Nate hiccupped, red-faced with tears streaking down his cheeks. “Good fucking riddance,” he gasped. “I should’ve done that years ago.”
Aubrey managed a few deep breaths, enough to be able to string together a sentence without pausing. “Whydidyou keep it?”
Nate rolled over onto his back, starfished comically over the couch. “Marty said he wanted me to have it because he knew how much I liked it.”
“Nate.”
“Hm.”
“Do you think he was fucking with you?”
“I couldn’t tell.” He stood, a little awkwardly, between the lube and the come and the pants around his ankles, held on by his shoes. “I figured if I played along it was as good as fucking with him right back.”
Aubrey digested this as he pushed himself to his feet. “Sometimes that competitive drive really bites us in the ass.”
“Yeah.” Nate looked over at the floor and winced, then looked back at his feet. “But on the plus side, that drive is probably why we’re both wearing shoes right now and not in danger of cutting our feet.”
“True.” Aubrey pulled up his own jeans and buckled them. “All right. Here’s the play. We clean this up.”
“Uh-huh.”
“And then we reward our hard work by going up to mine and sitting in the Jacuzzi tub.”
“Sold.” Nate looked down at himself and grimaced again. “Just let me do a little personal cleanup first.”
Chapter Nineteen
NOVEMBER BLEWinto December, along with a lot more wind and snow and a flurry of holiday shopping. Nate liked to get most of his out of the way the weekend after Thanksgiving, but between his parents’ visit and sex with Aubrey, he had barely made a dent.
At work, the mood had improved post-holiday, leaving Nate to wonder if everyone simply needed a good meal and some time with their family. Kelly and Caley’s news had the studio buzzing—everyone loved good news—and Carl brought photos of his newest pride and joy, grandchild number four.
On the air, Nate and Aubrey were smooth as a newly resurfaced rink and as sharp as fresh blades. The Thursday after Thanksgiving, Jess pulled them aside as Kelly covered the women’s game.
“What’s up?” Aubrey asked as the door to the office closed.
Jess ditched her earpiece on the desk. “Are you guys doing some kind of mind-reading thing or something?”
Nate glanced at Aubrey. “Mind-reading?” they chorused, turning back to Jess in unison.
She pointed at them. “See! That! That’s creepy. I mean, it’s compelling television, but it’s still creepy.”
Aubrey glanced at Nate. “Sorry,” they said, in unison again.
Nate felt a smile tugging at the corner of his mouth, but he tamped down on it.
Jess stared at them. For a second, Nate thought she’d actually ask, but after a moment, she shook her head and moved on. “Well, I specifically remember telling you not to change anything, but since you actually gotbetter, I can’t complain.”
“Does this mean we’re off the chopping block?” Nate asked.
“What am I, a fortune-teller?” She rolled her eyes. “The meeting’s next week. I told you, the network does not like to be rushed.”
“So what did you call us in here for?”
“Isn’t it obvious?” She smiled, and Nate could have sworn, once again, that she was going to congratulate them. Instead she just said, “Producer stuff. Keep up the good work.”
“She knows,” Aubrey hissed as they walked back to the set.
Nate figured maybe she did.
