“Obviously,” I muttered.
Ash leaned over and whispered into my ear, pointing out interesting mementos of the show on display around the room. The sound of his excited happiness was a balm to my spirit, and I found myself relaxing too.
By the time the emcee came on stage, I was looking forward to our oddball Star Trek fashion show fundraiser.
“Ladies and gentlemen. Human, Vulcan, Klingon, Romulan, Ferengi, and others. We welcome you to the fourth annual Federation Fashion Show— a fundraiser for this summer’s new crop of trainees attending Starfleet Academy in Poughkeepsie. As most of you know, our young trainees come from all over the galaxy, but they have one very special thing in common. They were born with congenital heart defects. Through your generosity, each Starfleet trainee gets to spend a week with original cast members learning about outer space, intergalactic travel, and interspecies diplomacy. During their week at the Academy, they also get to do fun kid things like swimming, camping, arts and crafts, and, of course, performing in a show at the end of the week.”
At the mention of heart defects, I felt Ash straighten up in his chair before glancing at me in surprise. I could see the unspoken question in his eyes, but he didn’t say anything. Instead, he leaned across me enough so he could reach Lucky, who automatically leaned in so he could hear Ash.
“Lucky, how’d you find out about this event again?” he asked knowingly.
I willed Lucky to come up with some plausible explanation, but, of course, he threw me under the bus instead. “Um, I… uh…” he stuttered, and then he looked at me.
“Nice,” I said as I glared at Lucky.
He shrugged. “Hey, I can’t be on all the time.”
“I’m totally taking the cost of those pastries out of your fee,” I muttered. Lucky defiantly grabbed one of the cookies from the bag and jammed it into his mouth. I turned my attention to Ash, who’d straightened in his seat. I knew he had to be pissed that I’d talked about his heart condition to someone else before he’d revealed it himself. But to my surprise, he didn’t look mad.
He looked…
Hell, I didn’t even know how he looked.
“Ash, I’m sorry—”
I stopped abruptly when his fingers curled around mine where they were resting on my thigh. Thank you, he mouthed.
That was it.
He didn’t say anything else and he released my hand after just a few seconds, but I felt like I’d won the fucking lottery.
“What were you saying about my fee?” Lucky leaned in to ask so only I could hear.
“I said I’d double it,” I responded, even as I kept my eyes on Ash who was looking around the room in fascination.
“As you know, the first regular episode of our favorite original series was called The Man Trap. Well, what better group of people to illustrate a man trap than a gaggle of gorgeous women? We’d like to start tonight’s runway show with a Starfleet seduction scene put on by none other than the Drag Queens of Denobula,” the emcee announced.
As the crowd thundered their applause, all I could do was sit and stare at the stage as the dawning realization hit me that I’d somehow managed to bring my almost-date and a kid to a drag queen Star Trek fundraiser. I seemed to have gotten off easy with Ash, but Lucky’s fathers were going to kill me. I felt the blood rush out of my face as Lucky rubbed his hands together in excited anticipation, mumbling something about finally getting to see his first drag show. Fuck, it was going to cost me a fortune to convince Lucky to keep his trap shut about tonight.
But all my worries went up in smoke when I felt hot breath on my ear from Ash’s side and heard the sweetest voice ever.
“Thank you so much for bringing me, Aiden. This is the most fun I’ve had in a very long time.”
Chapter 8
Ash
I arrived home to my apartment with my head in the clouds. I couldn’t even remember how long it had been since I’d gone out with friends and had such a nice time. At least since Billy and I had moved to the city the previous spring.
But what made this night even more special was how thoughtful Aiden had been in his choice of events. He’d tried to make it sound like Lucky was dragging him to the Star Trek thing, but in reality, he’d found the fundraiser himself. Just the idea that he’d been paying attention when I’d mentioned having a heart condition made me feel warm inside. If someone had told me the first time I saw the big, successful businessman that he’d be laughing and clapping along to a Star Trek drag show fundraiser for kids, I would have laughed my head off. But he had. And the whole thing had made me realize how much I’d misjudged him.