“I do?” He looks down, and there's a small strip of cheese strewn across his chest. “I guess I do.” He pulls it off and eats it anyway. “That doesn't mean you weren't still checking me out though, because you were.”
“I was not. I just couldn't stop staring at the cheese.”
“Yeah, I'm not believing it.” He tips his chin into his chest, his lips curving up into a playful grin. “I saw the way you were looking at me. Your eyes were not on the cheese.”
“You're so wrong—”
“No,” he says, cutting me off. “It's okay. I know I'm hard not to look at it.”
“Full of yourself much?”
“Sometimes.” He lifts his cup in front of his face as he takes a sip and looks up at me from over the rim. Lowering the cup, he holds it in both hands. “And you should be too. Look at you, you're gorgeous.”
“I don't think your sister would want to hear you were hitting on her friend.”
He waves a hand in the air and huffs. “My sister doesn't need to know everything. Does she?”
I sit quiet for a long second, my lips pursing tight. “I suppose not.”
“Good. So, let's go hit this city. Now that we understand my sister doesn't have to know everything, I can show you a really good time.” He downs the last of his coffee and throws out our trash.
“So, where to now?” I ask as we step back out on the street.
“A special little place I think will make you feel at home.”
I follow him down the street, walking side by side. We talk a little about what it was like for him and his sister to grow up just outside of the city. It was pretty normal, nothing wild or crazy. Surprisingly, not much different than my childhood. I guess it doesn't matter where you grow up, some stuff is just kids being kids.
He graduated, barely, but Betty graduated with high honors and was valedictorian of her class. He's two years older than her, but he's always been protective of her. Once he beat up some kid who kept picking on her, turns out the kid actually liked her, but Dash didn't know until the kid started crying and blurted it out.
He was your typical boy growing up. Played football, got in a little trouble here and there. Nothing too intense, but he wasn't innocent. And I can still see it. I can already see that wild side in him, and I've only known him for a day.
Dash hops over a small wall and holds out his arms.
“What are you doing?” I ask.
“Climb up on top and jump down. I'll catch you.”
“Catch me? No, I don't think do.”
“Well, you can't jump the wall in those things.”
I look down at my dress and heels. He's right. And I know he's right. But I'm a stubborn girl. I like to do things for myself.
“I'll figure it out. I can do it on my own.”
“Or you can just let me help you.”
“Or I'll figure it out.” I reiterate. “I've got this,” I say, attempting to hold my dress to cover my lady parts and swing one leg over the wall.
“You're going to break your ankle.”
“No, I won't. I'm like a gazelle on my feet.”
“I've never seen a gazelle do what you're about to do in heels like that.”
“Just you watch.” I have one leg over the wall. Looking down, the wall is a lot higher than I thought.
I bite my lip as my brain tries to decipher this little problem. I know if I actually jump, the spikes of my heels will either spear the ground or my foot will roll unnaturally, and I'll keel over in pain. Plus, my dress will fly up, possibly over my head, exposing far too much of my goods.
Or. . .
I swing my leg back over and climb on top of the wall on my knees. I carefully sit down and let my legs fall over the edge. I pull off my heels and pinch the end of my dress to hold it in place.
And then I jump.
Dash is right there, his arms out just in case I need him. But I land on flat feet in the grass. I fix my hair and give him a little smile. “Like a gazelle,” I say, slipping my heels back on my feet.
He laughs and shakes his head. “Looks like you showed me.”
“I told you.”
“No, it looks like you're showing me your panties.” He jerks his head at my backside and wags his brows.
I throw a hand behind my back, only to realize that my dress, while I had held down the front, folded and tucked itself against my hip. Half my ass is showing, and he's enjoying every second of the view.
Quickly, I pull it free and fix the edges. “That wasn't part of my plan.”