“Hmmph. Where to, then?”
“What?”
“Reynolds, are you hard of hearing? Where does your boyfriend live?” Peter sounded a touch exasperated. I needed to check my sarcasm and make an effort to be pleasant. He was going out of his way for us. I gave him directions to Aaron’s apartment, which was a short drive from the club.
“Aaron’s not my boyfriend. He’s my best friend.”
Peter caught my stare in his rearview mirror. It was the first time we’d made real eye contact during this ordeal. His eyes were hooded and difficult to read, but he had that manly stubble all over his chin that I found crazy hot. I tuned him back in when I saw his mouth move. I was so easily sidetracked around him.
“That’s right. I met your boyfriend last weekend. Justin, right?”
“Justin?”
“Don’t tell me it’s over already?” came his snarky reply. What the hell was he…? Oh yeah. Fuck. I’d forgotten about the previous weekend’s disaster while I was busy dealing with my current weekend’s disaster.
I didn’t want to get into it with him, so I rolled my eyes, making sure he saw before I checked on Aaron’s listless form beside me. Aaron stirred restlessly, giving me hope that he’d awaken sooner rather than later, but it was fleeting. I had a sinking feeling that my bad luck was holding when there were no available places to park on Aaron’s block. Peter gamely drove around the block, but clearly he would either have to drop us off or find a spot on the next street over.
“Oh shit. Look, just leave us here in front of the building. I’ll manage.” I’m sure my tone conveyed my doubt.
“Don’t be ridiculous. Your friend might be light, but he’s deadweight in his current condition. Are you going to drop him on the ground every time you need to open a door?”
“Sarcasm doesn’t suit you,” I replied primly.
Peter muttered something off-color under his breath in response as he stopped the SUV. He was double-parked but close to the main entrance of Aaron’s building.
“Well, thank….”
My driver jumped out of the parked but still running vehicle and had made his way to the curbside of the car in a flash. He took Aaron’s wrist in his hand to feel his pulse again before hoisting him out of the backseat. I scrambled after them, fumbling to put my phone away. We stared at each other for a moment in the misty darkness, Peter effortlessly holding Aaron while I tried to figure out how to proceed.
“Can you get into the building? If you open the main door, I’ll leave him with you while I find a place to park. Then I can come back and help you get him inside. No sense in you both getting wet waiting for me.”
I stared at him like an idiot. He was really going to keep helping me? I might have to change my mind about Morgan after tonight, I mused.
“Yeah. Um… I’ll check his pocket. He usually has his keys on him. We’ll wait inside for you. Are you sure you don’t mind?”
“I don’t mind. Get his keys out and get going. We’re all getting soaked now.”
Peter was right. The mist had turned into something more substantial. Not quite rain, but it was heavier than it had been earlier and my fabulous shirt was clinging to my skin in a less than sexy way. I stepped closer and stuck a finger in Aaron’s front left pocket. His jeans were practically painted on, but I could tell there was no key there. Peter clued in.
“Here. Let me hand him to you and I’ll see if I can get the key from his other pocket. Unless you think he keeps it in his back pocket?”
I gave him an incredulous look.
“Who would ever put a key in their back pocket when they were going out dancing?”
Peter obviously didn’t understand my meaning if his expression was any indication, so I decided to enlighten him.
“Really? You’re dancing with some hot guy or maybe girl if that’s your thing, and things get close, shall we say. Your dance partner gets a little familiar and sets his hands on your ass to pull you closer… only to get the imprint of your apartment door key. Buzzkill!”
Peter stared at me like he was looking at an alien. He shook his head slightly, shaking some of the moisture from his dark hair in the process.
“Okay, whatever you say. So do you want to hold your boyfr—” He caught himself when he saw that I was about to correct him. “Sorry, your buddy… while I see if I can get his key out? And, Reynolds?” He waited for me to nod in acknowledgment before he spoke again. “Hurry the fuck up.”
I held out my arms for Peter to hand over Aaron’s listless form. But I couldn’t resist having one last word.