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“I do,” I say, unable to stop my smile.
“Cool. Wanna play with us?”
I absolutely do. I want to remember what it feels like to be free of all the thoughts clogging my mind and pretend to be someone else for a little while. I step onto the grass. “I’d love to.”
“You can be Ariel.”
“She’s my favorite. How did you know?”
Meg grins with a shrug then takes my hand. Her fingers are chubby, her palm soft. “Come on. You have to get dressed up.”
My dressing up entails a purple boa around my neck, a green one around my waist, and every bangle the girls own on my wrists. I love that I’m the lone throwback princess.
“All the girls are in a young ensemble group that meets twice a week,” Meg’s mom says. “This summer they’re performing—”
“You can go sit down now, Mom.”
I chuckle, remembering all the times I dismissed my mom when I was young, and am soon swept up in an elaborate story of princess sisters on a quest to find Ariel’s long lost prince. It seems all the other princesses have their one true love already. Before I know it, I’m teaching them little things that my drama teachers taught me. Lessons to improve body awareness and creativity and how to throw their voices. We stretch our imaginations and laugh and twirl, and I’m having a great time.
I like this version of myself.
Something behind me grabs the girls’ attention and I turn.
It’s Vaughn.
My heart skips a beat. He’s a hundred kinds of distracting, wearing olive cargo shorts, a thin light-green T-shirt that stretches across his chest and shoulders, Nikes, and no visible socks. He smiles and the under-ten set beside me go all smiley in return. He’s a freaking female magnet no matter the age.
Everything we did—he did—last night crashes into my mind, and despite my panic attack when I left him, I’m happy to see him again. By the sexy twitch of his lips and awareness in his eyes, I think he’s glad to see me, too. No doubt my cheeks are flaming brighter than Red Hot Cheetos.
“Hey, neighbors,” Vaughn calls out. “Is this a no boys allowed zone or can I join in?”
“You can be Prince Eric!” Meg shouts with excitement. The other girls squeal.
Stick a tail fin on me and toss me into the ocean, because I’m pretty sure I’d breathe easier under water than I am right now. Vaughn is coming closer, his focus solely on me, and my worries that last night would be the last time I saw him vanish.
“Hi,” he says.
“Hi.”
“Come on, Vaughn,” Meg says, taking his hand. “You have to come over here.”
I raise my brows at Meg’s familiarity.
“What? A guy can’t spend time with his neighbors? I’m not even her favorite. Matt’s her favorite,” Vaughn says under his breath before Meg pulls him away.
It’s really hard to continue being Ariel and teaching the girls things with Vaughn’s eyes on me. I can’t concentrate at all and trip over my own feet twice. Plus, watching Vaughn interact with the kids is adorable.
Meg’s mom shouts a five minute warning for lunch and my stomach growls, reminding me I’ve yet to eat today. Or get my coffee. When Meg announces it’s time for Ariel to receive the kiss of true love from Prince Eric so they can live happily ever after, chills break out across every inch of my skin.
I lay down on the grass as directed by Meg, my head propped up with a pillow. Vaughn is instructed to kneel beside me and get busy. We both chuckle, and some of the tension I’m feeling melts away. With my eyes closed, I remember every nanosecond I’ve spent with him. His smell, his touch, his taste, his smile, his eyes. Eyes that don’t just look, they see, and he wants to see me. My body has craved his from the moment we met, but it’s more than a physical want. It’s the way Vaughn makes me feel when we’re near each other.
Desire alone can be fought. Add emotions and the battle grows a million times harder.
Vaughn’s warm breath tickles my lips. My eyes fly open, and that’s when he kisses me. It’s soft, sweet, and oh so careful. Despite the way I left him last night—maybe even because of it—he still wants me, too.
&nbs
p; The quick peck isn’t enough, and it’s crazy how much I want to pull him back to me. He takes my hand and helps me to my feet. The girls jump up and down and clap their approval. Vaughn takes a bow, so I do the same. We’re bombarded with hugs before the girls skip away toward the house.
