Page 44 of You Had Me at Hockey

“What?” We resume walking.

“Stopping in random places you want to see.”

“I guess so. Why not? I’ve discovered some amazing things.”

“Yeah. I can see that.”

“You have everything planned. Maybetooplanned.” I hope I haven’t insulted him.

“Maybe,” he agrees quietly. “I like it that way, though.”

“I know.” I think about that as we walk.

I did it again. Messed up his plans. I shouldn’t have jumped at the chance to hang out with my friends. I love Eli and Cooper and I wanted them to meet Josh and…I didn’t think the poetry reading was going to be that terrible.

He’s being very gracious about it, though. He could be pissed at me.

“I saw pictures of you on Instagram,” he says out of the blue. “At a book launch?”

“Oh. Yeah! Thursday night. I went with Eli and Cooper. And then we went to a club after and danced. Do you like dancing?”

“Sure.”

“Do you want to go dancing right now?”

“Uh…”

“Kidding! I already messed up your evening enough. I forgot you like to plan your spontaneity.”

He grins and it makes my girl parts heat up. Damn, he’s just so…gorgeous. But more than that. His smile is genuine and self-aware and that’s really, really hot. “Just a bit. How about we plan to go dancing sometime?”

I squeeze his arm, his biceps big beneath his jacket. “Okay!”

Well, there. We’re planning another date.

“Do you ever sing to yourself?” I ask.

He shakes his head. “Uh…yeah. Sometimes.”

“When was the last time?”

“Hmm. I sing in the car. But I haven’t driven much since I’ve been here.”

I nod.

“What about you?”

“Well, I don’t have a car. But I sing all the time. I have a terrible voice.”

“I think your voice is sexy.”

I tilt my head, the corners of my mouth kicking up. “Do you? Thank you. I actually like your voice too. I noticed it that day we did the podcast.”

“Yeah?”

I nod. “But I can’t sing. Truly. I’m not very musical. I like dancing, but I’m not that great at it. When I was a kid, I grew really fast, and I was all long, skinny arms and legs, and super uncoordinated. I freakin’ hated gym class. So…I’m trying to learn these TicTok dances and videoing myself doing them. It’s kind of humiliating.”

“But it’s real.”

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