I grin, pulling myself back and standing slowly, coming around to his side of the bed to offer him a hand. “Yeah,” I say. “Think we just raised the bar for stranger sessions everywhere.”
He takes my hand, and when I pull him up, we end up standing too close again—close enough that I can still feel the ghost of the kiss between us.
Sadie exhales like she’s been waiting for the right time to speak. “That was… wow,” she starts as she takes her camera off. “You two made my job very easy today.”
Collin rubs the back of his neck, still pink-cheeked. “Pretty sure we made it weird at least once, though.”
Sadie laughs. “No, don’t stress, it all totally worked.” She glances at her camera screen. “I’ll send a few sneak peeks tomorrow, if that’s okay.”
“Definitely,” I say.
“Alright, well, we can pack up and head out of here,” she instructs, but I didn’t bring anything else with me besides my wallet, phone, and keys. I grab those from the table in the kitchenette area where she had me wait originally, and it seems like Collin does the same.
Once we have our things, we walk with her to the door, the late afternoon sun spilling through the glass as she locks up with the keycode.
Sadie waves as she heads toward her car. “Thanks again, guys. You were perfect together.”
“Thanks for letting two amateurs crash your photography project,” Collin calls after her.
She laughs and shouts. “Anytime!”
Then it’s just the two of us, standing in the afternoon sunlight, quiet again.
Collin looks over at me, that same small smile still tugging at his mouth. “Well,” he says, “that was unexpectedly great.”
“Yeah,” I agree. “It was.”
CHAPTER 03: COLLIN
We stand there for a second as Sadie’s car disappears down the street, leaving us truly alone.
“So, uh… you doing anything right now?” comes out of my mouth.
Eli looks at me, eyebrows lifting slightly. “Nope, no plans. Why?”
I shrug, trying to be casual as hope blooms in my chest. “Well, I haven’t been home in days, and my dog sitter’s probably ready to leave soon, but I’m also starving and there’s this little neighborhood bar near my house that has good food. I was gonna grab something before I went home.” I pause, then add, “You should come.”
He tilts his head, smiling before offering his own shrug. “Yeah, I’m down. I’d love to.”
“Awesome, what’s your number? I’ll text you the address.”
He rattles off his number, and I send him the location.
“I’ll see you there,” he promises.
When I get into my car, I check my phone more closely, but there’s still no response from my dog sitter, which is weird. She’s usually the kind of person who sends me hourly updates like ‘He pooped!’ with ten heart-eye emojis. I open my Ring app and see her car is still there, so I feel better knowing Bear isn’t alone.
I quickly type out another text that she can head out if she’d like, and that I’d be home to feed Bear dinner soon.
I toss my phone onto the passenger seat and start the engine, a little smile tugging at my mouth. My head’s still spinning from how fast this day’s gone from a delayed flight to kissing a firefighter in a photography studio.
The logical part of my brain keeps saying,it was just a photoshoot.But if it was just a photoshoot, then he wouldn’t have kissed me, and we wouldn’t be continuing this as a real date right now, the hopeless romantic part of me counters.
I’m also pretty sure he feels something because when I was bouncing on his lap, I swear he was hard. So if nothing else, he’s got to at least be somewhat attracted to me, and I couldn’t let him just disappear from my life after a session like that. The bar made the most sense, and if nothing else, I at least have his phone number now.
Traffic’s light, thank god. Halfway to the bar, I glance at my phone again at a red light. Still nothing from my dog sitter. I frown, but I’m sure it’s fine. Maybe she’s napping or on the phone. I’m not going to let it derail my great mood. Who knows, maybe I’ll be bringing Bear home a new daddy if this keeps going the way it’s going. The thought makes me snort out loud.
It’s been a while since I’ve felt this fluttery about anyone. My last few dating attempts fizzled out before they even had a chance to spark. Online, everyone has either wanted something casual or was looking for a third, and I’m not looking for either of those things right now. Plus, running the hardware store has been all-consuming over the last year, but I think I’m finally getting it down to a point where I can have a social life again.
