Page 37 of A Way Out
Maria raised her arm; she was about to reach for him. What would she do when she caught him? Would she pull him close? Kiss him?
He wanted to let her.
He stepped away. “Coming downstairs?”
She hesitated for a fraction of a second. “Yes.”
Drinks flowed freely, and no one seemed inclined to call a wrap on this little reunion. It was a funny way to look at it, since he’d seen his own bandmates several times this week, and he’d seen the members of Panic Station at least once in the last month.
Still, it was cool how well they all got along. The comradery made it that much easier to ignore the way his heart beat a little harder whenever his gaze snagged on Maria.
Who, he noticed, was fitting right in with this crew. Of course, Holly was her sister, and she’d hung out with Panic Station a year ago at her grandmother’s funeral, plus, she’d been at the New Year’s Eve party where Sam had proposed. Oz particularly enjoyed the story of how drunk Maria had gotten at her grandmother’s viewing. How she’d thought she was whispering when she said, “Oh my God, rockers are so hot,” in front of the entire band.
On the other hand, did that mean she was generally attracted to guys in a band, and it wasn’t just him?
He found himself glaring at Tyler when he threw his arm around Maria’s shoulders and assured her that she was a “cute drunk.”
There were way too many single rockers in this room for Oz’s preference.
Finally, he couldn’t take it anymore. He figured he had three choices: keep hanging out, making himself nuts imagining what Maria might or might not do with any of the eligible guys in this group, break into the whiskey until he got drunk enough to make a move on her himself, or go to bed and start over in the morning.
He chose bed, sneaking away when Maria wasn’t paying attention, because even though his overactive imagination was conjuring all sorts of ideas of her with other guys, he knew damn well which guy in this room she wanted.
The one who couldn’t have her.
Since the bathroom door was open, he checked on Riley, who was sound asleep, spread out like a starfish in her mother’s bed. Unless she was willing to take the chance of disturbing the kid, Maria was going to have a sliver of bed to sleep on.
His bed was big enough for her to join him. He didn’t sleep like a starfish.
He might spoon her, though.
He left the bathroom door in his bedroom open, too, so that he’d be able to hear Riley if she woke.
Even though her mother had enough confidence to leave her up here sleeping alone while everybody else hung out downstairs.
When Maria’s form darkened his door not twenty minutes later, he didn’t even bother pretending to be surprised.
“I didn’t think you noticed me leaving,” he said. He lay in bed in a pair of boxers, the comforter kicked to his feet, his lower half covered by the sheet.
“I don’t think I can not notice you, Oz,” she whispered.
Not what he wanted to hear.
Exactly what he wanted to hear.
“Riley appears to be a bed hog,” he noted.
She didn’t even glance over her shoulder at her child. “She is.”
“You can sleep in here if you want.”
“Really?”
“You didn’t expect me to offer?”
She inched deeper into the room. “You’ve been pushing me away, even though your eyes are begging me to come closer.”
“Maybe we should hire you to write song lyrics for us. That was pretty good.”
