Page 77 of (Mostly) Human Resources

She blinked down at him. “Yes, yes, it is.”

“Then that settles it.” He planted his hands on his hips and declared, “Natalie is your best girl friend, and Nic is your best boy friend.”

Nic made a sound that was caught somewhere between a squawk and a choke. He buried his face in his hands, but Alexys could see his shoulders shaking with laughter.

She was mortified. There was no chance she was going to explain to Waylan the difference between friends and boyfriends. She needed the conversation to move on, preferably to a topic that didn’t involve her or her relationships.

“Yeah,” she acquiesced, “that sure settles it, Waylan.” When Waylan just stared at her expectantly, she relented. “Nic is my … bestboyfriend.”

“I sure am.” Nic wrapped an arm around Alexys’s shoulder and pulled her against him. He was smiling down at her with the most shit-eating grin, and she just knew the conversation was going to haunt her for a long time. “I’ve been upgraded from nemesis, to coworker, to boyfriend overnight. That has to be some kind of record. Do you think it’ll get me a spot on the Entity Wall of Heroes?”

Alexys elbowed him in the ribs and slipped out from under his arm. When Waylan had walked a few steps ahead of them, she turned to face Nic and whispered, “Boy friend notboyfriend.” But just saying it made her palms clammy.

“He doesn’t know that,” Nic teased.

“Don’t you dare try and explain the differences to him. Can’t you go back to talking about plants or something?”

“But this is far more entertaining than plants.” Nic’s gray eyes danced with mirth. “Is calling me your bestboyfriend such a horrible thing?”

“No, it’s the thought of you bringing it up at every available opportunity that’s going to keep me up at night.”

“Why, Miss Alexys.” His words rolled off his tongue in an exaggerated re-creation of Waylan’s accent, and she tried not to thinkabout how good her name sounded coming out of his mouth. “I didn’t realize you lay in bed at night thinking about little old me.” He leaned in close until their faces were barely inches apart. “How scandalous.”

Her thoughts immediately turned in the wrong direction, and she scrambled to keep the inappropriate ideas at bay. There was absolutely no chance she was going to think about Nic Dyre in any way, shape, or form that involved her bed. But the way he breathed the wordscandalouswas just …

“You’re impossible to deal with.” Alexys gave him a stern push, creating some distance between them. She was flustered, and the heat of embarrassment quickly warmed her face. “You’ve barely made it into the zone of friendship, Dyre. Tread lightly.”

“Or what?” He wasn’t backing down. If anything, he looked even more interested in the tension between them and the bright color forming along her cheeks. “Will you put me in another zone?”

She fumbled. Her brain was on the fritz. She wasn’t equipped for handling the increasingly flirtatious energy that was building between them. Every HR policy on intercompany dating went flashing through her mind quicker than she could blink. Was she losing her mind entirely? Was this real? On the one hand, the Hollow Walker and a missing Warden. On the other? A stupidly attractive colleague with great banter and even better biceps.

Waylan chose that exact moment to shout from somewhere among the trees, “Are y’all comin’ or what?”

Alexys immediately shouted back to let him know they were right behind him.

She pointed a finger up at Nic and warned, “You’re on thin ice, Dyre.” She wasn’t even sure what she was referring to anymore. She just needed the security of having the last word, but she was pretty sure they both knew it was an empty threat. “I won’t hesitate to leave you here.”

He grabbed her finger and lowered it out of his face.

His large hand wrapped around hers was warm, and it created new fissures in her flimsy defense.

“We really need to work on how you treat your best boyfriends.” He sighed, and his expression fell into one of mock disappointment. “The relationship is starting to feel very one-sided.”

Alexys snatched her hand back from his. “That’s because we don’t have a relationship.Boy friend. Friend!” She whirled away from him, nearly losing her balance. “Besides, I was appeasing a damn Haint,” she whispered.

Nic clucked his tongue. He caught up to her and slid his hands into his pockets. “Hmm. Maybe I wasn’t.”

She was about to ask what the hellthatmeant when Nic reached out and grabbed her.

“What the …”

His eyes went wide. “Don’t move.”

Alexys froze. She stared at him, stomach sinking. Her ears strained her hear any signs of a monster. Were the Jackalopes back? Had they run out of whiskey and come looking for more?

Nic reached out and grabbed hold of something above her head.

The cicada, held carefully between Nic’s fingers, immediately started screaming, and Alexys nearly leaped out of her skin. Nic grimaced, clearly displeased to have the bug in his hand, and tossed it toward the trees. The cicada, still screaming its displeasure, easily took flight after being tossed and flew off. Alexys quickly ran her fingers through her hair, feeling the phantom itch of insect legs on her scalp. Once she was sure there were no other unwanted passengers, she smiled gratefully at Nic.