Play Maker(57)

He took us to the movies – not the cheapo theater that we always went to that only showed movies that came out years ago, but to a brand new 3-D movie at the Arclight Dome, where he bought Mikey soda and candy and enormous buckets of popcorn. I didn’t care where we went to the movies or if the popcorn was stale. I just cared that someone was sitting next to me and holding my hand. That was the best part.

Actually, the best part was all the kissing. When I woke up in the morning, tangled in his arms, he kissed me. When he dropped me off at home early in the morning or late at night, he kissed me. When I saw him before work and after work, he kissed me. And sometimes in the middle of conversations, he would just lean over and kiss me. I felt each kiss throughout my entire body, warmth spreading from the top of my head to the tips of my toes, which curled in my shoes when he took my face in his hands and slanted his lips against mine, his tongue teasing mine.

And after a while, I felt that warmth even when he wasn’t kissing me. Just thinking of him would be enough to do it. I knew then that I was in trouble. That this felt a little too much like love. I knew that was impossible because despite how wonderful everything was going, we had only known each other a few weeks.

But I had gotten used to having him around. I was used to being in the kitchen, making dinner, while Mikey and James played video games in the other room. I could hear them cheering and slapping high fives and they both sounded like they were having so much fun. I wasn’t the only one who had been exceptionally happy these past few weeks – Mikey had become very attached to James and loved spending time with him. They would gather around Mikey’s computer together, looking up shortcuts and Easter eggs for the Lego Dimension games. James had even convinced Mikey to try out a few of the non-Doctor Who expansion packs, which had completely surprised me.

And today had been a great day. We had gone for a hike with Maya, who tried to get all of us to try her new juice recipe—something with beets and broccoli. James was the first one brave enough to give it a shot, though I saw how quickly he managed to hide his initial reaction and praise Maya for how “fresh” it tasted. Mikey was less diplomatic and told her it tasted like dirt. But that was pretty much how he reacted to any of her health food favorites. I knew she never took it personally. Besides, it did taste a little like dirt.

After the hike, we had gone for a ride around Los Angeles in James’ car. Mikey loved the convertible, especially when we could go fast with the top down. I thought it would be a good idea to show James more of the town he was going to live in. Most of his team had headed back to London, though a few had decided to stay on an extended vacation, which is what James told them he was doing as well.

No one knew about his plans to retire and stay in Los Angeles, except for me and Ethan. I hadn’t even told Mikey or Maya or my mom. I figured I could wait until after he made the official announcement when he finalized things with the charity. I didn’t want to get anyone’s hopes up just in case things changed. Including my own.

It was a beautiful day. Perfect Los Angeles weather, sunny, but not too hot, with a nice breeze ruffling the trees lining the narrow road that led up to Griffith Observatory. It was one of Mikey’s favorite places in the city and one we went to whenever we had the chance. James had never been, and I saw his eyes widen as he took in the gleaming domed building on the hill.

“That’s not even the best part,” I told him, a thrill going through me as he linked his fingers with mine. I loved how my hand felt in his. Small and protected. Safe.

Mikey had grabbed his other hand and we both dragged him to where the Observatory overlooked the entire city. There were a few places in Los Angeles you could go for a view like this, but this was my absolute favorite. The sky was a clear, sparkling blue and you could just make out a thin sliver of the Pacific Ocean on the horizon. I couldn’t have wished for a better day to look out on my hometown.

James let out a low whistle. “That’s some view,” he said softly.

“Best view in the city,” I told him, turning to give him a smile.

“Oh, I don’t know,” he smoothed a lock of hair away from my face, his eyes never leaving mine. “My view right now might beat them all.”

I felt myself blush, something I had been doing more and more lately. But how could I help it when he said things like that?

“So, Mikey,” James turned to my brother. “What’s your favorite part of the city?”

Mikey scrunched up his nose as he thought about it. “The ocean,” he finally said.

This surprised me. We hadn’t gone to the ocean in a while – it was an all-day kind of thing and I just hadn’t had the time. But I also hadn’t known that Mikey was so fond of it. Then again, I had never asked him the kind of questions that James did. He had a real knack for communicating with my brother.

That now-familiar warmth spread through me.

“The beach, huh?” James leaned on the cement wall around the Observatory. “I like the beach too,” he told Mikey and then glanced up at me. “In fact, I was thinking I’d start looking for a house in that area.”

My eyebrows shot up. I knew that James hadn’t planned to live in the hotel for the duration of his time here, but this was the first I had heard of his plans to put down real roots. Buying a house was a big deal. Especially in Los Angeles, where the cost was astronomical. Especially by the beach.