“Well, who can argue with that?” Darius took a seat next to her with his glass of whiskey over ice, that smile still in place. “Are you part of the Harbor team?”
“No, I’m an ADA with the Brooklyn DA’s office. I’m working on an interdepartmental task force with Gavin, and he was kind enough to take me out on the recovery today. It’s tied to the approach we’re taking on the task force.”
Darius nodded. “What they do is intense.”
“And they’re amazing in how they orchestrate it all. I was able to see a lot of the evidence recovery today. They’re athletes and serious jugglers with all that equipment in addition to being cops.”
“I tell Jay that all the time. I swear he’s part fish.” Darius shot his husband a wink across the table where Jayden had glanced over at their conversation.
It was a warm moment. Intimate, even, yet not out of place. Just like when Arlo had come up to wrap Kerrigan in a tight hug.
It made her...want.
There really was no other word for it. That easy intimacy at the end of a long day that wasn’t overtly sexual but rather was a sort of caring awareness of each other. And the absolute delight of being together.
Since she wasn’t there with Gavin in the same capacity, she willed the emotion away and turned back to her new friend, the very interesting Mr. St. Germaine.
“And what is it you do?” She tapped a finger lightly over the cufflink that winked off the edge of his shirt, visible now that he’d settled his suit jacket on the back of his bar chair. “Not diving, I presume?”
Darius let out a hard bark of laughter. “God, no. I don’t even like putting my head under the water.”
The two of them fell into easy conversation after that, and it was only twenty minutes later, as a second round of drinks made its way to the table, that Sera realized she’d made a fast friend.
Gavin had kept his distance throughout, obviously unwilling to overtly pair the two of them up in front of his friends. They both went out of their way to talk about their partnership on the task force and that seemed to allay any discussion of their relationship.
Or lack of one.
Realistically, she should have been grateful for that. She and Gavin didn’t know each other well, and they’d both gone through a lot this week while getting reacquainted. So why was she increasingly irritated that it felt like they were the only two at the table not a couple?
They weren’t a couple. They were two people who’d had sex and were now having a baby.
Yet because of their circumstances, all that want that seemed to be swirling in her gut suddenly had no place to land.
Similar to Kerrigan and Arlo’s conversation when he’d first arrived, she heard Darius and Jayden shift into a discussion of the day’s work and how hard the dive was. Since she recognized there was a lot to discuss and she’d monopolized Darius up to now, she gave them their privacy.
Which left Gavin on the other side of her.
The security blanket of conversation with her new friend—all while diligently avoiding too deep of a conversation with Gavin—had vanished and she had to figure out how to control the increasing irritation they weren’t a couple.
Or maybe better said, why they hadn’t discussed being a couple up to now.
They’d discussed the baby. And their work. And even danced around the edges of what had happened back at New Year’s. But they hadn’t discussed the concept of what they were to each other. And suddenly, without any warning at all, that seemed to matter.
More, she had to admit she didn’t like the feeling of not knowing.
“I think I’m going to go,” Sera said, suddenly wishing she’d have thought of it earlier when they were in the midst of rejuggling their positions at the table.
“We just got here. Why are you leaving?”
“It was a long day and—” She stopped. It was tempting to make up reasons or, worse, use her pregnancy as an excuse, and she stopped herself.
She wanted to leave.
In fact, it suddenly felt extremely important to remove herself from the social construct that was Gavin and his friends and their significant others.
“I’m going home.”
“Then I’ll take you.”
“You don’t need to take me.” She gave a pointed glance around the table. “Please stay with your friends.”
“You’re not walking home alone.”
She already knew they were being loud enough to be overheard, and the last thing she wanted to do was create a scene. So she tried once more to soften the situation, only this time without excusing herself.
“You’re here with your friends. Enjoy the decompression time. I think they need it. You all do. This has been a tough week.”
She believed the conversation done and, with a bright smile, made her excuses to Jayden and Darius and Kerrigan and Arlo. She even promised to follow up with Kerrigan on her big case and the evidence tour they’d discussed. It was mature, kind and congenial. A lovely way to end a long day.
Which made Gavin’s determination to walk her out another frustration.
They had no claims on each other. And she knew how to come and go where she pleased. Hell, she was rather good at it, considering she’d been doing it since she was fourteen.
Sera traversed through the crowded bar, unwilling to make a scene inside.
Why was Gavin pushing this? They’d made no commitment to each other, and it was early enough. It wasn’t like she was in any danger taking the subway a few stops to home. She often worked later than this and navigated her trip without incident.
Finally past the throng, Sera slammed through the door, stepping out into the street. The air was cold, a testament to the fact that winter still wasn’t quite ready to relinquish its grip, especially once the sun went down.
