middle school counseling sessions, while at the time had felt stupid and pointless, had proved her right on one very important thing: He might have made me feel stupid for years of my childhood, but I was definitely the one getting the last laugh.
Being the least idiotic of the trio, when I pushed on the passed-out Wright brother, he actually moved. Bridger had been tugging on his legs, but he could barely stand on his own. So when the brother slid successfully out of the backseat, he hit Bridger like a bowling ball at the end of the lane and the two of them when down as if I’d released a perfectly-aimed ten-pounder.
Strike!
I slammed the door shut and ran around to the other side of Blue Beauty. “Are you alright?”
The brother that had been knocked-out was wide awake now and the two of them were trying to untangle themselves with limbs that were slow-moving and unresponsive. I watched for several minutes, debating how morally corrupt it would be to take a video of this with my cell phone and post it all over the internet.
Finally, they were able to stand up and brush themselves off. Leaning on each other, they made their way to the key-carded front door. Bridger pulled out a set of keys and his keycard and let his brother in before turning around to reluctantly acknowledge me.
“You’re right,” he said simply and leaned against the open glass door for support.
I took a step toward him. It was that damn natural magnetism again. I couldn’t help but be drawn to him, even when he had previously proven to be a giant pain in the ass.
“About what?” I asked as sweetly as I could. I wasn’t always the southern belle my mother had hoped to raise. Actually, I was more like Esmerelda from The Hunchback of Notre Dame transplanted into the heart of the South with the kind of red hair that didn’t belong on any living creature. I tried to shove a chunk of it behind my ear in a move that I hoped was both sexy and sophisticated. The hair bounced back as if my ear was some kind of trampoline and fell in front of my face again.
“I should say thank you,” he told me honestly.
Our gazes locked at that moment and the sharp emerald color cut straight through me. He was a boy. That color of green shouldn’t be wasted on him and those long, thick lashes should make him look feminine. But both of those features enhanced his rugged good looks and heady masculinity.
My childhood crush was all man these days and I swallowed from a sudden stirring of nerves.
He could keep me here with the way he was looking at me. I could stand here forever if he didn’t blink.
“You should thank me,” I agreed.
He flinched at my words or maybe at my closeness. I hadn’t realized I’d taken another step toward him. We were only a couple inches apart by now and I could smell his wild night on the autumn breeze; beer, sweat and something underneath… something I wanted to inhale until my eyes rolled into the back of my head.
He opened his mouth like he was going to respond but then closed it when I took one last step into him. He couldn’t get a word out with my body brushing against his and my total lack of concern for his personal space.
This boy had messed with me for years , I couldn’t help the sick thrill that came with the success of a little bit of payback.
Besides, I wanted him to remember me. I put my face right in front of his and dared him not to get it.
“Th-thank you,” he finally said with eyes narrowed and a tight jaw.
I lifted my fingers and gently smoothed them over the angry bump on his head from where his brother ran into him. “You should put some ice on that before you go to bed.” He nodded slowly. My smile grew and my fingers pushed into his bump aggressively, just enough so that he winced a little, but I knew that he would remember this moment tomorrow. “You’ll want to thank me for that, too.”
“Th-”
I slid my hands from his bump to his lips, pressing my fingertips against their
Being the least idiotic of the trio, when I pushed on the passed-out Wright brother, he actually moved. Bridger had been tugging on his legs, but he could barely stand on his own. So when the brother slid successfully out of the backseat, he hit Bridger like a bowling ball at the end of the lane and the two of them when down as if I’d released a perfectly-aimed ten-pounder.
Strike!
I slammed the door shut and ran around to the other side of Blue Beauty. “Are you alright?”
The brother that had been knocked-out was wide awake now and the two of them were trying to untangle themselves with limbs that were slow-moving and unresponsive. I watched for several minutes, debating how morally corrupt it would be to take a video of this with my cell phone and post it all over the internet.
Finally, they were able to stand up and brush themselves off. Leaning on each other, they made their way to the key-carded front door. Bridger pulled out a set of keys and his keycard and let his brother in before turning around to reluctantly acknowledge me.
“You’re right,” he said simply and leaned against the open glass door for support.
I took a step toward him. It was that damn natural magnetism again. I couldn’t help but be drawn to him, even when he had previously proven to be a giant pain in the ass.
“About what?” I asked as sweetly as I could. I wasn’t always the southern belle my mother had hoped to raise. Actually, I was more like Esmerelda from The Hunchback of Notre Dame transplanted into the heart of the South with the kind of red hair that didn’t belong on any living creature. I tried to shove a chunk of it behind my ear in a move that I hoped was both sexy and sophisticated. The hair bounced back as if my ear was some kind of trampoline and fell in front of my face again.
“I should say thank you,” he told me honestly.
Our gazes locked at that moment and the sharp emerald color cut straight through me. He was a boy. That color of green shouldn’t be wasted on him and those long, thick lashes should make him look feminine. But both of those features enhanced his rugged good looks and heady masculinity.
My childhood crush was all man these days and I swallowed from a sudden stirring of nerves.
He could keep me here with the way he was looking at me. I could stand here forever if he didn’t blink.
“You should thank me,” I agreed.
He flinched at my words or maybe at my closeness. I hadn’t realized I’d taken another step toward him. We were only a couple inches apart by now and I could smell his wild night on the autumn breeze; beer, sweat and something underneath… something I wanted to inhale until my eyes rolled into the back of my head.
He opened his mouth like he was going to respond but then closed it when I took one last step into him. He couldn’t get a word out with my body brushing against his and my total lack of concern for his personal space.
This boy had messed with me for years , I couldn’t help the sick thrill that came with the success of a little bit of payback.
Besides, I wanted him to remember me. I put my face right in front of his and dared him not to get it.
“Th-thank you,” he finally said with eyes narrowed and a tight jaw.
I lifted my fingers and gently smoothed them over the angry bump on his head from where his brother ran into him. “You should put some ice on that before you go to bed.” He nodded slowly. My smile grew and my fingers pushed into his bump aggressively, just enough so that he winced a little, but I knew that he would remember this moment tomorrow. “You’ll want to thank me for that, too.”
“Th-”
I slid my hands from his bump to his lips, pressing my fingertips against their
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