AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Why would I smile?”
“Out of happiness, a pleased feeling that you’re looking good, a mental high five for being a hot awesome person before you walk out the door in the morning.”
“Is that what you do?”
“Everyone does,” I said. “Everyone but you.”
“I don’t think so.”
I shrugged.
My shoulder brushed his arm.
All of a sudden, my body seemed to realize how close he was, how firm his arm felt, how if I even breathed funny, my body would brush against his again.
And that amazing smell that was all over his jacket? It was even more all over him.
Instead of sunbathing on a yacht, he smelled like diving headfirst and swimming in the sea. He smelled like contentment, like everything my life wasn’t.
My brain went fuzzy as heat sizzled across my skin. I could happily drown in that sea with no regrets.
All at once, I became suddenly aware of every nerve, every inch of skin where we were almost touching.
My body did an involuntary thing as if my muscles knew one of two things was about to happen. One—I was going to screw up our new-found truce by shoving my tongue in his mouth. Or two—I needed space, stat.
My legs decided on the latter, stiffened, and shoved up off the bench. And then reflexively, everything clenched, pulling my legs out from under me.
And I tripped.
In slow motion, I reminded myself this was not who I was, not how I behaved. Nothing like this had ever happened to me before.
I fell to the ground, hit my shoulder, and lay there curled and stunned.
Embarrassment and confusion left me in a state of paralysis, unable to move or flee or hide. I couldn’t comprehend what had just happened or how exactly I’d ended up on the ground.
But then the catalyst to this catastrophe reemerged. Gabriel was there, on the ground, leaning over me. His hand was on my arm. He was speaking words.
His face was close, lined with concern as he stared at me.
Apparently my body’s response to his unnaturally attractive pheromones was to flail and throw myself to the ground. This was a new low, even for me.
“Layana.” His touch was as gentle as his voice.
For self-preservation, I made the only move I could. I shoved my phone between us and snapped a bunch of pictures, blinding him with the flash.
Then I laughed it off as he pulled back, and righted myself to my feet.
He was sitting on the ground, and I kept taking pictures.
“Just like that. It’s perfect. So funny. What a great joke,” I said.
He ran his hands through his hair in that frustrated way he did.
Before he could call me out on my clear lie, I said, “You know what, I think you should keep the light and camera stand here for next time. Clearly we have done enough work for today.”
“I have dinner inside,” he said, still sitting on the patio while I towered over him.
“I’m not hungry,” I said. This was not a lie. I probably would have been hungry if my whole innards hadn’t turned into a writhing, twisted mess. But that was neither here nor there.
