CHAPTER 4 | CHAPTER 6 | CHAPTER 21

Without speaking, he held up my sweater and I slid my arms through the sleeves.  Then he put on his own jacket.  I bent down and took a few deep breaths.  I still felt unsteady but the air was helping.  He watched and asked if he could get me anything.  I stood up and said no.

“I feel better.”

“Good.  I shouldn’t have bought you that last drink.”

“No, I’m fine really.  This fresh air is exactly what I needed.  Thanks.”

He leaned in closer to me and looked into my eyes for too long.  As he opened his mouth to speak, I saw a Tic Tac tucked into his cheek.

“Did you mean what you said before?”

I wasn’t sure what he was talking about.  “Of course I did.”

He was about to say something when a couple came stumbling out the door laughing loudly.  They gave us a passing glance and staggered off into the distance.

“Because I feel the same way.  I had a huge crush on you when I was in your class.”

I thought my heart would leap out of my chest.  He moved closer.  Those eyes.  From this distance, I could see little flecks of gold in the green.

“Dave, I think you misunderstood.  I’m flattered, really, it’s very sweet.”  I paused, searching for something else to say.

“No it’s not sweet, my feelings for you are not sweet.  They’re wrong and I know it.  What I want to do right now is very wrong.”  He stared at me for a long time without speaking.  I couldn’t speak either.

Something inside me shifted.  Rick hadn’t looked at me that way in years.  My body started to tingle.  His eyes burned through me.  My heart was pounding so fast I felt faint.  He wanted to kiss me but he was holding back.