Page 39 of Bumping into You

Grinning, I take another bite. The warm summer weather is making fast work of melting our ice cream. I’m starting to regret getting a cone, but only a little, because how could I regret a waffle cone?

“You have a little . . .” Holly says, making a motion that I have ice cream on my face.

Swiping where I think she’s referring to, I ask, “Did I get it?”

“Definitely not,” says Greg, then laughs.

I try again but to no avail. After my second miss, Niall reaches over and wipes the drip of ice cream clean with his thumb.

Everything would have been fine; I could have handled the reaction my body felt when he touched my face. But then, catching me completely off guard, he licks the ice cream off his finger.

“Mmm . . . Tastes good,” he says, like him licking ice cream off his thumb wouldn’t cause my stomach to flutter with anticipation.

Lucky finger. I can think of a couple places I’d like him to lick.

Wait?! What the heck am I thinking?

Not too many hours ago, I got annoyed with him for kissing me on the cheek, and now this is where my mind goes, to places I’d like him to lick. Um no.Get it together, Gwen.It has to be the heat; it’s making me delirious. Right? Or the lack of sleep. Yep, that’s what it is.

Did no one else realize Niall practically licked ice cream off me?

Niall is grinning his charming, sexy grin at me as he takes another lick of his cone.

Chapter 18

Niall

Maybe I’m flirting too much, but I can’t help it. I love seeing Gwen’s cheeks turn red as I catch her off guard. The look on her face when I licked the ice cream off my thumb was perfect. Her eyes were wide, expression full of shock and want. I know she’s attracted to me. That was clear when she realized I was in a towel earlier.

Regardless of the deal I made with her and the one with Greg, thoughts of her have been running through my mind since the moment she bumped her head in my car and her strawberries-and-cream scent caused my body to react to her in a way that no one has made me feel in a long time.

After ice cream, everyone talks about ending the night with the late-night karaoke at the Hurdy-Gurdy bar. A few people bow out, already having made plans, and others say they’ll see how the night goes.

A while later, after arriving at the Hurdy-Gurdy, it ends up just being Gwen, Greg, Holly, Trent, Margot, and me. After watching a few other people sing, some good and some completely horrendous, the girls are up. They’ve picked “Super Troopers” fromMamma Mia!

I can tell at once they’ve done this before, and I smile as they pose facing the audience.

“This is their song,” says Greg, chuckling.

“Why’s that?” I ask, curious for as much information about Gwen as I can get.

“Well,” says Trent, “they’ve been singing ABBA since they were kids, and afterMamma Mia!came out and they saw Meryl Streep and her friends dancing to this song, they made it their mission to learn the dance.”

“You’re in for a treat,” says Greg, before cheering loudly for the girls.

The music starts, and, in the most hilariously choreographed dance, they begin their karaoke version of “Super Troopers.”

None of them miss a single move, with Gwen taking the lead and Holly and Margot as the backups. The crowd sings, whoops, and hollers during their performance.

My stomach does a flip. If only Gwen really felt that I could be the person who makes her happy, just like the lines she’s singing now. As they finish the song on a “you . . .” and point toward Greg, Trent, and me, I can’t help but beam at Gwen.

Greg, Trent, and I stand and cheer the loudest. Gwen is all smiles until she starts walking off the stage. She tenses for a split second. I don’t think anyone else notices, but no one else is watching her as intensely as I am either.

Scanning the room, I notice Bradley, Tammy, and Vivian in the crowd. They must have decided to join us after all. Vivian and Tammy are standing and clapping along with the crowd, but Bradley is staring at our little group, dread etched across his face.

“Wow,” says Greg, patting me on the arm. “Your Sully energy must be working. I haven’t seen Gwen have that much fun in a while. She must be feeling more like herself already.”

As the girls join us back at the table, Greg embraces Holly.

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