Meet Me at the Metro

29: PANIC

Evie, Harvey, and I are bursting with laughter as we make our way out of Gullie's for the night. My eyes can barely keep up with Evie who's skipping back and forth in the moonlit alleyway.

"You're going to bust your arse," Harvey reprimands with a cackle. "Quit skipping!"

"Never!" Evie cries out, throwing her hands high into the night air. "I'll die before I let a man tell me what to do!"

Harvey just cocks a hip and stares at her, still adorned head to toe in his drag attire. He bats his heavily coated eyelashes, purses his rosy pink lips, and smooths his hands down his cinched waist and skin-tight skirt. "I beg your pardon? I am the furthest thing from a man right now, thank you very much."

"She'll die before she lets anyone tell her what to do," I whisper to Harvey.

"She's a walking, talking rebellion," he chuckles.

In comedic timing, our bright-haired friend falls right onto her ass. She groans as soon as her bottom hits the concrete and despite her refusal to listen to him, Harvey happily helps her to her feet.

"What did I say?" he sighs.

The jangle of keys conjures my attention back to Theo, who's closing up the bar for the night. I sneak up behind him as he locks the door, frightening him as I snake my arms around his waist.

His breath hitches and he turns on his heel so quickly I'm nearly knocked to the ground. I'm nothing but a slightly inebriated giggling mess as he grabs me tightly and keeps me from falling.

"Shite Nora! When is your arse going to learn to quit sneaking up on me, huh?"

"I like keeping you on your toes!"

"You like scaring the shite out of me," he retorts, shaking his head with a handsome smile. "Fucking hell."

We join Evie and Harvey up ahead and my eyes are met with the blinding lights of the city as soon as we turn out of the dim alley. The passing taxis and cars cruising along the busy road create a chilly breeze that sends goosebumps trailing up my spine. I tuck my hands into the sleeves of my rib-knit sweater, trying to find some warmth and silently reprimand myself for forgetting to bring a jacket with me tonight.

Theo's shifting out of the corner of my eyes, but it isn't until I look over that I'm aware of what he's doing. Without saying a word, he starts to pull off his black hoodie. I savor up the sight peek-a-boo I get of his naturally toned abdomen until he's only left with the short-sleeve t-shirt underneath. His inked arms are bare now and his pale skin already courses with goosebumps but he doesn't complain.

Instead, he pulls me toward him and slides it over my head. Twisting me to face him, he adjusts the hoodie so that it's pulled over my head.

"You're gonna freeze," I say, already feeling my limbs warm—my chest warm. "Now I've got two layers and you barely have one."

"Shhh," he hushes. It practically swallows me whole but he looks me over with the biggest grin on his face. So satisfied. "It's a shame you don't wear my clothes more often."

There's no hiding my blush, and I'm so smitten by what he just said that all I can think to say is, "Thank you."

He shifts me to his side so that he's closest to the road and wraps an arm around me, drawing me close as we continue walking home.

The distant booming of drums, the warm tone of a saxophone, and the strumming of a guitar draw all four of our attention to a crowd gathered on the sidewalk up ahead. Beyond the assembly of bodies, a three-man street band performs. Their reggae-rock music reverberates along the avenue, filling the streets with an upbeat melody that could convince any person's hips to sway. As we pass, we each find ourselves stopping to appreciate their mesmerizing performance and enthralling sound.