Not Your Ex's Hexes (Supernatural Singles, #2)(21)
Olly clutched her precious coffee to her chest as Harper bounced back into her seat, a flyer gripped in her hand. “Are we supposed to know what you’re talking about or are we supposed to guess?”
“Here. You two witches go as my proxies, and I won’t take no for an answer.” Harper shoved the flyer at Rose before she could reach for it.
She blinked, forcing her tired brain to decipher the pictures and words, and then she laughed. She laughed so hard she had to squeeze her legs together or risk dribblage … but she was the only one.
“What?” Harper asked, looking genuinely confused at her reaction.
She slowly sobered. “This is a legit event here in the city? The No-Pants Express?”
“Honestly, you Maxwell sisters need to get out more. Yes! Every year, they pick a different train. Riders doff their pants and ride the subway, all getting on at different stops along the way.”
Olive looked stricken. “They take off their pants…”
“It’s called the No-Pants Express for a reason, Olly.”
Rose rubbed her head, trying to make sense of the words she was reading on the flyer. Yep. It definitely said REQUIRED: NO PANTS. Also, no photography allowed. At least they had their priorities straight.
“Who the hell would want to ride the subway naked?”
“Not naked. Pantsless. Huge difference.” Harper sighed, glancing at the flyer longingly. “It may be an organized event, but there’s something about the idea of shedding my drawers and holding on to one of the pole grips that lights my fire. It’s exciting. A rush. It’s … unexpected.”
Unexpected …
Rose glanced at the flyer again and noted the date a few weeks from now. On the Q train.
Nibbling her bottom lip, she pondered what everyone would think if she did something like this. Her mother would be hospitalized with palpitations. Vi—and definitely Harper—would cheer her on with pom-poms and a megaphone. Olive would probably try and talk sense into her, spouting about the health risks involved in going pantsless on New York City public transit.
The old Rose would agree. She’d probably even come up with numerous alternatives that involved less risk and significantly more clothes.
But she hadn’t been that Rose in close to six months …
“I’ll be your proxy,” she heard her voice say.
“You will?” Olly asked at the same time Harper did a double take and said, “Really? You’ll do it?”
“I’ll do it.”
“Can I pick out your underwear?”
Rose was poised with an automatic no, and then a little wave of excitement took over. For the first time in forever, she was excited to jump on the subway.
Pantsless.
“Sure,” Rose agreed. “Why the hell not?”
If she was joining the No-Pants Express, she might as well go all out. Or more accurately, let it all hang out, and damn if it didn’t light a fire in her like Harper said.
Or maybe that flame was because the bar door opened and in strode Dr. Broody McGrumpy Pants himself …
Saliva welled in Rose’s mouth as she took in his dark denim jeans, formfitting black T-shirt, and worn leather jacket. She’d never once been tempted by the bad-boy type growing up, not even in her teenage years, and yet drool was two seconds away from dripping off her chin.
And then his eyes locked with hers across the room.
Rose momentarily forgot how to breathe. Oxygen? What the hell was that? Her entire body heated as if suspended over a firepit, her limbs warming first, then her core.
Then everywhere.
How did the man make her feel so hot and bothered without so much as a single touch?
“I can’t wait to hear the story behind those pheromones.” Harper bumped her shoulder, pulling her gaze away from Damian temporarily. The redheaded sex demon waggled her eyebrows suggestively. “Don’t bother telling me you don’t know what I’m talking about because you two unwittingly gave me a delicious little snack.”
Rose narrowed her eyes on her friend. “I thought you don’t feed off people’s lust without consent?”
“I don’t … unless the Hoover Dam of Lust cracks open and floods the room, and it’s either sink or swim. And just so you’re aware, you and our resident sexy veterinarian over there didn’t crack it, you pulverized the damn thing. Seriously, I might need to head outside and have a smoke, and I don’t smoke.”
Rose’s cheeks warmed, denial at the tip of her tongue as she glimpsed Vi and Linc, and Bax and Adrian stepping into Potion’s right behind Damian. “I think you’re sensing the soon-to-be-Mated couple.”
“Protesting doesn’t make it any less true, babe.” Harper wrinkled her nose and, grabbing Rose and Olive by their arms, dragged them off their stools. “And FYI, I fully approve of you and the hot demon vet. Much better choice than the French Baguette Who Shall Remain Nameless.”
“That demon vet is a stubborn pain in the ass,” Rose muttered.
“Oh, but what an ass…”
Harper’s and Rose’s heads snapped to a blushing Olive.
“Olly!” Rose laughed.
“What?” The youngest triplet shrugged. “I notice things other than books. He has a nice ass. It’s a fact. I deal with facts.”