Chapter Five

"Congratulations, Eddie. You chased Raven away." I was annoyed with my cousin's antics and I shot him an icy glare. "Are you happy about that?"

"Chased him away?" Eddie seemed surprised. "What? I didn't make that guy leave. He said it himself, he was late for a meeting."

"Yeah, I'm sure lots of people suddenly remember that they're late for meetings when they're talking to you." I rolled my eyes.

"Hey, if that guy didn't like my sense of humor about the bridesmaids thing, then that's his problem," Eddie replied. "And why the hell does it matter, anyway? Who cares if Raven doesn't like my jokes? Who cares if he doesn't like me?"

"It's not about Raven liking you or not. It's about--"

"You're not trying to impress him or something, are you?" Eddie smirked. "Sorry. Did I embarrass you in front of your new boyfriend?"

"He's not my boyfriend," I snapped.

"I know. I'm just fucking around," Eddie chuckled. "I know you don't swing that way. None of the guys in our family do. Seriously though, what kind of girls are you even into? I swear, I've never been able to figure out your type."

"That's because I don't have a type," I answered.

"What are you talking about? Every guy has a type," Eddie went on. "It doesn't have to be some deep, soulful connection or anything. It's like, some guys like brunettes, some guys like redheads, and they can build from there. For me, I like a woman with a good head on her shoulders, and dark hair down to her waist."

"I really don't think I have a type, Eddie," I repeated. "I think I just like what I like."

"Seriously?" Eddie sounded skeptical. "So, what? You've never seen a woman before and just felt like the entire world melted around her? A girl has never made your palms sweaty? Made you feel like you were going to be sick?"

As Eddie spoke, my mind went back to how I'd felt when I'd seen Raven at Neon City, when he'd been sitting beside me at the table.

He was the only person who'd ever made me feel that way, like the entire world was melting around him, like being right next to him was enough to make my hands shake, enough to rattle my nerves.

But I wasn't going to tell Eddie that. I wasn't ready to tell him.

I wasn't even ready to tell myself.

"Nope," I said, with a shrug. "I've never felt that way about a girl before."

"Not yet." Eddie smiled. "But one day, a woman is going to come into your life and turn everything upside down. And who knows? Maybe it'll be Irene Marseille."

"Maybe it'll be Irene Marseille," I repeated Eddie's words, even though I didn't believe them.

It wasn't going to be Irene Marseille, because it was already Raven Williams.

"Anyway, did you need some help with the car, man?" Eddie asked. "You know, I used to watch my dad when he was in his shop."

"Yeah, but watching and doing are two different things," I suggested. "And if I give you a wrench, I'm scared you'll somehow end up burning down the whole garage."

"Hey, I've never started a fire that I wasn't able to put out on my own," he countered. "So, are you going to let me help or what?"

"After a glowing self-review like that? How could I say no?" I grinned as I reached toward my toolbox, pulling out a wrench. "Come on down, then. Let's get to work."

* * *

Raven. Raven. Raven.

It'd been days since we'd last seen each other, since he'd walked out of the garage and apparently right out of my life.

It felt strange that I was still thinking about him, still hoping that he'd somehow pop back into my world. I'd even been more in touch with Clarissa, trying to scope out an opportunity for me to join her for one of her meetings with Raven.

But all of her meetings lately had been with Briar, and Briar alone, since he didn't allow his brides and grooms to bring guests along on menu consultations. Clarissa had told me that Briar was big on supporting clients and letting them know that their wedding was going to be the only party they'd throw in their lives that allowed them to be as selfish as they wanted, which meant that they should take full advantage.

It also meant that everything that was going to be served at Clarissa's wedding was a dish she herself loved, which honestly made more sense to me than buying a bunch of food for her guests that she wouldn't touch in a million years.

And even though I was a fan of Clarissa's newfound bridal empowerment, until she had another meeting with Raven, I felt like I was twisting in the wind.

As I sat on the couch in the Airbnb I had rented while in town for the wedding, wondering when I was going to see Raven's smile again, my phone went off beside me.

I looked at the number on my screen.

I didn't recognize it, but I could tell that it was a local number because of the area code.

Taking a chance, I answered the call. I figured that it could've been Trent or Clarissa or even Eddie, calling me from an unknown number while their car was stranded on the side of the road or something.

"Hello?" I said, wondering who was on the other end of the line.

"Hello?" Raven's voice came through clear as day. "Is this Sky Easton's office? That is, if he has an office. I'm actually not sure how the whole remote management thing works. Could you patch me through to his secretary? If he has one? Please?"

"I don't have a secretary, Raven." I smiled to myself, amused by his commentary. "But you have reached Sky Easton. What can I do for you today?"

"Sky. There you are." Raven's words sounded warm and sweet, as if they'd been dipped in honey.

And my world melted around him, just like before.

"I got your number from Clarissa," he continued. "Anyway, I was entering this radio contest, trying to win V.I.P. Beyoncé tickets for when she's in town next month. And the contest had a bunch of runner up prizes, too, like a new Camaro, or an all-expense paid trip to Vegas--"

"Oh. Nice. Did you win something?" I hadn't meant to cut Raven off, but the suspense was killing me.

I still had no idea why he'd called me, and it felt like my whole body was going to ache until I found out.

"Yeah. I won two tickets to a car show that's in town for the weekend," Raven answered. "And since you're the only person I know who likes that sort of thing, I was wondering if you wanted to--"

"Yes. I'll go with you." I nodded along with my response.

"Oh." Raven seemed taken aback for a moment. "Sorry. It's just, I was going to ask you if you wanted to take the tickets off my hands? You don't have to go with me, if you don't want to. I know that's like the proper thing to do, take the person who won the tickets, but really if you know someone else who likes looking at cars, maybe even Eddie could--"

"I want to go with you," I clarified, starting to feel nervous all over again. "Is that... is that okay?"

"Yeah. That's okay," Raven said. "I just wanted to make sure that you were going to have a good time."

"I'm not worried about that," I replied. "Not with you, anyway."

"Because we always have a good time when we hang out together?" Raven lightly chuckled. "Based on all of the zero times we've really hung out together? Just you and me?"

"We'll always have Neon City. And the garage." I chuckled now, too.

"Some people get to have Paris..." Raven wistfully sighed. "Anyway, I'll catch up with you about the details this weekend. I need to get back to Clarissa."

"Is she in the room with you right now?"

"Oh, God no. If she knew that I was making a personal call on her bride time? She'd file a lawsuit." Raven laughed. "I think Briar is really rubbing off on her. And I'm not sure that's a good thing."

"I'm sure it'll all be fine." I smiled. "And I'll talk to you later, Raven."

"Talk to you later, Sky." Our conversation ended with a click.

I fell back against my couch, splaying out onto its bright blue cushions.

I was going to be hanging out with Raven this weekend.

The thought filled me with sparks, the kind that felt like they were shooting off from my head down to my feet. I was so excited about seeing him again that it hadn't even occurred to me to ask him exactly what kind of car show he was taking me to this weekend.

Because it didn't really matter.

All that mattered was seeing Raven again. All that mattered was that I was able to make him laugh on the phone. All that mattered was seeing his smile again, watching him out of the corner of my eye as we walked through the crowd looking at cars, and wondering if he was watching me, too.

But as I stayed in place on the couch, letting the clock tick by, I thought about Raven from every possible angle, my daydreams about his smile soon turned into something more explicit.

I didn't just want to see Raven smile. I wanted to hear him groan. I wanted him to dig his fingers into my back as I pushed inside him. I wanted him to playfully blush whenever he was eating something phallic-shaped around me, like a frozen popsicle straight from the freezer. Then, I wanted him to wrap those still-cold lips around my cock, not stopping until my come was hitting the back of his throat.

I wanted him in ways that I'd never wanted anyone.

I wanted him in ways that I'd never expected to want another man.

But even though my thoughts about wanting Raven were completely unexpected, I found that I didn't really mind them, either. I wasn't bothered by the idea of holding his hand or kissing his neck or making him moan with pleasure beneath me.

But, once my explicit daydreams came to an end, I decided to take the coldest shower that I could take.

I needed to stop thinking about Raven like that. Not because I was uncomfortable with the thoughts, but because he had given me no indication that he was interested in me in that way. Sure, Raven was gay, but that didn't mean that he'd be okay hooking up with me, just because I wanted him to.

And the last thing I wanted to do was come off like a creep. I didn't want Raven to put Eddie and me in the same boat, as if we were both just in town to find fuck buddies at Clarissa's wedding, not caring if we broke someone's heart in the process.

I didn't know a lot about what I wanted from Raven, but I knew that I didn't want to hurt him.

And as I stepped into the shower, I let the cold droplets roll off my skin, quietly hoping that they'd somehow manage to get Raven out from under my skin, too.