Page 33 of The Muse
“Listen. I’ve been thinking about it. And I should have texted you before I got paid. Even like a:Hey, what’s up. You look beautiful today.”
June playfully nudges my arm. “How would you have known if I looked beautiful via text?”
“It’s just a fact. Like water is wet and ten thousand miles between oil changes is risky business.”
“Flynn … Flynn … Flynn … you are so unexpected.”
“In a good way?”
“Yes.” She sidesteps a pile of dog shit. “In a very good way.”
“Cool. Listen, we should eat. I have money now.”
“We could have gone to eat a week ago. I had money then,” she says.
“Then you should have invited me to dinner.”
“Perhaps.” She tucks her chin. “But I was waiting to be swept off my feet.”
I laugh as a man jogs past us with his two golden retrievers. “Sorry. I didn’t know asking a girl to buy me dinner was the new way to sweep her off her feet.” When I look over at her, she keeps her chin down, grin partially hidden.
“You know what I mean,” she mumbles.
“You forget I don’t date. So, I don’t know what you mean. Is this what you mean?” I wrap one arm around her back and my other under her legs and pick her up.
“Flynn!” She twists her torso to hook an arm around my neck as if she’s worried I might drop her.
Never.
I can smell her perfume. It’s sweet, just like her. It feels soft where her warm skin touches my neck. This almost counts as a hug, and now I don’t want to let her go.
“Let’s go to dinner.” I step off the trail and head up the small hill toward my car. “I’m buying.”
“Put me down before you drop me.”
“Why would I drop you?” I try to keep my attention in front of me, because looking at her face this close to mine only makes me want to kiss her lips, which areright therefor the taking.
“People are staring at us,” she says with less urgency.
“Excellent. They’re probably thinkingthat guy just swept her off her feet.PAY ATTENTION, EVERYONE!” I yell as June gasps, covering her mouth, eyes wide. “THIS IS HOW YOU SWEEP A WOMAN RIGHT OFF HER FEET!”
“Oh my gosh! I can’t believe you did that.”
“Well, this is the second time you’ve mentioned being swept off your feet.” I grin, stealing a quick look at her face just as I stop at my car.
She’s so beautiful. What am I doing? This girl is out of my league. I ease her to her feet, but she doesn’t let go of my neck. Facing me, she runs her hands along my skin, toying with my hair. It makes my heart pound in a new way. I wet my lips and swallow hard, gazing over her head for a second to hide my nerves.
“Kiss me,” she whispers.
The end.
I’m over. Done for. Eviscerated. A tall tree ready to fall to the ground with a bigthunk!
“Nah,” I say so cooly I don’t recognize the idiot’s voice as my own. “I don’t think it’s proper to sweep you off your feetandkiss you on the same date.”
Stupid. Fucking. Idiot!
What is happening? Has some evil spirit or alien hijacked my brain? Of course, I want to kiss her. I want to kiss the life out of her, take a breath, and do it all over again.
