“That’s enough,” I said, shooting him a glare that I hoped Kim would think was comical.
“You two behave,” Todd laughed, “or I’ll tell her about the time we had to throw out the
drunken cheerleaders.”
“You wouldn’t dare,” I growled, but I couldn’t help grinning.
Todd raised an eyebrow, then gave me a nod and went back to his post around the corner.
Leading Kim out the other end of the alley, she turned us west as we kept walking.
“You know I’m not going to let it go,” she giggled. “Tell me about the cheerleaders.”
I gave her hand a little squeeze. “I’d rather talk about that amazing kiss.”
She was so cute when she blushed. “I’m honestly sort of surprised that happened,” she
said softly.
“I knew it was going to happen from the second I laid eyes on you,” I said. I hoped that I
sounded confident, not like a jerk. There was something about Kim that was twisting me up
inside, making me second-guess every natural reaction.
“Well,” she said, looking up at me through her long, delicate lashes, “I’m on vacation.
People are supposed to let go and be free when they’re on holiday, right?”
I could feel my grin taking over my face. “Absolutely. Why don’t we roll with that? Instead of starting to date like normal people, let’s
act like we’re on vacation this week, and stay
together as much as possible.”
“Week?” she laughed.
“Yes. I haven’t taken any time off in a while, since I haven’t had a good excuse. I do have to
work for a few hours this afternoon, but what if I picked you up for dinner, then we had a
fabulous tropical evening together?”
I was relieved that she only seemed to think about it for a few seconds. “Okay.”
Pulling out my phone, I took down her number and address, so that I could pick her up at
seven-thirty. “Bring a bathing suit,” I said, “so that we can go for a dip in the ocean tonight.”
Her perfectly arched eyebrow raised higher. “Where are you going to find an ocean
downtown?”
“Trust me, I have my ways,” I said.
Pulling her off the sidewalk and under the awning of a vacant storefront, I held her against
me as I kissed her gently. I instantly felt my heart thumping heavily. “I can’t believe what you do to me,” I murmured.