I sighed. “Don’t be like that, Rae.”
“Be like what?”
“So moody.”
She leered. “I’m not moody.”
“So that bubbling rage in your eye is a reaction to something else? Maybe the pollen? Possibly the fleas infesting the sandbox over there? Did you get bit by a raccoon? I hear the Riverbend raccoons have rabies.”
She scoffed and shook her head. But soon, that scoff turned to a giggle. Which morphed into laughter that tilted her head off to the side. The beautiful sound wrapped around us, and I couldn't help but smile. Her arms fell away from her chest and she placed her face in her hands, shaking her head as more laughter fell from her lips.
“What is even happening, Clint?”
I smiled. “You’re growing weak for me. Just like all girls do.”
Her laughter paused. “Don’t do that.”
“Do what?”
“If I'm not going to be moody, then you’re not going to be a pompous windbag manwhore.”
My eyebrows rose. “How long have you had that one tucked away?”
“Not as long as you’d think. I’m quick-witted in some moments.”
“I see that.”
She looked over at me and her eyes fell to my lips. My smile made her smile, and for the first time I saw her eyes ignite. With the moon above reflecting in her amber pools, it reminded me of the strength of a tree. The rungs of a redwood covered in sappy bark, cloaked in the effervescent darkness California had to offer. I found myself swimming in them. Falling into them and never wanting to return.
The writer in me wanted to pen a poem devoted to the swirling rungs of her brown eyes.
Rae cleared her throat. “What are you looking at?”
I cocked my head. “You.”
“What about me?”
“I like this side of you.”
She blushed. “Oh, come on. Cut the shit and get to the punch line.”
“What punch line?”
“Whatever it is that made you come over and sit down on this bench.”
“Is it really so hard to imagine that you’re the reason I felt compelled to sit down?”
She snickered. “Felt compelled? Who are you again?”
I turned my body toward her. “I’m the Clint you’ve always seen.”
“I’ve never seen this side of you.”
“Do you want to see more?”
My hand gravitated to her cheek and I cupped her soft skin. My thumb brushed against it as her eyes searched mine. Wild, and curious, and a bit mysterious. And as a grin settled across my face, she smiled up at me. I felt her nod against my hand before she nuzzled my palm. I felt myself being pulled into her atmospheric orbit. Stanzas of poems not yet penned regarding her beauty rushed through my mind. I felt her face getting closer as her body heat encompassed me. And when our lips touched, fireworks went off in my mind.
This was the kind of girl wars were started over.