“Always,” he says, grinning at me.
He leans against the counter while I pour him his coffee. I can feel his eyes following my every movement. Which is, distracting.
“So,” I say, sliding the mug toward him, walking around I pull out a bar stool and sit, “the fundraiser was so good wasn’t it!”
Everett pulls out a stool and sits beside me, facing me. Our knees touch, shooting electric sparks throughout my whole body. “It was something, huh? Much more than I ever expected.”
“I’ve been hearing about it for the last couple of days. Every customer has had something positive to say,” I tell him. “People are also asking when the theater is opening. I’ve been saying a couple of months just to give you some wiggle room.”
“Can I ask you something slightly embarrassing?”
Everett quirks an eyebrow. “You can always ask me anything.”
I take a breath.
“Are we… flirting?”
His eyebrows shoot up. “Is that embarrassing?”
“A little,” I respond.
“Why?” he asks.
“Because I’m starting to feel like maybe I imagined it,” I say.
His expression shifts.
“Imagined flirting?” he asks.
“The moments…” I gesture vaguely between us. “The almost kissing ones.”
My stomach drops.
“Okay,” I mutter, covering my face with my hands. “I regret asking, it sounds so dumb.”
“Violet…”
“It’s fine,” I blurt out. “I just needed to know if this was all in my head or if you are embarrassed to be seen kissing me in public because after Ryan, I’m trying really hard not to read things wrong again and…”
“Hey.” His voice is gentle but firm.
He lowers my hands.
Everett is watching me like he is choosing his words very carefully.
“I didn’t kiss you,” he says slowly, “because the first time I kiss you deserves to be better than a crowded street with half the town watching.”
My brain goes completely blank.
“What?” I ask.
“I didn’t want our first kiss to happen between a cotton candy machine and a goat,” he replies.
A laugh slips out before I can stop it.
“Fair,” I say.
He pulls his stool closer to mine. “I wanted it to happen somewhere quiet, where all I am thinking about is you, not the theater or the fundraiser, I want my attention to just be on you, on us.”
