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He looked deeply in my eyes, his face softer than any other time I’d been with him. He seemed more genuine and kind like he did during that split second in the hardware store. That light was back in his eyes, and it was a relief, but I couldn’t help but dread the moment passing. By tomorrow, when his buzz was gone, I knew he would retreat to his usual self, and our conversations would be back to small grunts.
“I can fix that.”
The thought of him seeing my apartment made me blush. Working in a house I don’t live in was vastly different from him coming to where I currently live. He would take one look at my shelves covered in antiques and my assortment of plants and make fun of me.
“You say that a lot, you know?”
He raised an eyebrow in questioning, “Say what?”
I imitated his deep voice, sounding a little too much like Batman. “I can fix that. It’s like your catchphrase.”
A chuckle resonated in his chest. “I don’t know, Hart. Maybe I like showing you what I’m best at.” He threw a slightly lopsided grin my way, and I tried my best not to overanalyze every word coming out of his gorgeous mouth.
Was he flirting with me? What did they put in his drink?
“Well, either way, I don’t want to ask you to do that. I’ll call my landlord to fix it. Of course, he rarely fixes anything when I complain.”
He placed his finished beer on the coffee table before us, and I noticed he had slowly inched closer. When we started this conversation, we were on opposite ends, and we had both worked our way to the middle; our knees were mere inches apart.
“Just let me take a look at it if you don’t think he’ll fix it in time. I can probably do it in a couple of hours or less.” He’s right, my landlord probably wouldn’t take the time to send someone out, and when he did, it would be a month from now.
“Fine. But I don’t want to hear any comments about my decorations in my apartment.” He shook his head. “Well, that’s a shame, because I was planning on roasting you for whatever hideous things you have up on your wall.” I let out a laugh and turned toward him, my knee slightly pressed against his.
When he didn’t pull his leg away, warmth spread throughout my core, and I felt like a fifteen-year-old girl about to have her first kiss.
My next question reeled in my mind. Do you remember when I ran into you at the store a year ago?
I doubted he had any clue. When he showed up at the house the first time, he didn’t act as though he recognized me, and I knew by asking I would be setting myself up for a blow.
I looked into Grant’s eyes, and he was looking at me already. His eyes darkened and took in my pouty lips, then shifted back up to my wide-set eyes. I pulled my lips into my teeth and looked at his mouth. His lips were full and called me to them. I didn’t know how long we looked at each other like that. It felt like it could be a second or eternity, the bar was full of people, yet no one was there but us.
“Grant—” I whispered his name, not even sure if I said it out loud or just in my head. His eyes stared right into mine, and he leaned down. His hand reached my jaw, and he rubbed his rough thumb back and forth. As I anticipated his lips on mine, I slowly shut my eyes and leaned toward his embrace.
“Hey, guys! I’m so glad you could make it! It’s pretty cool, right?” Ashley interrupted the moment, and the warmth spread through my body was replaced with cold disappointment. Grant’s hands went back into his lap, and we shifted away from each other.
“Uh, yeah, you guys did a great job. I love the lights.” I tried to hide my disappointment, but she could see right through me and read the moment.
“Well, I’m going to leave you two alone. Sorry to interrupt your, um, conversation. Please continue.”
She mouthed a silent ‘Sorry’ to me. I secretly waved my hand at her, saying it was okay. She giggled like a pre-teen girl and walked away from the couch.
I was left feeling awkward and not knowing where to go. My buzz from the wine had worn off from adrenaline, and my legs were cold from losing his contact.
“So…I guess I should probably head back home. I’ve got an early day tomorrow, and it’s getting late.” I hated to make excuses, but I didn’t think I could put myself in that position again.
Grant stood up and reached down to grab my hand and help me off the couch. “I should go too. Let me walk you to your car.” I held his hand and stood up to grab my purse and keys. He guided me to the front of the bar with a hand on the small of my back. I blushed at the strangers looking at us as we made our way to the front door. I looked for Ashley to tell her bye, but she couldn’t be found, so I reminded myself to text her thank you for the invitation later.
“Where did you park?” I was pretty far down the lot, and I saw his truck was closer up. “Don’t worry about it, and I’m parked pretty far.”
He looks at me, almost offended. “I’m walking you to your car whether you want me to or not.”
Got it.
“All right, let’s go then, big guy.” His hand had left my back, but we were close enough that I wondered if he could feel the heat radiating off of me.
My dress rode up as I walked, and I found myself having to pull it back down. We walked silently, and I’m pretty sure neither of us knew exactly what to say. I thought we were just enjoying each other’s company.
“You sure you’re good to drive, right? I don’t want to hear anything about you driving into a stop sign on the news.”
