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“Put your arm around me.” I slide my arm around him and feel how muscular he is under his coat. The two of us almost slip again on all the paint chip strips.
“OUT!”
“Do you trust me?” he says with a wink. I shouldn’t, I’ve known him for a blink of a time.
“As messed up as it seems, I do.”
He nods at me then scoops me up into his arms. My arms go instinctively around his neck for support, and he smiles down at me.
“Get Cinderella the fuck out of here, Charming.”
“My pleasure, Fairy Godfather.”
“Bibbidi-bobbidi-fucking-goodnight.”
He rolls his eyes, and I giggle as I put my head on his shoulder. He’s warm and smells of the embers of a long night and the crisp possibility of dawn. He smells like pine needles and minerals strong enough to withstand anything. After my last year and a half, I could use someone strong enough.
The door slams as Patrick crosses the street to Central Park and sets me down on a concrete column. The whole park is lit with the full moon’s reflection off the snow. The pathways have been cleared, but the park itself remains untouched and sparkles a bit under the street lights.
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PATRICK
She’s light as a wisp and smells so fucking good. She looks around and points to a bench further into the park. I scoop her back up and avoid the slush and ice. I sit next to her and pull out the glue.
“Give me your feet.” She sits sideways and places her feet on my lap. I get the heel out and start to examine where it will reattach.
“Why are you being so nice to me?” She cocks her head, and her smile warms everything around us. I stare at her, a little confused by the question and totally understanding her.
“I don’t know. But you’re the most interesting, beautiful thing that’s happened in a long while. And those damn eyes of yours, I’d probably do anything.”
She smiles, and I’m still holding her legs on my lap. “You too. Your eyes. Your hands are so warm on my legs and it’s comforting and natural. That’s fucked up, right?”
“Here’s what’s going to happen.”
She claps her hands like an excited seal doing a trick for a fish.
I smirk and continue, “I’m going to glue your heel on, we’ll sit and wait for it to cure. Then we’re finding a wonderful restaurant in this romantic city because this dress deserves dinner. We’re going to laugh and get to know each other.”
She inhales, and as she speaks, the condensation creates a magical cloud around her mouth. She squeezes my arm. “Yes. And can we hurry? I’m freezing.” I nod. I rub my hands up and down her sparkly sheer lower legs.
I get to work drying off the bottom of her shoe. I set a two-minute timer on my phone. I put my gloves back on once I’ve attached the heel and hold it in place.
“What do you want to do for the next two minutes?” She bites her lip, and I want to eat her up. With my other hand, I graze her cheek with the back of my knuckle. She scoots a little closer.
She says, “You’re not like other people, are you?”
“Compliment?”
“Yes. Most men at this point would have grabbed a car home and left my chaos behind. And certainly wouldn’t have carried me.”
I move closer to her. “I’m not most men.” Her lips are rosy and full. I want to taste them again so badly. “You think you’re more interesting than most women?” I grin as I tease her.
She whispers, and our faces are closer, “Oh, I am.”
