Page 21 of Mending Me
“What the hell are you doing in here, blondie? Are you trying to hurt yourself?” My voice came out more concerned than I was anticipating. I stepped past her into her place without an invitation and studied the damage.
“Actually, that’sexactlywhat I was trying to do. I intentionally pulled the thing down while I was running to open the door just to try and scare you.” She jabbed me playfully in the arm as she came to stand next to me and I tried to ignore the feeling it created in my jeans. “The thing is super old, I found it on the curb one day and brought it home. Ophelia’s been telling me we need to mount it to the wall, and now I can tell her she was right.” She tried to laugh it off but I didn’t find her closeness to being crushed by a bookshelf funny at all.
“Don’t play, blondie. You could have gotten hurt. I’m glad you didn’t.” My hand reached out towards her and landed on her lower back instinctually. Her brilliant blue eyes met mine and her cheeks turned a slight shade of pink when I let my hand linger in the spot a little longer than comfortable.
“How about I help you clean this up and then we go get those drinks?”
“I would appreciate that very much, thank you.” She gave me a small smile before stepping away from my hand towards the fallen books. My fingers missed her as soon as she was gone.
As I helped her clean up the books, I looked around her place. The space was nice and modern, nothing like my completely average apartment that was north of the city. There was a full kitchen, two bedrooms, and a large living room that I could see from where we were. It was clear that women occupied the space because it smelled like vanilla and lavender. The vanilla I recognized, but the lavender was new to me.
“Nice place you’ve got here.” I lifted the bookshelf off the floor and set it upright against the wall.
“Thanks, it’s not mine. My friend owns it and is letting me live with her while I figure some stuff out.” She itched her forehead and sounded embarrassed.
“Well you two have a very nice place.” I smiled at her and she handed me some books to put back on the shelves.
“So, how did this thing fall down?” She was sitting on her knees collecting books and handing them to me so I could return them to their rightful home.
“Well, I was in my room reading while I waited for you to get here. Then you knocked but I was at a really good spot and I wanted to finish my page, so I tried to hurry up and finish reading. Then I guess I took too long because you knocked again. I didn’t want you to think I was blowing you off, so I raced out of my room and in the process of turning the corner, completely slammed into the bookshelf. Then it fell down and then I opened the door, and now we’re here picking up my mess.” Her face was warped into an expression that resembled a small child who had just been caught doing something they weren’t supposed to do. I barked out a laugh because the image of her running out of her room to open the door, just to knock over an entire bookshelf in the process, was comical to me.
“What were you reading that had you so enthralled?” I asked as she handed me the last few books and I placed them back on the shelf. I reached my hand towards her to help her stand.
“Something hot and steamy.” A wicked smile spread across her face as I pulled her up. She stood only a few inches away from me, our chests nearly touching, and it took everything in me not to grab her face and pull it into mine.
“You read hot and steamy books?” My eyes flickered between her lips and her gaze.
“It’s the only thing I read.” She licked her lips before chewing on her bottom one. The growing sensation in my jeans was almost hard to ignore at this point.
“Let’s go get those drinks.” She broke the tension that was building between us by stepping away and walking towards the kitchen island. She grabbed her bag that was sitting on the counter and turned to look at me. I was frozen where I stood and trying to recover from what she’d just told me.
It’s the only thing I read.I made a mental note to figure out where to buy whatever kinds of books were considered “hot and steamy”.
“You comin’?” Her head cocked to one side and her blonde hair fell in the same direction. Her cheeks were pressed into her eyes as she smiled at me, reaching her hand out for me to take.
“Yep. Let’s go get those drinks.” I reached for her hand and took it, our fingers intertwined. As we walked back towards the door, she pulled me closer to her and planted a kiss on my cheek.
“Thanks for helping me clean up my mess. That was really sweet of you.” She looked at me for a beat and before I could respond or kiss her back, she pulled me through her front door.
I knew this girl was soft and sweet, but I had just learned she had some spice in her as well.
And that was a side of her I wanted to see more of.
13
BAILEY
When we got to the bar, Hank’s hand rested on the small of my back as we walked through the space looking for an open table. The strength of his hand brought me a sense of safety and groundedness I hadn’t felt in a long time. When we found a spot to sit down, he pulled my chair out for me and helped me into it, just like a true Southern gentleman. Sitting across from me, I studied his face while he ordered his drink.
His jaw was strong and cut at a sharp angle, making him look fierce and intimidating. It made me smile to myself because if you knew him, you knew he was a big softy and very, very shy. At least around me he was. I loved how, even though his hair was cut shorter, his curls couldn’t be stopped. They were tamed and mild, but still noticeable when you looked close enough. His caramel toned skin gave him a warm presence and you could tell he worked out by the way his clothes wrapped around him. I squeezed my thighs together as I started to think about how it would feel if I were wrapped around his body.
He watched as I ordered my drink and gave me an inquisitive glance when I ordered a mocktail instead of something with alcohol in it.
“I thought you asked to get drinks?” His eyebrows furrowed together in the center of his handsome face.
“I got a drink. A drink is a drink even if it doesn’t have any alcohol in it,” I pointed out. He gave me a small nod, succeeding to my point.
“Do you not drink?”
