It was the shy, hesitant smile that kept him from moving. Her eyes were dancing with amusement as she fought to keep a straight face.
“I’m sexy and you know it,” he said, sounding like he was completely stuffed up, and grinned. “I’m not sure what’s better – the black war paint all over my face or the purple up my nose.”
“Maybe it’s the popsicle sticks that look like walrus teeth.”
“Ohhhh yeah,” he replied, not fighting the laughter that was bubbling inside of him as she began to giggle. “You really took this to heart, didn’t you?”
“You said ‘worst’…”
“I meant it,” he smiled.
“You aren’t mad?”
“Not in the slightest,” he admitted. “Are you trying to make me mad or upset? Because not much bothers me – unless it’s someone bothering you.”
He looked at her sitting beside him and saw her eyes widen at his words – only before she cracked up laughing again.
“I’m sorry,” she sputtered, wiping her eyes and then frowning as she got blue goopy cream stuff on her hands from her facial mask. “It’s so hard to take you serious when you look like a walrus.”
He immediately clapped his hands in front of him, making noises, making her laugh even harder. Grabbing his cell phone, he waved her over… and took a selfie and captured her amusement shamelessly, along with his tortured nose – before texting it to her.
“Oh…my…gosh,” she panted, chortling with delight. “This… is the… best thing ever!”
“I’m glad,” he grinned. “Who knew that waxing my nose would make your heart beat quickly?”
“Oh no, nooo…” she replied emphatically. “This is not sexy in the slightest.”
“I know,” he smiled. “But your laughter is doing crazy things to me – so I’m finding that I will willingly suffer anything just to hear it.”
“Wait till I remove those ‘tusks’ you have, my handsome walrus…” she admitted, grabbing a tissue and wiping her eyes as she began laughing again.
… And he didn’t care.
She called him handsome!
… And a walrus -but she said handsome too,he mused, smiling.
Sitting back, he laced his fingers with hers as their feet sat in the warm water and the movie began.
CHAPTER10
MARY
She couldn’t stop laughing– and realized that she was having an incredible time with Jax at one of her most decidedly unsexy moments ever.
This had been deliberate.
Joe’s big hang-up was ugly feet, and he said she had some of the ugliest toes he’d ever seen. So naturally, she grabbed items for a spa afternoon, intent on putting a wedge between them after that intense moment at the store.
Jax encouraged her ‘to do her worst’– so she did.
A bright blue face mask for herself along with a black mask for him – and then she saw the pot of microwavable wax on the shelf.
Achievement unlocked!
If Jax was going to get mad, then this would be why. She’d treat him like one of the girls, make him completely unappealing, so she’d quit gawking at him… and was failing miserably.
He was so engaging, so handsome, and so easy-going yet flirtatious, that even with the goop smeared all over his face and two popsicle sticks hanging out of his nose?