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I can’t tell you what she talked about. For all I know I could’ve agreed to join some committee, but I’m thinking it isn’t that bad as I make my exit and the teacher doesn’t stop me. Quickening my steps, my long legs easily catch up to Willa’s shorter ones, then I match my stride to hers, happy when she pauses to turn toward me.
“Hello,” she says. It’s the first time I’ve heard her voice and I stand there, letting it wash over me to the point it becomes uncomfortable…for her. “Ooookay,” she mumbles, preparing to continue on her way. Shit.
“Sorry,” I apologize, meaning it, though I don’t expound on what just happened. Which allows it to again.
“You’re staring at me,” she whispers, like she’s trying to inform me what is and isn’t polite.
“Because there’s so much to take in.”
Hurt clouds her face, weighing down the oh that quietly leaves her. I have no clue what I did, but my co-workers do. Both are currently calling me an asshole, with Clover, clearly gritting her teeth to not ream me, explains how she’s overheard others making snide remarks about Willa’s proportions.
“She’s fucking perfect,” I vehemently mumble, knowing they’ll hear me and hoping Willa can’t for fear she’ll think I’m crazy on top of being a fuckhead.
“Fix it,” Torren warns me.
I flick off my comm unit, not needing nor wanting their help here. Though I’ll profusely thank them for it later. I messed up; I’ll repair it. Besides, it’s the only way I can get some privacy with this gorgeous creature. “I’m not sure what I like more, your eyes or your smile. Each are beautiful in their own right.” She’s watching me, the wariness leaving her as I talk, and I suddenly feel like a wizard that can perform magic, having removed my foot from my mouth as if it’d never been there.
Willa smiles, this one even brighter and bigger than it had been prior to my goof. More genuine, too. “Thank you,” she says, shy as she pushes a strand of hair behind her ear. I focus on the surprise in her tone. Have none of these punk kids ever complimented her? Actually, I’m glad they haven’t, lest I have to threaten all of them for looking at her. Yet I can see that the lack of it has bothered her, which in turn bothers me. It’s a Catch-22.
“I’m not sure what upset you, but I’m truly sorry I unintentionally caused it. I would never hurt you.”
She stares at me, as if measuring my sincerity, and asks, “You really mean that, don’t you?”
“What part?”
“All of it.”
“One hundred percent,” I assure her without missing a beat. “If you can’t tell, I’m really bad at this.”
“At what?”
“Talking to a pretty girl.”
Then she giggles, and states, almost in awe, “You have no game.”
I shrug, not ashamed she figured it out nor that she’s right. I even admit, “That’s because I’ve never tried to or wanted to play.”
This pleases her. It’s not in anything she says, or the way she looks at me, but in what she does. Willa leans forward ever so slightly, bringing our arms in contact, and that little swipe rocks my world, causing me to lose my balance for a second. It’s as if an earthquake rattled under my feet, shaking loose the foundation that was there, making room for a new one to begin. I’ve never thought like this, almost poetic, but damned if that’s not how I feel just being near her.
“Good,” she responds, and I know I’m forgiven for my blunder. Then she grins, and I wonder if I’m still in trouble after all. “So, you come here often?” She asks, barely able to get the question out through her laughter.
“You mock me, little one?” I tease, the endearment leaving me without forethought, yet I find I like it. It’s fitting. And best of all, Willa appears to enjoy it. At least the blush infusing her cheeks says she does.
“I couldn’t resist,” she admits.
“Good.” Then I take her hand and resume walking. She sputters, but she never falters as she continues at my side.
“Where are we going?”
Stealing a quick glance at her, I say, “Wherever you want to.”
“It’s not the same as where Ineedto be,” she stresses. “Which is science in,” she checks her watch just as the warning bell sounds, “a few minutes.”
“Me, too,” I tell her. “And, now knowing you’ll be there, it’s also where I need to be.”
“You aren’t who you pretend to be,” she whispers, making me a bit nervous. There’s no way she could’ve figured it out. I mean, her transcripts speak to her intelligence, so it isn’t like she couldn’t, but why would she?
“Umm…”
