Page 40 of Midsummer Phoenixes
“No, I don’t mean that. I’m happy to see you.”
“Good. Because I’m happy to see you too.”
He leaned in, giving me a clear look at his eyes and their golden corona… as well as the slightest peek at his chest.
“Hmm. One of your buttons came off on your shirt.”
He sighed, put his hand on the gap and closing off my view. Shame.
“I know. Happened earlier. It’s in my pocket. I’m blaming you because of last night.”
I gave him the smuggest look I could muster. “I have no idea what you mean.”
“Oh, you know.”
“I told you to run or else.”
He smiled at me shyly, looked left and right to make sure no one was overhearing this. They were, of course. Maybe not Roland, yet another Cassandrian, but Ben certainly.
“You can’t always tear my clothes off me, Soyer. It’s hot and all, but you shouldn’t. I have to get this one to my tailor tomorrow.”
I cocked my head. “You’re not kidding. Why do you have to get the shirt to a tailor? Did I manage to tear it anywhere else where there’s an even better view?”
“Shh! And no. It’s just that I can’t sew, and getting a button done is only going to cost me a short trip to Archway Station, so it’s not a bother. I can pick up some groceries on my way.”
“I’ll sew this back on for you. All it’s going to cost me is about five minutes of my time, and you can pay me for that right away.”
“Wow, you can? And you would?”
“Of course,” I said. Then realized something, just a little thing. Archway Station was barely still downtown, even had one exit that led up to the financial district. It was very close to Gold & Sage, Shamhat’s place. Where I had almost seen and certainly felt Amory in a crowd. I’d never been sure it had been real and not imagined.
“Well, since you destroyed it, I’ll take you up on it. Thank you.” He pointed to a set of plates Dwayne had just gotten ready. “Those’re mine.”
“Right. Just one moment. Did you visit your tailor earlier this year? Around the time we met?”
He cocked his head. “Might have. Oh, I definitely did. You remember that jacket, the one you, erm, ruined?”
“The only winter jacket you had, the one you didn’t tell me to replace right away. Yeah, I’m not going to forget.”
“It needed a new zipper in one pocket, and that was probably February. If only I’d known I’d meet you and—you know.” He mouthedbloodbefore collecting the food and serving it.
I sat there, waiting for Amory to get me coffee and sweet cherry pie, the mystery of that feeling, that almost sighting of him the day I’d gone to Gold & Sage to ask about the job I’d been hired to do, finally resolved.
I didn’t imagine you. You were there. Through chance and your lacking skill as a seamster, you were there. And I might have met you that day, sans blood.
The thought, this almost touch that had been so magnetic on my end, it left me floating in the hubbub of the busy diner for about an hour, even after Amory served me like he did every night, after he told me to give Ben the rest of the night off, which I did though the werewolf chose to stay.
What pulled me out of reliving that day was Amory getting out another piece of cherry pie and bringing it to fucking Mr. Laptop, who maybe needed his knees bruised a tiny little bit. Amory wouldn’t like that of course, and so it remained a cherished fantasy.
Amory, even after his busy night, wanted to walk. We compromised on taking a cab but letting it drop us two blocks away from Sundial Tower.
“It’s such a pretty night,” he said, his hand in mine. “Hey, is that a waxing or a waning moon?”
I looked where he was pointing. “Waning.”
“You just know stuff like that, huh. Just like fixing my shirt.”
I chuckled. “You’re adorable. It’s just a button.”
