“No passion?”
She shrugged. “There’s lots of things I hate. Chemistry and biology sucked. Math was like climbing a mountain just to see if it could give me a migraine. English is okay. Who doesn’t like reading? But some of it was just boring. Dickens uses way too many words.”
“I never even tried. SparkNotes.”
She giggled and her cheeks pinked. “Me, too.”
We were back on good footing, so I pushed her a little. “But there must be something you love. Something that sets your heart beating fast.”
“My parents think I’d make a good lawyer. I’m considering it. I take the LSATs in a couple months.”
I dropped my chin on my palm. “That doesn’t sound like a great passion.”
“It’s not. What I like isn’t a career.” She shrugged. “In fact, it’s kind of dumb.”
“It can’t be dumber than planning a future where a sprained ankle could destroy your livelihood.” That was one of my big terrors. I had a weak left ankle.
She laughed. “Okay. I really like asking difficult questions.” She leaned forward in her seat. “You know, that question that sets a teacher back on his heels because he never thought of something that way. Or the one that shuts up the know-it-all or makes all your friends go ‘huh.’”
“Like asking what makes me a good baseball player?”
She looked away, but with a smile that told me she was really pleased. “Yeah. Maybe like that.”
“Maybe exactly like that.”
And then we laughed, because she was right. She was really good at asking questions.
“Sounds like you’d make a good journalist,” I offered, and her eyes widened.
“I think so, too,” she said, and her tone made me feel like I’d just given the winning answer in a game show. “But my parents think law is the safer bet.” She sighed. “The pay is better, and there are always jobs.”
I touched her fingers and squeezed. “Parents don’t know everything. You should follow your dream.”
She flushed as she met my gaze, and I read hope and excitement there. Like she needed encouragement to strike out against parental pressure. I was still lost in her expression when the waitress interrupted. Our hands split apart, and we gave our orders. I was grateful Heidi didn’t get anything too expensive, and we settled in for a get-to-know you date. We had almost nothing in common beyond our basic midwestern upbringings. That meant siblings, fall allergies, and a hatred of snow. She was the stereotypical Chinese girl, who studied constantly and played violin in her spare time. I was the baseball jock who studied enough to get by, so I could get back to playing games.
But eventually we found some common ground. I had a real love of statistics, mostly as it pertained to baseball, but also where it touched economics, marketing, and other real-life things. For her part, she had a vast knowledge of sports movies that hit my happy button. I’d always had a secret lust for smart girls. When other guys drooled over the cheerleaders, I was hiding my boner in chem class and when watching the debate team. Heidi put all those early girls to shame. Her brain was by far the sexiest thing about her, and that was saying something considering how hot her body was. I was completely enthralled by the time we finished dessert and coffee. The sun had started to set, and the restaurant hostess was giving us the evil eye.
“Want to take a walk on the beach?” I asked.
She smiled in that way that didn’t show her teeth but made her eyes sparkle. I’d been admiring it all evening and to see it now, felt like getting the prize at the bottom of a Cracker Jack box. I held out my hand and she took it easily. Her fingers were small but firm as I took them in mine. The beach was a loud and busy affair, but farther down by the water offered more privacy. I headed there, and eventually whole expanses of empty sand stretched out before us. She was talking about hating violin drills, and as she spoke, the wind blew a strand of dark hair across her cheek. She reached up to brush it back, but I was there before her. I stroked it back from her cheek, then kept my hand right there cupping the back of her head.
It was one of those magical moments when nerves didn’t make me awkward. Honestly, I’d never been this smooth in my life. Or maybe she was just so perfect that I didn’t think twice. I leaned down and kissed her. A soft press on her lips. A nibble against the curve of her mouth. And when she smiled, I pushed in for the real deal.
Chapter Three
Heidi
OMG OMG OMG! My thoughts were spinning while my heart pounded in my ears. He was kissing me, and I was letting him. His lips were sweet and gentle, and the way he just leaned down and pressed his mouth to mine simply overrode my senses. He hadn’t hesitated. He’d just gone for it. Not too fast, not too slow. I’d had enough time to know this was happening, and then his mouth was on mine.
Why did this feel so perfect? We could talk so easily. I’ve never shared so much, so quickly, with a guy before. He set me at ease, and when he smiled at me, my heart stuttered. He laughed when I made a joke, he teased me when I felt uptight, and he looked at me like I was the most important thing in his world. It was so much, so fast, and I…I loved it.
Holy shit, why couldn’t I stop thinking? Especially as he brushed back and forth over my mouth, setting my lips to tingling. Then he nibbled at the edges, and who could resist opening up to that? I’d just met the guy. At a wet T-shirt contest, no less. And here we were kissing on the beach. And for the first time in my life, I wanted to do more, do it all. With him. It was insane, but my God, it was perfect. He was everything I wanted. No wrong notes, no alarms warning me away. Just full throttle ahead. And I was not a full-throttle kind of girl.
“I can hear you thinking from here,” he said, his breath heating my mouth. He’d only pulled back a half inch, but he was so right.
“I’m just…I don’t usually do this.”
“It’s okay. It’s spring break. Things happen.”
