Page 21 of Choose Me

My jaw drops and I stare at Erik, who smiles his ‘aww shucks’ grin at Van. Has he actually just threatened my boss with legal action in a pleasant tone of voice? Holy shit! If I wasn’t already in love with him, I’d so fall for him right now.

“Talk to Jack. Check out the ADA’s guidance. Do a little research on managing employees with anxiety issues. I’m sure everything will be fine.”

Van holds up his hands. “Whoa, I definitely don’t want to cause undue stress or give Julian panic attacks.”

Erik clears his throat and Van stops talking. “He prefers to be called Jules.”

“Sure. Yeah. No problem. I misunderstood the magnitude of the situation. I’ll talk to Jack and definitely do research. Thanks for explaining things more clearly.” He turns to me and puts his hand on my shoulder. “Don’t worry about the group activity. You two have a pleasant evening.” Van waves at us and hurries away.

Then Erik’s strong arms are around me, pulling me into a hug, and I lean into his chest, breathing him in. “Thank you.” Relief, and too much anxiety, gives my laugh a bit of a frantic edge. “I can’t believe you did that.”

He stiffens against me. “Are you angry?”

“What? No!” I wrap my arms around him and squeeze tightly. “Not at all! You were amazing, and I can’t thank you enough.” Erik’s body relaxes and I take advantage, pressing closer. “I’m surprised that you know all that about the ADA and stuff.”

“I learned a lot of it from the internet. Gunnar really struggled after my mom was killed. He…” Erik looks around, maybe making sure no one is eavesdropping. He leans down and speaks directly into my ear. “He was there when it happened, and then had to testify at the trial once they caught the guy. It fucked him up pretty good. We all did what we could to help him. At one point he was so out of control, his university threatened to expel him, and since I wasn’t physically here to help with any of that, all I could do was research. Organizations don’t always realize that anxiety can be covered by the ADA. Obviously neither did Van.”

I have to agree. Van was very surprised, and watching Erik press his advantage was very satisfying and incredibly hot. “You were so forceful with him.”

Erik tenses. “I’m sorry. Was it too much?”

I rock my head against his chest. “Nope. Not at all. It was perfect.”

He drops his lips to the top of my head and mumbles against my hair. “Absolutely anytime you ever need me, you call and I’ll be there. I promise.”

I lean against him while I center myself, and as the anxiety drains away I realize I’m tired and just want to go home. “Can we get out of here now?”

“Yes. Absolutely.” Erik lets me go, and I immediately miss his arms, which is stupid, because I just asked if we could leave and we can’t walk if we’re wrapped around each other. It doesn’t stop me from wanting to press myself against him again. I force myself to stand and we head for the door.

When we get outside, it’s drizzling and there’s a chill in the air. Erik glances up at the rain and then back at me. “Are you going to be all right to drive home? I can take you and we can come back and get your car tomorrow.”

“Nah, I’m okay. Plus, you have a flight out tomorrow morning.” It’s been in the back of my mind for the past few days, though I’ve tried not to think about it too much.

Erik takes my hand in his and walks with me to where I parked as if this is a proper date. “You sure you’re okay?”

“I’m fine. Tired, but I can make it home. It’s not that far.” Erik nods once and squeezes my hand. I stare down at our laced fingers. I can’t believe we’re holding hands.

“I loved talking with you tonight, Jules. I like hanging out with you, especially when it’s just the two of us.” My heart is beating a mile a minute. Is he flirting with me? Maybe I’m reading into things. It seems like he’s flirting. Maybe a little? It could be all in my head.

Erik leans down and kisses my cheek. His beard is prickly, but I don’t mind, because his soft lips linger against my skin. He straightens to his full height and squeezes my hand again. “Be careful going home. Text me when you get there so I know you’re safe, okay?” I nod, dumbstruck. “I’ll be back in about a month. Can we get together again, just you and me?”

I nod like a bobblehead. “Yeah. I’d love that.”

“Good. Me too. We really need to talk.” Before I can panic he puts me at ease. “About good things. At least I hope you think it’s good.” hope burns in my chest and I don’t want him to go. I want to have that conversation now. Unfortunately, it’ll have to wait an entire month. Fuck. “Good night, Jules.” He kisses my cheek again and steps away.

I brush my fingertips along the spot where his lips were. “Night.”

He flashes that damned smile that melts my heart, and turns around, jogging across the dark parking lot, leaving me riding an endorphin high and a tsunami of hope.

7

Erik

“Comeon, Erik! It’s going to be so much fun!“

I eye my best friend skeptically and reluctantly follow him across the parking lot to Strike a Chord, a strange combination of bowling alley and karaoke bar. I’m positive it’s the only one in the world, because seriously? Stef assures me it is not, but it’s the only bowling alley/karaoke barI’veever heard of, so I’m sticking with my initial reaction. “This isn’t how I imagined spending my first Friday night back in Seattle.” It wasn’t how I imagined spendinganynight back in Seattle, or any other city, if I’m honest. But Stef wanted to go, and he gave me the most pitiful pout. There was no way I could say no. So here I am.

“Honestly, babe. Did you think I’d let you sit at home? I mean, what were you going to do? Watch TV with Bjorn? Play video games solo? I wasn’t letting that happen. Especially on your first Friday back in the city!” He squeezes my arm and gives me the biggest grin. “Now that you live here again, you’ll be coming to all our outings. I try to plan lots of fun things like this, but I’m totally open to suggestions.”

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