Page 18 of Kiss Me, Maybe

She rests a hand on my shoulder, concern lighting her warm brown eyes. I allow myself to take in a deep breath to ground myself, blowing it out through my nose.

“Sorry.” I shake my head once I’m recentered. “I sort of hate heights.”

Her lips twitch like she’s trying to hide a smile. “And that made you think Tower of the Americas would be a good second location?”

“It’s more of a stepping stone to the main event.”

Her brows crease. “What do you mean?”

The smooth elevator doors slide open. I rush out of the carriage, Krystal on my heels. “Just as beauty is in the eye of thebeholder, great art is in the eye of the interpreter. Find what moves you.”

“What?”

“That’s the second clue I’m workshopping.” I glance back at her. “Let’s see if you can solve it.”

Her eyes glint with the challenge.

“You’re on.”

With a determined gait, she steps onto the balcony. Outside, a burst of cold wind blows my hair back. It’s only warm with the sun out, but under the shade it’s chilly. Krystal’s gaze lands on the crossed arms over my chest and the goose bumps on my skin, and before I know it, she’s untying the flannel from around her waist and offering it to me.

“But then you’ll be cold,” I tell her as she places the garment around my shoulders. Before she can offer to help my arms through the sleeves, I take a step back from her and do that myself. Her flannel is loose and oversized on me, but that just makes it cozier.

“Don’t worry about me, Angel. I have a clue to find. That’ll keep me occupied from the cold.”

The difficulty with this clue is that art is subjective. To find the answer and get to the third clue, the participants would really have to find what movesme. I’ve given away the biggest clue in my last video, but there’s a possibility that only those who’ve watched it and remember what I said will be able to catch on. Krystal’s ability to solve the clue will give me a better idea of how it’s likely to land in the scavenger hunt.

I spot the mural immediately, but Krystal’s back is turned to it. Her eyes trace the windows, her hand resting on a metal scope. “I don’t know where I’m supposed to be looking.”

She turns around, and I catch the moment she spots it. A flash of recognition that rounds her eyes, jaw falling open slightly before she forces it closed with the click of her teeth.

My feelings exactly.

I can’t explain what I felt when I first came across the mural, only that it hit me in the chest with the force of a ten-ton punch.Moved, indeed.

But just as soon as she spots it, her eyes slide past the graffiti up to the sky. “Find what moves you.” The words are barely audible, but her lips move over them a second time, like a mantra. I try not to let the disappointment that blooms in my chest get to me.It’s right in front of you, I want to tell her.I thought you felt what I felt.But I bite my lip to keep from giving her any more clues than the vague one she already has.

She places her eyes against the scope, moving it around until she spots something in the distance. I can’t tell where she has it pointed to, but she lets out an “Aha!” like she’s solved the entire thing.

She waves her arm for me to look, and when I place my eyes against the scope, still warm from her skin, I’m not sure what I’m looking at until the words on the sign come into view. It’s an advertisement for First Friday, the art walk that takes place downtown every first Friday of the month.

She looks at me expectantly when I turn back to her. “Close.”

“Close?” she guffaws. “Where else can you find art that moves you? Forget a museum, First Friday istheplace to walk around and make inaccurate interpretations to your heart’s content.”

“You’re still watching my videos.”

“It’s research.”

Still, I can’t help but delight in the way her cheeks turn pink.

“I have to see you the same way your followers do.”

“Okay.” I take a step closer to her. “What do you see, then?”

Her brown eyes track me curiously, rising to meet my gaze when I take up more of the space between us.

“Someone different than the woman I met five years ago.”

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