After the server left, Steve turned to Naomi. “So. You and Jackson? Couple weeks now?”
Naomi shifted in her seat. “Uh, well.” She met the other man’s eyes. Jax had been hesitant to give her any more details than necessary regarding his relationship with Steve. Even though they’d been together a few days aboard the Osprey, she could see that he was still feeling something for Jax. “No.” When both of Steve’s eyebrows shot up, she held up a hand. “It’s complicated, but that was for the sake of the client. It worried Jax that Mr. Ichiko would cancel the gig if I just showed up.”
Steve took a breath. She could see a great deal of tension drain from his face. It was replaced with suspicion faster than Naomi thought it should be. “So, what’s the deal, then? Who are you? What’re you doing on this job?”
She looked over Steve’s shoulder to where the dart game was still going. It looked like Jax and Kori were winning. The dark-skinned woman was doing her best to downplay her skills to encourage bets. “I needed work. I think I’d be an asset to Jax.”
“I didn’t see you come aboard?”
“Oh, he stunned me and brought me aboard before everyone else met up, had me tied up in Engineering,” Naomi replied.
The server arrived with their drinks, stopping Steve’s reply before it started. As he cleared the empties from the table, Steve couldn’t wait. “He stunned you and tied you up in Engineering?”
The server stopped moving, then realized he’d stopped and immediately grabbed the last empty glass. Naomi smiled. “Don’t worry, it’s just a kink of his, totally consensual.” She winked at the server as he flushed and backed away, his long legs taking him away from the table quickly. Steve’s mouth was hanging open. She asked. “Can you not do that?”
“What?” he asked, regaining his composure.
She picked up her drink. “Sit there mouth open like a dying fish, and two, loudly say shit like ‘he tied me up.’” She took a sip. “He had a good reason to stun me, if I’m being honest. I broke into his quarters.” She grinned, remembering his sleep addled brain trying to cope when he woke up to her sitting next to the bed. “Anyway, it’s all good now.” She looked across the room to Jax. “I think.”
“So, you’re not sleeping with him?” Steve probed.
“God, no,” Naomi said. “He’s not my type.”
“Your type?” Steve repeated. She could see even more tension ease off him, now that he realized that she hadn’t stolen Jax, and wasn’t sleeping with him.
“Don’t get me wrong, dad bods are fine.” She looked over Steve’s shoulder again at the two other members of their little crew. “But I like my men a little leaner,” she grinned, “and gingery.”
Steve nodded, lost in thought as he ran a hand through his dark brown hair. Naomi watched him for a minute until she was sure he would not continue the conversation. She withdrew her gPhone and opened a game she played to pass the time.
Rudy had been silently watching the entire exchange and finally said, “I’ve been nagging him to lay off the junk food for a while now.”
Naomi set her gPhone down as Steve’s eyes refocused. They both looked at each other and laughed.
“What? He’s not exercising enough and drinks too much beer.” The droid’s head turned from person to person at the table. “Don’t get me started on his unhealthy obsession with Cheez Dingbats.”
Between deep breaths, Steve said, “Dad bod.” While Naomi, in an imitation of Rudy, said, “Cheez Dingbats.”
Naomi looked at the man opposite her, getting serious. “We’re cool?”
Steve nodded, taking a wing from the basket. “We’re cool.” He bit into the breaded and texturized eel meat. “Sorry for the cold shoulder on the way here. He’s not great at making things up on the fly. The timing lined up with when we started ... hanging out.” He finished his wing, adding, “I don’t know what’s gonna happen, but the notion he was seeing others made me, I dunno, equal parts angry and embarrassed.”
Naomi smiled. “All good, man. I hope whatever you two have going works out.”
Steve grunted. “Thanks. Who knows? My brother hates him. Like, hopes he dies, hates him.”
“Awkward,” Naomi observed.
“And you?” Rudy pressed. He knew all about the Delphino/Caruso feud. Jax and the two brothers had carried on an antagonistic relationship since they were in primary school together. Mostly it had been the occasional fight or prank or some other childish—in Rudy’s opinion—
thing.
“Well, I don’t hate him.” Steve smirked, turning to look over to where Jax and Kori were very obviously running the table with the locals.