Bent not Broken Read Free Page A

down my body.
    I’m glued to the ground, and I think my mouth might be hanging open.
    It’s not until the cab driver yells at me that I snap out of my rude ogling trance.
    I cannot believe it’s him.
    Again.
    “Miss, are you getting in or not?”
    My attention on the driver first, I turn to look at the handsome stranger, wondering what to say to him, but he speaks first.
    “I was halfway to class when I realized I hadn’t asked your name,” he says, watching me closely.
    I don’t know what to do or say, so I voice the first words my brilliant mind can come up with, “Um…”
    This guy is making my face burn like a bonfire.
    “Nope. You definitely don’t look like an Um. More like a Wow.” He smiles, making the same delicious dimple deep on his left cheek appear once more.
    How can a guy be this perfect?
    If my face felt hot before, now it feels like it’s burning. Forest fire burning. What do you say to that? It’s all kinds of sweet and funny. Come on, Cathy! Say something.
    “Ha. You’re funny. You know that, right?”
    “No, I wasn’t trying to be funny. I was just stating a simple fact.”
    Still blushing, I notice that he’s watching me closely once more. Thinking that there must be something wrong with my appearance, my hands go straight to my hair as he steps closer to me. “I-I…Is there something wrong?” The closeness of his body sends my mind spiraling into an abyss where coherent speech seems to be nonexistent.
    Without answering my question, his hand moves towards my face. When his thumb strokes the crest of my cheek, I can feel the softness of his finger against my skin. It has been so long since I felt a guy touch me so tenderly.
    I notice his face is much closer to mine than before, his hot breath hitting my lips. He’s watching me with eyes that roam my face as if memorizing every single feature of mine…my nose, my cheeks, and lastly, my mouth.
    When he looks up, our eyes connect for a brief instant, and he takes a deep breath. “Um, may I have your phone number?”
    “Is she getting in or what?” The cabdriver yells once more.
    Without breaking eye contact with me, he addresses the cabdriver, “Give us five, man.”
    “B-but why?” I ask stupidly. I know what I want but could he possibly want the same?
    “Isn’t it obvious?”
    I shake my head because it’s not.
    “You really don’t know, huh?” he says huskily.
    “Um…”
    “Listen, how about this, I’ll let you get in that cab under two conditions. You must give me your number, and you must agree to go on a date with me three days from now.”
    Can this really be happening to me?
    “But that’s Friday.”
    Shouldn’t this beautiful man already have a date for Friday? Only dateless losers stay home on a Friday night. Example. Me.
    “So what?”
    “It’s a Friday. Shouldn’t you be busy? With a date, or something?”
    “I’m trying to get myself a date, but the stubborn girl won’t give me a chance.” Smiling, he looks at me. Like, really looking at me.
    “Oh. You want to go out with me?” Holy shit. He does .
    “I want to do more than that. But for now, I would be more than happy if you would give me your Friday night.”
    “Why?” I blurt the question before I realize that I kind of don’t want to know his answer.
    “Why, what? Why do I want to take you out?”
    I nod my head yes.
    “Besides the obvious.” He pushes himself closer to me and whispers in my ear, “Because I can’t fucking wait to kiss you again.”
    Oh.
    “Why don’t you do it now?” Shit. Where the hell is this Slutty Cathy coming from?
    “Simple,” he says. I can feel the heat radiating from his body onto mine as his eyes roam my face once more. “Because I want to pick you up at your doorstep. I want to bring you flowers. I want to tell you how beautiful you look. I want to see you blush when I compliment you. I want to see you fuss over the flowers while you offer me a glass of water. And if you live with your parents,