Page 16 of Say It Again
“Oh, how lovely,” Kara said, her eyes brightening even more. She dripped with baubles. The canary-yellow ribbon in her ponytail matched her drop earrings. “I’d be honored to offer feedback. What’s the flavor profile?”
“Yeah, Daniel.” Aaron rubbed his chin as he twisted to him, a ridiculous smirk on his lips. “What’s the flavor profile?”
“The profile?” Daniel sucked his teeth. “Pudgy. With kind of a longish nose.”
Kara’s smile faltered a bit, but she recovered. “Interesting. What kind of spirits does it take?”
“Oh, I think when making any drink, it’s important to use real alcohol. And cocaine.”
Kara’s head twitched to the side.
“Mm-hmm, and what do you call it again?” Aaron asked.
“Oh, it has a name? What’s the name?” Kara asked, perking up again. “Is it perhaps a twist on a classic, or—?”
“Don’t ask questions.”
Aaron burst into chuckles.
Kara zipped her gaze between them but, to her credit, didn’t let it stymie her pep. She twisted an imaginary key near her lips. “Secret recipe—got it. Okay, well, follow me to the back and we’ll get started.”
Daniel clasped his arms behind his back and trailed after her with Aaron behind him. Midstep, he spun around. “I see you think you’re so hilarious—”
Aaron’s gaze bounced up from his ass. He suddenly looked a tad startled. Or busted? More importantly, he looked hungry.
Maybe they weren’t just fluffy words. Maybe Aaron really was a bit enamored by the way Daniel moved. For the love of offering a tiny feast for this delicious man’s eyes, he could lean into it. If there was anything he did well, it was fucking move.
He skated his fingertips over his collarbone and exposed his neck as he slinked backward, holding Aaron’s gaze, parading his body’s seasoned grace.
Aaron rewarded him with a deep breath and a subtle nod as he followed behind on an invisible leash, eyes skidding down Daniel’s silhouette. They arrived at the workstation where Kara was relaying something about a jigger, but their hushed world didn’t concern cocktail lingo.
Chills pebbled Daniel’s shoulder when Aaron brushed it with his as he stepped by, leaning down to whisper in his ear, a smile underscoring the single word: “Dazzling.”
AARON MASSAGED his cheeks. His face hurt from laughing at full force for the past hour. It was the kind of nonstop laughter that felt so genuinely rare at almost twenty-eight. Like he and Daniel were two kids at a sleepover and not grown adults at a cocktail class, while their instructor also lost her composure to laughter.
“I’m not going to say it,” Daniel said, pointing a finger at Kara and then him. “I’m not! You two are filthy. Filthy.”
It was a gin fizz, and Daniel had surely maxed out all the lewd comments any one person could make about whipped egg whites. He was the kid at the sleepover orchestrating the dares. The class-clown type of kid.
“Hey, Aaron.” Daniel spooned the last of the egg whites onto his drink. “If this accidentally gets on the wall, would it be called a walnut?”
Aaron covered Daniel’s mouth with his hand while Kara chuckled. “I’m sorry, Kara. I’ll make it up to you. I’m a really generous tipper.”
“Ooh, what do we think, Kara?” Daniel said, pushing at Aaron’s arms, doing his best to wiggle free from his grip. “Do we think he’ll be generous with more than just the tip—?”
Aaron spun Daniel around and sealed a hand over his mouth from behind as poor Kara’s face stayed scrunched and pinkened in laughter. “I’ll give you two a minute,” she cooed, patting under her eyes as she retreated toward the front of the store. “Enjoy your ‘baby batter,’ Daniel.”
Daniel twisted back over his shoulder, his big, melty, caramel-colored eyes flashing up. He winked as he said, muffled against Aaron’s palm, “Delicious.”
Breathe. He slowly dropped his hand and couldn’t keep his gaze from trickling to Daniel’s lips. They were always a touch rouged, but just the light pressure from his hand had stained them deeper. It was the contrast of red flesh against his creamy skin that made them look swollen, but they weren’t swollen. They just had that look. Pouty. Puffy. Sexy. He’d be curious to see how they looked after a bit more impact.
“Do you want me to make you anything else?” Daniel asked, waving a hand over the littered table. “Gin and tonic? Vodka and tonic? Bourbon and… tonic?”
“You almost had it there.”
“How about an extra dry daiquiri?”
“And by daiquiri, you mean martini.”