“I’m Ben. I work here. Sorry for scaring you like this. I didn’t think it would go this badly,” I say calmly.
His livid eyes scan the room, bouncing from me to the door, then to the shelves overflowing with props, and finally to the monitors. He cocks his head, scrunching his nose as his brain seems to work overtime to catch up. It’s kind of cute. Or maybe it’s thatheis cute.
“Oh,” he breathes out, his entire body sagging. He blinks at me slowly, frowns, and then flushes, burying his face in his elegant hands. “Oh god, this is embarrassing.”
I grin. I suppose it is for him. “I won’t hold it against you, I promise. And I do mean it when I say I’m sorry. It wasn’t my intention to give you a heart attack.”
He gives me an unconvinced once-over, peeking from between his lean fingers. “I thought that was the point of jump scares.”
Snatching the bottle of water I keep on the shelf, I toss it to him. He scrambles to catch it, nodding in thanks when he does. I’m transfixed on his neck moving as he takes a big sip.
“Well yes, I guess. Sort of. It’s complicated,” I acknowledge, almost failing to catch the bottle when he throws it back to me.
He snorts, shaking his head. “You’re weird.”
I raise an eyebrow at him, feeling a smile tug at the corners of my mouth. “I’m weird, Mr. ‘Shoo you evil asshole ghost’?”
He groans, visibly cringing. “I’ve had a bad day, okay? Please forget this ever happened. Or, you know, that I tried to punch a ghost.” He sighs, rubbing the sides of his face. The tinge of pink in his cheeks is still there.
I should do as he says. We are practically strangers and I don’t tend to spare brain cells on random people. But he’s kind of adorable. In a dorky ‘I must protect him from all bad and scary things’ kind of way? And he fit so well in my arms, even though he was technically trying to claw my eyes out.
But I can forgive that part. I can’t explain it, but there is just something so enticing about him. Just looking at him makes my heart beat faster and my fingertips tingle with the need to ruffle his mop of dark curls. Or trace his delicate jaw, stroke his rosy cheeks, part his full lips with my tongue…
I blink, a frisson of heat sending a thrill down my spine and right to my cock. I think I wouldn’t mind kissing him.
Not backing out of our stare contest, he huffs out and narrows his eyes. “What?”
The slight edge to his voice, coupled with the broody vibe he maintains without even trying pulls a chuckle out of me. His sky-blue eyes gain intensity of the aggressive type, but his attempt to intimidate me only makes me want to tease him more.
“What’s your name?” I toss when, really, I should be leading him out of the haunted house attraction.
But there are still ten minutes left before his friends’ time is up, so I might as well make the best of the situation, right? Besides, I’m curious about his day now.
He stands and pats himself down as if to get rid of invisible dust. Then he fumbles with one of the suit’s straps, his frown softening even if his gaze remains a little suspicious. “It’s Charlie.”
Is he nervous? And is it good nervous or bad nervous?“I’m Ben.” I push up from the old chair and hold out my hand.
I used to know someone named Charlie. He was cute like this guy and should be about the same age. Twenty-one? Twenty-two maybe. So, two years younger than me.
He pulls on the corner of his lip, amusement displacing some of the apprehension still lurking in his eyes. “I know. You told me already.”
His grip is firm, even if his hand is smaller than mine. It slots perfectly in mine as I close my fingers around it and soak up the pleasant smoothness of his skin. It’s so unlike the cuts and chaffs that working as an engineer comes with. But I love my job, so I don’t mind it.
Our handshake lasts what feels like hours, both of us as if entranced. There is just something so comfortable about the contact. It’s like how it feels when you go home after a long time away, though I can’t really explain why a stranger would cause a sensation like this.
If I’m being honest, I don’t think it really matters right now because sparks are dancing under my skin. Every moment is bliss. I rub the underside of his wrist gently, his quickened pulse reverberating through me as my own heart tries to drill a hole out of my chest.
Can Charlie feel how madly it’s beating? I seek out his gaze. His eyes are locked on our hands, dark and a little wondrous. He looks like he doesn’t know exactly what’s happening, like this is the first time he’s shaking a hand with someone and he’s hellbent on soaking up every sensation.
I step closer, a whiff of vanilla and mango making my head spin. His fingers tangle with mine. I suck in a breath, my dick jerking inside my cargo pants. He looks up at me, a spark of something irresistible flickering in his gorgeous blue depths.
I want to gobble him up.
He raises an eyebrow as if in challenge, a smirk teasing his kissable lips.
Can he tell?
My heart skips a beat as I lean down.
