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TUCKER
“Most disgusting thing you’ve ever eaten?” Natalie asks.
“A cricket,” I say and smile as her nose turns up. We’re sitting on the floor of the elevator, waiting for someone to come get us out. It’s been about forty-five minutes since I called the emergency service line, and I know for a fact that lady did not care about us once I told her we were both fine. I also feel slightly bad about myself since I am a fireman and can’t get us out of this.
“Gross. Why would you eat that?”
“It was a dare. I wasn’t going to look like a pussy and not eat it.” Natalie rolls her eyes, and I can’t help but stare at her. It’s been a long time since I’ve been this close to her. The impact of those green eyes is still the same as it was when I was twelve.
A smattering of freckles dance across her nose, her red hair hangs loosely around her shoulders, and the creamy white skin of her neck taunts me with how much I want to run my nose up it.
“Boys are weird,” she says, grabbing the coin off the floor of the elevator.
To keep ourselves occupied, we’ve been flipping a coin into a small pamphlet container hanging on the elevator wall. If we miss, we have to answer a question; if we make it, the other person has to share something embarrassing about themselves. It’s much harder to make it into the container than you’d think.
Natalie flicks the coin across the room with her thumb. It bounces off of the edge, missing the box, and clinks onto the ground. “Most rebellious thing you did as a teenager?”
“Sneaking out of the house to go skinny dipping with Megan, Sara, and Lucy.”
Her smile lights up her entire face as she laughs from the memory. “Todd, Cooper, and Levi showed up, and because they were teenagers, they thought it would be funny to steal our clothes.
“Knowing Todd hadn’t thought this through, Megan said she’d get out and get our clothes herself. You can guess how Todd felt about that.”
I chuckle because I know Todd would’ve been so pissed if those guys saw his girl naked.
Being a grade ahead, I didn’t hang out with them but still knew them pretty well. In a small-town high school, you know everyone. I was always jealous of how close their group was because I wasn’t allowed to have close friendships like they were.
I was either working at the fire station with my Uncle Jack or doing chores at the house for Dad. I never had enough free time to hang out with friends or do anything fun.
Leaning forward, I grab the coin off the ground. “I’m surprised you girls would go skinny dipping. Seems a little too risqué.”
“Shows you don’t know anything about me then,” she says with a teasing glint in her eye. It’s filled with so much mischief I have to look away or risk pulling her to me and demand she tell me everything about herself while simultaneously kissing the fuck out of her.
I flick the coin, and it drops into the container, causing us both to cheer. We’ve only done it a few times since we started playing.
“You’re up! Give me the juicy secrets.” I grin at her and rub my palms together.
“Ah, shit.”
She scrunches up her face like she’s thinking really hard yet is reluctant to say anything at the same time. She flicks her eyes at me and then blows out a deep breath.
“I have a standing appointment to get waxed every month because I hate when guys mention the carpet matching the drapes.”
Holy fuck.
I swallow hard at the image of her completely bare.
For the majority of this game, we’ve kept things above board, but with one comment, she just changed the entire game.
“Jesus,” I say, my voice raspy. “There’s a lot to process from that one sentence.”
I haven’t taken my eyes off of her, and I want to ask a million questions.
How many idiots has she slept with who would comment on her hair? And why does the thought of another guy touching her makes me see red? I have no claim to her, but she’s always been the one I’d want if I were good enough for someone.
“Yeah, we won’t be diving into details,” she says, grabbing the coin from the container.
“Hold on, there. You can’t just drop a bomb like that and expect me not to have questions!” I grab her arm to stop her from getting the coin. Her skin under my rough hand is like silk.
