“What?” She let out a short burst of laughter as she looked up at him with a surprised expression. “That’s not…I don’t think…why would you—” Her hand waved up and down in front of him. “—stalk me?”
The second she asked the question he could see that she wanted to take it back. Her eyes widened and she rushed out, “I mean…I just meant that you look like you wouldn’t have to stalk anyone.”
“Thank you…I think.”
“Not that what you look like matters, I guess. I mean, remember Ted Bundy?”
“The serial killer?”
“Yeah.”
“You’re comparing me to a serial killer?” He knew that wasn’t what she meant, but he was finding that he really enjoyed teasing her. He was trying to stay focused, but he couldn’t help but think that she was so adorable when she was flustered. Like when he told her he thought she was going to ask him to turn and cough. Her reactions were so genuine and unfiltered.
If they’d met under different circumstances, if she wasn’t off-limits, he knew that he’d find great pleasure in pushing her buttons to illicit that reaction as much as possible.
Somehow her eyes grew even wider. “No! I wasn’t…I was just saying…you know what? Never mind.” She shook her head and he realized exactly what was different about her today.
He couldn’t believe it had taken him this long to figure it out. Now that he had, it was like one of those pictures that you stare at and an image appears. Once you see it, it seems so obvious that it was there all along.
“Your hair is straight,” he blurted out as they went through the double doors that led outside.
“Oh, yeah.” She ran her fingers through her silky, golden-red hair that shimmered in the morning rays. “I straightened it. It used to be long and straight but I cut it a few weeks ago. I actually forgot that my hair was curly until I cut it.”
“It looks nice.” The sleek hairstyle highlighted her facial features. Her eyes, lips, and cheekbones were more pronounced. But he also loved how the curls softened those same features. And it didn’t matter, curly or straight, he wanted to run his hands through her hair and feel the satiny strands between his fingers. “It’s beautiful, both ways.”
“Thanks.” Her smile was brighter than the sun shining down on them and it warmed him from the inside out.
It probably wasn’t an appropriate thing to say. But she had just sort of compared him to Ted Bundy. And he had seen her naked and she had grabbed his crotch within their first hour of meeting.
He grinned at both memories.
“Anyway, here we are.” She stopped in front of the building that he’d be spending the next three months in. “This is The Rose Theater. It was built in the vein of Blackfriars Playhouse. It’s not an exact replica like the one in Staunton, Virginia, but it’s Whisper Lake’s version and it’s close.” There was pride in her voice when she talked about her town. “I’m sure you know, it was built in the late eighteen hundreds. It was declared a historical landmark thirty years ago but it was in bad shape. It’s a municipal building since it sits on school property but it’s only been in the last ten years that the high school has been able to use it. When I went to school here, we had to sneak in.” She chuckled. “But after several fundraisers we were able to bring the building up to code so the school could use it for our fall and spring productions. It’s structurally sound but there is a lot of original woodwork that wasn’t touched in an effort to preserve it that has seen better days.”
When he got home from his run this morning, his work detail had come through and he’d actually been excited. It’d been a long time since he’d been able to do any restoration and although the grant was only awarded to the school to give Axel a reason to be there, the woodwork did need it. He’d looked over the proposal that Mrs. Stein had submitted the previous year and he was itching to bring the unique paneling, molding, and beveled details back to their original glory.
A bell sounded and Brynn checked her watch. “Oh, I’ve got to go. Okay, well to be honest, I just found out that I’d be filling in for Mrs. Stein, so I don’t have a rehearsal schedule set. Mrs. Stein ran rehearsal right after school from three to five, but I can see if I can get approval to run it from five to seven if that would be better for you.”
“Three to five is fine.” He understood Principal Rayburn’s hesitation to have the students in during his work hours, but for the real purpose that he was here, sharing the space with Brynn would be ideal. “Like you mentioned, the structure is sound. I’m not doing any construction, just restoration.”
“Oh, okay. Great. Well then, I’ll see you later.” Her voice was high again but in a different way. Her arm rose and she waved her hand awkwardly. “See you later.”
He grinned, wanting nothing more than the chance to get to know her better so he’d be able to tell what the different pitches in her tone meant.
Was she nervous?
Excited?
Embarrassed?
Anxious?
The more time he spent with her, the more time he wanted to spend with her.
But for now, they both had to get to work. He lifted his hand, mirroring her wave. “See you later.”
She turned to leave and didn’t make it two steps before he saw her arms fly up in the air and he knew that she was about to fall, face first, onto the ground.
His reflexes acted before his brain had even processed what he was seeing and he reached out and wrapped his arm around her waist. The momentum that she’d managed to achieve in the split second before he had her secured against him almost took him down, too. But thankfully, he managed to right them both so neither of them face-planted on the cement.