“Anytime,” I choked out.
“So, was that your parents I saw when you were at Dina’s?” she asked, moving on quickly.
“Yeah, Lana and Hank. Technically they were my foster parents, but they are so much more than that. Awesome, awesome people,” I said, realizing I might be babbling a bit.
“They looked very nice,” she said. “I didn’t want to intrude.”
“You should have. I mean, you should have come over to talk. It wouldn’t have been intruding.”
“Well, next time I might,” she said, that smile making my stomach tighten, and if I had to admit it, my cock twitch.
“I’d like that,” I said, mirroring her words. Considering way she lit up when I said that I was pretty sure we were actually actively flirting now. Part of me panicked, not knowing where to go from there.
“Hey, are you going to the big bonfire tonight?” she asked. “Wendy said that you’ve come to them before. She just invited me and Dee, and I don’t really know anyone there except Wendy and Finn. It would be cool if I had another friendly face.”
“I was thinking about it,” I said. “But if you’re going to be there, I’ll make it a priority.”
“Good,” she said, biting her bottom lip. I had never had an urge to grab a woman and kiss her like I did in that moment.
It was true that I had only been thinking about going. After the week with my parents, I was contemplating staying home and not doing anything. Maybe watch a couple of movies and go to bed early. But if Malia was going to be at the bonfire, then I was going to be there too. No way I was going to miss an opportunity to have a little more of the feeling I was having right now.
“Malia?” Dee called from the end of the aisle. “I need to grab some stuff in the makeup aisle. Do you need anything?”
“I’m coming,” she said, then turned back to me. “I’m sorry. If I let her get my makeup for me, she will get the wrong stuff. I swear she does it on purpose. Always with the switcheroo and then says things like ‘I just thought you should try it.’ You know.”
“I’m sure,” I said.
“At any rate, I’m excited to see you tonight. Dee says these things are a blast. See you then.”
“Wouldn’t miss it,” I said. “Bye.”
I shot off a short wave and watched as she hobbled away, heading toward her sister and then turning down an aisle a few rows away from mine. I watched her all the way until she was halfway down it, picking up a display of lip liner and then turning back to catch eyes with me one more time. I smiled and then put my head down, heading out of the aisle. I didn’t want to seem like a creep, standing there watching this younger woman shop.
I headed toward the front of the store, meaning to check out, when I realized the only thing in my cart was toilet paper. I hadn’t even gotten the damned cat food. I stopped, rolling my eyes and sighing. How could this girl get in my head that deep, that fast? She was so distracting that I almost forgot the main thing I came to the store for.
Yet, she was in the direction I needed to go, and if I went back that way while she was there, I would seem like I was stalking her, which I certainly didn’t want. Resigning myself to not following my normal patterns and being extraordinarily inefficient in the name of avoiding embarrassment, I headed to the food and started the grocery shop there. When enough time had passed that I figured they would have left that side of the store, I headed over and grabbed the cat food and other items I needed before getting the hell out of there.
I didn’t see her again during my shopping trip, and I was split on how I felt about it. Part of me was happy I didn’t run into her again and risk making a fool of myself. But another part of me was dying to see those eyes, to take another look at those lips and fantasize about how soft they would feel pressed against mine.
15
MALIA
“What’s the weather supposed to be like again?” I called into the other room.
“Jacket weather,” Dee said from her room. “I mean, it’s going to have a nice chill out there, but the fire’s freaking huge and warms everything up nicely. Plus, you can go inside if you get uncomfortable.”
“I don’t know these people, though,” I said. “I wouldn’t be comfortable going inside.”
“It’s Deacon and Rebecca’s place,” she said. “They bounce the bonfires around every once in a while, but Deacon and Rebecca are really good people. Deacon’s one of the guys from the logging company. His girl, Rebecca, is super cool. She works at the diner sometimes and also at the tattoo place. She’s going to be an artist there when her apprenticeship is done.”