I wanted to facepalm. “You ate it like peanut butter, didn’t you—straight off the knife.”
“No.” His denial was completely hollow, and I barked out a laugh when he added primly, “It was a spoon. Gauthier was laughing so hard, he couldn’t speak, so I’m guessing I did something wrong.”
“How does Gauthier know how to eat Vegemite?”
“He lived here until he was thirteen. When he got an invite to train with the Canadian youth team, he moved back there.”
That typical Aussie humour—dry as fuck and filled with teasing—made a lot of sense. I almost felt sorry for Hux, but it would have been funny to watch.
“Breakfast tomorrow. I’ll show you how to do Vege toast properly.”
Hux grinned, and his eyes sparkled with pure mischief as he met my exasperated gaze. The doors to the lift opened, and we stepped inside.
“How do we get to Cara’s floor?” he asked, his hand hovering over the buttons. “Reception let me up last time.”
“I forgot to give Cara back her key. Take this, and I’ll grab it.”
Hux’s smile grew, turning wicked. I held out the tray to him, but he pumped his brows and said with laughter in his voice,“Sure you did. You were going to sneak into her room, weren’t you?”
“Fuck off,” I muttered, but couldn’t help laughing at his teasing.
He batted away the tray and instead patted my pockets down, reaching into the back one to get out the cardboard slip her keys were still pressed into.
“What the fuck?” I squeaked as I jumped forward and spun around, hiding my instant erection. Jesus, every touch sent my body into overdrive lately. Heat washed through me, and my cheeks burned as my body lit up. Hux was just being efficient. There was no hidden agenda behind him deep diving into my pockets—it wasn’t like he was palming my ass or anything—but aside from quick hugs from Zali and my friends, it had been a bloody long time since I’d been touched. Especially somewhere as sensitive and erogenous as my ass.
“Fuck, calm down, man. You’re going to spill the juice everywhere.”
I willed my cock to deflate as Hux pulled his hand free, the ghost of his touch like a branding iron. I groaned at the loss of sensation. But he must have mistaken it for annoyance.
He sighed, and the humour slipped from his face. I could practically see the walls slamming into place between us, and… I didn’t like it.
“Sorry, you’re right, I shouldn’t have done that.” He dropped the cards on the tray and held out his hands, waiting for me to hand it over.
I couldn’t explain why, but I needed us to go back to having that teasing banter between us.
“S’all good,” I croaked, my voice breaking like a teenager’s. I cleared my throat and added, “You scan it.”
Hux pressed his lips together, not giving anything away. But the neediness, the angst for him to relax with me, banked.
The trip to Cara’s floor was quick. The doors opened before Hux even had a chance to give back the card. Or maybe he was stalling, not wanting to touch me again in case he provoked a similar reaction.
“This is it,” I said, even though he knew exactly where it was. I was desperate to cut the tension between us and filled the uncomfortable silence with bumbling words.
Hux knocked, and after a moment, Cara opened it. She was standing half behind the door, using it to hide behind. From what I could see, she was dressed in a set of pale pink Minnie Mouse pyjamas—a strappy singlet and tiny pair of shorts—and her hair was tied in a messy bun atop her head. She looked adorable, but her eyes were dull and her face pale. She looked like she was struggling, in pain, and exhausted. I wanted to reach out and comfort her, to hold her and both make things right in her world and take away any pain she was in.
“Here she is,” Hux murmured appreciatively, and Cara tilted her lips up in a tiny smile. But the way she was curled in on herself, using the door as a shield and making herself as small as possible, didn’t change. The dullness in her eyes didn’t shift either.
That wouldn’t do. I loved Cara’s giggle, the carefree way she laughed and smiled. She was a ray of sunshine after a long cold winter—beautiful and filled with warmth—and seeing her struggle was heartbreaking.
“Hey, um, what are you doing here?” she asked tentatively, her tone confused as she looked between us.
“Hux reminded me that you still needed to eat, so I brought you a meal, and he wanted to apologize to you—”
“And Roe, here, needed to return your key.”
I winced, hoping that she hadn’t gotten stuck outside her room.
“So we came together. Double-teaming you, so to speak,” Hux added.
