
"Hey."
"Hey." I echo. I am suddenly aware of every inch of space between us.
"You clean up nice." Rachel teases him.
"Straight from work?"
"Unfortunately." he says.
"I come bearing corporate exhaustion." he adds.
We settle in, conversation finding its rhythm almost immediately. Rachel dominates the conversation with details from her trip. Devan chimes in with dry commentary from time to time while I laugh more easy than I am meant to.
Then a man appears at the end of the booth beside Rachel already smiling like he owns the moment. The recognition is instant.
"There you are."
Rachel groans affectionately.
"You found me."
"Hey Devan, Nellie." He acknowledges us with a smile.
"Hey Edward." We reply.
"Babe I told you I was having a night out."
"You said girls night out but I see Devan here."
"Well, he's my brother. Plus they stay together now. So I thought I would invite them both."
Edward kisses Rachel on the cheek.
"My apologies in advance but I really have to steal my fiance." Edward doesn't look the least bit sorry.
"Babe you can't do that."
"Well I can and I am stealing you." He tugs at her hand. Rachel sends us an apologetic look. I narrow my eyes at her.
"I trust you two can go on without us." I glare at her. If she knew this would happen, she wouldn't have wasted our time. But I know Rachel, it's an ambush.
"Catch up. Behave."
And just like that, they are gone.
Silence settles between us. It is not awkward but charged with something else now.
"So," Devan mutters lifting his glass. "You didn't tell me you'd be out tonight."
I am sure the accusation had been on his tongue the entire night.
"You didn't tell me you were invited." I counter.
He smiles. "Fair."
We fall into an easy conversation about work, about my team and about his day. He listens closely, asking questions something that shows that he remembers details I hadn't realized I had shared before. His knee brushes mine under the table once, accidentally. Neither of us moves away.
"You look happy talking about your job." he says quietly.
"I am." I hesitate.
"I appreciate that you've been supportive too with the early morning coffee and the rides to work."
Something softens in his expression. "Always."
Maybe I shouldn't get too comfortable with the perks of living with Devan Williams. After all, I will be out of his house soon if not later.
My phone buzzes on the table. It's a text from Rachel.
Don't wait up. Love you.
I laughs under my breath.
"She abandoned us."
"Definitely new behavior." Devan mutters.
"I agree."
Devan stands, offering his hand. "Then let me make it up to you. Dance?"
I look at his hand then up at him. Blue eyes, steady. Familiar. Dangerous.
"Okay."
And as he leads me toward the floor, I wonder if dancing together is crossing the line. It looks like dangerous territory especially in such an intimate setting. I shake the thoughts out of my mind. Perhaps I was overthinking it. Devan barely looks like he is plotting something bad. I am getting into my head a little and it is clogging my judgement.
The music is slower on the floor. Strings of the guitar with a steady beat wrap around us instead of demanding attention. Devan stops just short of pulling me close, like he is waiting for permission he didn't want to ask for.
I close the distance myself.
Stupid freaking move.
Devan's hands settle at my waist, warm and sure. His touch is not possessive but not hesitant either. I rest my palms against his chest, feeling the steady thrum beneath the crisp fabric of his suit. Up close, he smells faintly of rain and something clean.
"You dance now?" I ask, attempting lightness.
"One of my many hidden talents." His mouth quirks.
"Usually under very specific circumstances." he adds.
I smile, eyes lifting to his. Up close, his blue eyes are almost unfair, bright, intent and impossible to ignore. The bar lights softens the sharp edges of him, making him look less like someone I should avoid and more like someone I already know too well.
"You look like you didn't plan on staying long."
"I didn't. Plans change." His thumbs shift slightly at my sides, barely a movement.
Our bodies move in quiet agreement as we sway to the music. Around us, the bar buzzes with laughter, clinking of glasses, shouted conversations but the space between us feels oddly insulated. I overly too aware of his touch on my body and how it's making everything in me alive.
I notice the way Devan's gaze dips briefly, instinctively before returning to my eyes. Not lingering. Just enough to acknowledge the thought and set it aside.
My eyes drop to his lips slowly. I try to shut any thoughts about how good his lips look to no vain. I didn't even realise the space between our faces had thinned.
My heart throbs in my chest hard as Devan's hands pull me even closer. My body obliges immediately. A shiver goes down my spine when I lift my eyes and find his waiting.
I search for the right words to say but come up with none. The look in his eyes tell me there is nothing I need to see.
It is lust. I should flee while I still can but the pull is too strong to resist.
As Devan leans down to close the remaining space between our lips, the music changes to an upbeat sound breaking the spell between us.
I step away first.
"Water." I mutter immediately pulling away completely and back into the crowd.
What was I thinking?