Page 32 of Fangs with Benefits

‘Is that—’ Luke’s jaw falls open, and I turn to see that the object of his attention is no other than Elijah and a handsome man I’ve never seen. His friend, presumably.

Unfortunately, Elijah looks hot as fuck.

‘I work with that guy,’ Luke says, eyes still wide.

‘Which one?’ I ask. ‘Devi and I work with Buffalo Bill over there.’

‘The other one. Dressed as the main guy from The Bear. We must talk to them.’

‘No, no, but by all means you go ahead.’ I try to wave him off, but Luke is already calling out to them, beckoning them over with no shortage of excitement. I withhold a groan as Elijah and his friend add their shoes to the pile by the door and join us in the kitchen, nothing but smiles as they contribute a case of wine coolers and a pasta salad to the spread.

‘Luke?’ the man with Elijah asks, looking just as bewildered as Luke did. ‘Are you dressed as Hot Priest from Fleabag?’

‘Exactly!’ Luke says. ‘Was going to come as Mark S. but I couldn’t stomach wearing a suit recreationally.’

Elijah’s eyes are on me, taking me in from head to toe–my bare shoulders, the short dress, the tall black socks I had under my boots. His attention makes a flush rise up my neck and I can only hope that my makeup is covering the worst of the blushing. Maybe realising that he’s obviously checking me out, Elijah shakes his head and offers a chagrined smile.

‘Nice costume,’ he says.

‘Yours too.’ He wears a tight black button-up shirt with red ornamentation on the two chest pockets. His pants are high waisted, black, and held in place with a silver belt buckle. I could not have created the image of cowboy Elijah in my wildest imaginings, but now I fear I will never be forgetting it.

‘And this is…?’ Elijah’s plus one asks, pulling me from the quiet staring contest I didn’t realise we had going on.

I extend a hand in his direction. ‘Molly–I work with Elijah. Good to meet you.’

The man’s eyes positively light up, and he gives me a very handsome, friendly smile. ‘I’ve heard lots about you, thrilled to be meeting you, Molly. Dylan.’ His hand is large and very warm, but not at all sweaty, which is a feat, I think.

‘Anything bad he said was actually about another, evil Molly that works in the department. All good things can be attributed back to me.’

Dylan lets out a loud laugh at this and Elijah’s eyes crinkle at their edges.

‘No one could say something bad about you, Molly,’ Luke says. ‘You’re without reproach.’

‘So true.’ I give my most self-deprecating expression. Luke, being the brother of Matt, has heard no shortage of bad things said about me, but he’s assured me on numerous occasions that he was on my side of the whole breakup.

‘You two know each other?’ Dylan asks of me and Luke.

‘We go way back,’ Luke says, and wraps an arm around my shoulders, squeezing me briefly to his side. ‘My brother almost married her, but he fumbled before the finish line.’

‘Matt?’ Dylan asks, and I recoil in surprise. Luke did mention that he and Dylan work together, so I suppose it makes sense that he would work with Matt as well.

Luke nods. ‘My only sibling, fortunately or unfortunately.’ ‘Do you know him well?’ I ask Dylan, suddenly deeply concerned that they’re work besties. Dylan doesn’t let me down, though, wincing with a nod that tells me everything I need to know.

‘Unfortunately,’ Dylan says. ‘My congratulations on liberating yourself from that relationship.’

‘Dylan,’ Elijah chides, eyeing Luke warily, but Luke just tips his head back in a laugh.

‘No, it’s all right. I love him, but I know how he is. Molly is one thousand leagues outside of him,’ Luke says. He pats my shoulder and I shrug.

‘We should probably talk about something more fun before we invoke his presence,’ I say, lowering my voice like I’m telling a ghost story.

‘My nightmare,’ Dylan says, and I grin. I like him already.

Devi squeals when she sees Elijah and prances out of the kitchen with a thrifted brass tray of Jell-O shots, some green, some orange. ‘Eli, you look hot!’ she tells him, evidence of her pre-gaming on display.

‘Thank you, Ms Devi,’ Elijah says in an over-the-top Southern accent while he tips the brim of his cowboy hat in a way that fucking enchants and distracts me. Once again, not how I should be feeling about This Man.

I clear my throat and reach across Luke to take one of the plastic cups, removing the lid before tipping my head back and swallowing the sugary shot. Dylan and Luke each take one as well, but Elijah casually shakes his head in no thanks.