Free Sex Symbol by Tracey H. Kitts

was hilarious. He snagged his hair on the door knob when he turned too fast, but tried to quickly hide this by running a hand through his brown locks. Chase batted his eyes, a nervous habit I hadn’t seen in a while, and handed me the metal pans I’d asked for.
    “All I can find is this lobster and a couple of stars.”
    I filled the molds with water and set them into the freezer compartment.
    “You’re going to use a lobster mold?”
    “Why not? We’ll need something to keep the punch cold and it’s the biggest one I have.”
    “You could just fill it up with little stars.”
    I shrugged. “Takes too long to freeze. Besides, I think putting a lobster in there is pretty damn funny.”
    We mixed the rest of the ingredients and set them in the fridge to chill. Chase had also brought a rack of ribs that I started to season. While he was still distracted looking for Eramus, I made my famous barbecue sauce. By the time he noticed me again I was preheating the oven and slathering the ribs with the thick, sweet mixture.
    “You bitch,” he said, but his heart wasn’t in it. After another minute or two he shrugged and turned away from the window. “Fuck it. Is the pot out back?”
    “Uh, no. It’s under the sink. I meant to get it out earlier, but I was distracted.”
    I told him about helping decide where to plant the rose garden. Of course, I left out the part about the shelter. Eramus had only told me because I already knew a hole was there. I planned to tell Ozzy, just because I knew he would ask. Knowing what it was for should put him at ease, or so I thought.
    “So, he was just digging a garden? Justina made it sound like a pit.”
    “That’s what I thought, but we couldn’t actually see over the fence. It’s really pretty over there. He’s put down some new sod and everything.”
    “Humph.” With that Chase picked up the bag of peanuts and I followed him with the pot. After helping him set everything up over the fire pit, I returned to get salt and found myself staring out the window just like he had. Only I had better luck.
    Eramus stepped out the back door of his house and my heart felt like it might burst. He was wearing another pair of jeans and a white, tunic-style shirt that hung open enough to reveal a bit of his chest. And here I was expecting a t-shirt. I was very pleasantly surprised.
    When I walked out back to hand the salt to Chase he was standing there open-mouthed. Eramus opened the gate that separated us and came strolling through like something out of a dream. The way I felt when I looked at him was impossible. I say that because we had just met. Until a few hours ago I didn’t even know his name. I was still in love with James. And yet…something within me stirred as I watched him move and it was much more than desire. As he came to stand in front of me and ran a hand through his still damp hair I understood something—I hungered for him.
    “Glad you could make it,” I said, unable to wipe the smile from my face.
    He nodded in my direction and extended his hand toward Chase. When he moved, his scent drifted toward me and I nearly started foaming at the mouth. I don’t care what he said. He must be wearing something. Cologne laced with pheromones, maybe? Did they make stuff like that?
    “Eramus Creed,” he said.
    His voice was like warm honey and I noticed Chase shiver before replying, “Chase Ramsey,” and shaking his hand.
    “Are you sure there’s nothing I can do?” Eramus asked.
    It took me a second to realize he was talking to me. “Um, no. Everything is taken care of for the moment. You could come with me to put the ribs in the oven if you want to.”
    His smile kept doing things to me that I didn’t think a simple facial expression should. A smile really was a simple thing. But not his. His lips parted just enough to show his teeth, causing the corners of his mouth to twitch just enough to make the cutest little crease in his cheek. And the way the emotion was clearly