A sharp wolf whistle that had to be Dustin’s echoed through the room, and I turned toward the door.He was whistling for Adrienne, but I couldn’t tear my gaze from Reese.The way that dress hugged her, the slit up the side to almost her thigh, and the way she held herself like royalty.
“Fuck me,” Brandon’s murmur matched my thoughts.
Did he know he’d said that aloud?Regardless, I liked it.
Most everyone else went back to their conversations, but my eyes were glued on Queen Reese as she and her date strode toward us.
“I’m going to go sayhito Dustin, be right back,” Adrienne gave us a short wave and wandered away.
I twirled my finger.“Give us a spin,” I said to Reese.
Pink splashed across her cheeks, unusual for her but stunning, and she twirled in the dress.“I feel like a grown-up.”Her tone saidjoking, but a hint of seriousness lay underneath.
“You look beautiful.”I kissed her on the cheek.As I pulled away,morewhispered through my mind.
Brandon grasped her fingers and kissed the back of her knuckles.“You look more than beautiful.We could get Jeremy over here to come up with a better word for it.”
“I think I get your point.”Reese’s easy smile was back, erasing any embarrassment.“You both look pretty fucking hot too.”
Brandon raised an eyebrow.“Of course we do.”
The conversation lulled.Why was there any pause at all?I couldn’t be the only one of us thinking about the sparks the two of them had been generating.
I could ignore that ache to be with her again when she wasn’t around, but looking at her now, next to Brandon, seeing the two of them strip out of their evening wear was all I could think about.
It was a dangerous path to let my desire wander down, but that didn’t mean I could stop myself.
When Luna arrived with Graham and Cole, it was a good excuse to break up the lack of conversation and sayhi.Cole knew almost everyone in the room, and not because he’d been working with Luna and I for the last few days to update computers.He’d been one of the original employees at Rinslet, and he’d retired from the gaming industry early.
He was also Judith’s ex-husband, but their divorce was older than Brandon’s and my relationship.The two of them were friends-ish these days.
Wow.Reese was right, we really were grown-ups.I looked around the room, able to put a name to every face, and a pleasant memory to almost as many people.How many of them realized what an incredible family this was?
A little past the top of the hour, Dustin asked everyone to have a seat, because dinner would start soon, and he promised other fun after.
I wasn’t surprised at the way everyone broke up to claim the two tables.Creative teams were next to each other, Dev was by itself—though to be fair they were half the company.Judith sat at one table and Cole was at the opposite end of the room at the other.
But his choice had nothing to do with her.Luna was sitting near us, and Cole would move mountains for her.So would Graham.Taking a seat next to her was a no brainer.
I’d love to have something similar with Brandon and Reese.Yes, I was seated by them, but the moving mountains thing… Thinking the words made them feel more real, but I wouldn’t sacrifice what I had with Brandon to try to get there.
Chatter faded to the occasional snippet of conversation while everyone ate.I couldn’t keep my gaze from drifting to Reese, who sat across from us with Adrienne and Luna.Reese always looked like royalty, but tonight…
And she belonged here, with all of us.She and Adrienne had become quick friends over the last few months.This little pocket of people, with the decorations and Christmas music, it all warmed me from the inside out.
As dinner wound down, and the catering crew carted away plates, Nigel shouted, “What’s the stage for?”The slight slur in his words was indicative of the drinks he’d had.“Awards ceremony?Speeches?”
“It’s not ours,” Dustin said.“It was here when we got here, and we couldn’t find anyone to take it away, so we decorated it with the rest of the room and made sure there were lots of lights on it.”
“Aww.”Luna sounded disappointed.
Elliot rose halfway in his seat, enough to see her.“There’s no way you’re upset about extra lights.”
“I’m not.”Luna huffed.“But I was hoping the stage meant something.”
“We could play charades.”
I couldn’t see who made the suggestion.