“Hey, Chris,” he says. I turn to see who he is talking to, and then look back at Paul.
“Who's that?” I ask because he’s not someone I would have pictured on this trip.
“That’s Chris. He’s the other tour guide.”
My eyes go wide.
“Oh, ok.”
The man is handsome. He looks to be about my age which is surprising to me, considering I thought I would be the youngest person here.
“You ready to go meet everyone?” he says, standing up.
“I sure am.”
Especially that plaid-clad specimen.
We drop our dishes in the plastic bin and head outside. Paul goes ahead of me to catch up to Chris.
I follow the crowd and end up somewhere in the middle. There’s only one problem though, I can’t see. Being short has its advantages, but this is not one of them.
“Excuse me, sorry.” I say, repeatedly to the people in front of me that I am trying to get past.
All of them are at least six inches taller than me. When I get to the front, I am met by green eyes, a damn amazing smile, and dimples. Oh my gosh, he has dimples. Be still my fluttering heart. His chocolate brown hair is messy but neat and I’m already thinking about how soft it is.
Stop.I am not here for the. I'm here to reset my life. To find myself again and do something I love doing.
I am here to have fun.
Not with a man.
Then, he looks at me and I am pretty sure my knees turned to Jell-O. I pull my phone from my pocket to distract myself from him. Deciding instead to text Chrissy and let her know how excited I am about my first day.
Go get’em bird nerd, was her response.
Chapter 8
Chris
DidIexpectthereto be women on this trip?Of course.Did I expect there to be a woman that would capture my attention like no other woman has before?Nope. But when I stand in front of that group of people, and she comes scooting to the front, she makes me forget what I'm about to say.
There she is with her big blue eyes and dark auburn hair braided and pulled to one side, little wisps of hair around her freckled face. Her lips are light pink and her nose slightly turns up at the end. And her curves, oh God, her curves are in all the right places. She isn’t some tiny little thing. Yeah, she's on the shorter side, maybe 5’4, but her hips and thick thighs make my mouth water. I have to remind myself to act professional, at least while in front of the entire group.
Once I get my composure back, we break into groups, and I have to hide my beaming smile when she raises her hand first to join my team. We break off from the rest of the people and get to know them.
“Welcome everyone to the 10th annual “Talk Birdie to Me” tour. My name is Chris, and I will be your guide. Starting in North Carolina gives us a chance to see the amazing birds that live along these coast lines. We will spend two days here, on the island, then we will move inland. The fifth day we will visit the local zoo which houses over one hundred exotic birds. Now, I would love if we could go around the circle, tell us your name, what is your favorite bird and what bird are you looking forward to seeing the most. Who would like to go first?”
Her hand flies up before I even finish the question.
“Hi, I’m Sarah. My favorite bird is the red-bellied woodpecker, and what I am most excited to see is a toss-up between the Painted Bunting and the Steller's Jay.”
I watch her intently as she tells everyone. When she’s done her eyes land on mine, and something stirs under my skin. Is that nervousness? I’m not usually a nervous person, even around beautiful women.
“Alright, let's get to it then. Today we are going to walk on the beaches,” I say after everyone’s done with their introductions.
We all grab our backpacks and load into the van. I notice Sarah is standing off to the side while everyone gets on.
“Everything ok?” I ask her.