Running my fingers along my scalp, I flipped my hair to the other side. But then I quickly remembered how thick my hair was and cringed as the strands became tangled around my fingers. I deflated as I not-so-smoothly freed my hand.
Mouse’s brows pinched together but he said nothing.
I struggled to think of something else to do since that didn’t work. I’d seen her bite her lips, but I felt like that might be an advanced move and a little too sexy for me. So I quickly moved on from the idea.
I thought back to all the romantic movies I’d watched over the last two years. It had been quite a few. I discovered that I loved those types of movies and would watch them whenever I got the chance to.
I’d seen women do this fast blink thing in some of them when they were talking to the man they were interested in.
I could do that. I knew how to blink so all I had to do was tilt my chin down a little and flutter my lids quickly.
“How about your day?” he asked me.
“Well, work wasn’t all that exciting. Which I guess is not such a bad thing.” I let out a little laugh which made his lips tip up at the edges. “But this part is nice,” I told him as I smiled and tilted my chin down to make my move.
“Are you okay? Do you have something in your eye?” There was a huge ring of concern in his tone as he started to rise so he could get closer to me like he could help me in some way.
“Oh. No, I am fine,” I said and ducked my head to hide my embarrassment. “I was…”
“Ingram… are you nervous?”
Clearly, I wasn’t playing this off well.
And because this was my Malcolm, I felt safe enough to be completely honest.
“Yes. Though I’m not sure why. I mean… this is kind of like adate, right?” I asked and for some reason felt the need to lean forward and whisper the last part.
His smile was beautiful.
“No, Ingram,” he told me and made my face fall as I blinked at him. Yes, his words hurt a little. “If this were a date, I would have picked you up. I’d be wearing something a little nicer and we’d be sitting in some place… that isn’t a sandwich shop.”
“Oh,” I said and my feelings were torn. This clearly wasn’t even close to a date in his mind. But I also had to admit that the picture that he painted of one made my insides feel all fluttery. Could it have been that he had thought about it too?
“This is you and me, spending some time as… us,” he went on, making the smile come alive on my lips.
He didn’t say as friends. I may have been a little naïve about a lot of things, but I didn’t miss that. He saiduslike it was something more. And oh, how I wanted it to be.
“I like that.” The pure happiness was clear as day in my tone.
“Me, too,” he whispered and I could see the truth in his eyes.
My body was humming all over and my heart felt like it was beating so loudly that anyone around could hear it.
“And for the record,” he said and then cleared his throat. His eyes shifted away for a second like he was hesitant to say what he was about it. “You are beautiful and sexy just the way you are. You don’t even have to try.”
Now it was his chin that was tilted down as his eyes peered up at me through his thick lashes. But I knew he wasn’t trying to be sexy himself. But he was… he was so very sexy in his tentative nervousness.
I bit my lip as I smiled. I wasn’t even really aware that I was doing it. The heat hit my cheeks and though I wanted to duck my head and hide it, I forced myself to hold his eyes.
The happiness dancing there in his warm brown eyes was something I never wanted to lose. I needed that in my life, so very much. And I realized how sad I had been without it.
There was more between us. The special thing that I’d felt was there for a long time was still there. I wondered how much longer it would need to grow. I felt ready to blossom at this very moment and I didn’t know how much longer I could hold out.
