Page 57 of Meet Cute or Your Money Back

That little bastard.

Laughter bubbles up beside me as we sit there in the pond, soaked to the bone, grinning like two idiots. “Well,” she chuckles, pushing her dripping hair from her face, “that was one way to cool off.”

“Sorry about the, uh, crash landing,” I say, wincing as I offer her a hand.

“Are you kidding?” She takes my hand, still laughing as we climb out of the pond. “At least I didn’t knock over a champagne tower this time. Although I’m sorry to say, I don’t know that your earpieces are still in working order.”

“Right,” I reply with a smirk, feeling the weight of my soaked clothes and the warmth of her fingers wrapped around mine. “Well…they’re replaceable.” The subtext ‘you’re not’ is left unsaid as we stand there, calf deep in the pond staring into each other’s eyes. “I panicked when I saw you being dragged by Biscuit. I thought…” I don’t know what I thought, actually. I just knew I needed to act. I couldn’t let Allie get hurt.Again.

Allie blushes and catches her breath as I gently brush the wet hair from her face, my eyes drifting to her lips. The playful chaos of the chase evaporates, leaving only the charged space between us.

She gazes up at me, her hazel eyes wide. For a moment, we are frozen in time, the space between us buzzing with possibility. My heartbeat thunders in my ears. I begin to slowly lean in, drawn like a magnet towards her lips.

Before either of us can act, a voice calls out, “Oh my God! Are you okay?” Jason jogs up to the edge of the pond, brow furrowed in concern.

We jump apart, shocked, the spell broken. I whip my head towards the sound.

Allie smooths her dripping hair self-consciously. “Jason! Oh, uh… We’re fine, just a little soggy.” She lets out an awkward, high-pitched laugh.

“Here, let me help you out of there,” Jason says, offering his hand. It twists my heart to watch Allie take it, allowing him to guide her out of the water as she steals a final glance at me from over her shoulder.

I climb out after her, trying to ease the evident tension in my clenched jaw. “Well, crisis averted,” I say gruffly.

Jason smiles quickly at me, then brings his eyes back to Allie, trailing over her wet, clingy clothes appreciatively. “Do you want to come back to my place to dry off properly? It’s only a few blocks away.”

“Oh…um. No, that’s okay. It’s pretty hot out today, I’ll dry fast?—”

I bristle, stepping between them protectively. “I’ve gotit covered,” I tell Jason. “My office is close by, with towels and everything.” I keep my voice light, but my jaw clenches.

Jason raises an eyebrow, looking from me to Allie.

Understanding dawns on his face as he takes in our drenched clothing and lingering closeness. “Aha. I see?—”

“No,” Allie says quickly. “You don’t understand. This isn’t, um… He’s not…” She looks helplessly to me, but I don’t say a word. I don’t like this guy. I don’t like how he’s looking at her body in wet clothes. And I’m definitely not fucking letting her go to his apartment right now when I don’t even know the man’s last name.

Jason gives a humorless chuckle. “Look, it’s fine. You don’t owe me an explanation?—”

“Damn right she doesn’t.” They only met five fucking minutes ago.

“This is my cousin!” Allie blurts out. “Um. B-Ben.”

Jason’s features relax. “Yourcousin.”

“Yep.” Allie smiles widely, and nods at me. “My cousin Ben. Here rollerblading with me. But he’s not very good…as you can see by how he knocked us both into the pond.”

“I wassavingyou,” I grumble beside her.

Allie bends down and picks up Biscuit’s leash once more. “Anyway. He really does have an office right down there.” She points in the completely wrong direction.

Jason looks mildly disappointed but recovers smoothly. “No problem at all. I’m glad you’re okay. Maybe I could get your number and check in on you later?” He pulls out his phone hopefully.

“Sure, that would be great!” Allie says , her voice pitching a few octaves higher than natural. She undoes the armband with her phone encased in plastic and gives a little sigh of relief, holding it up. “Thank goodness for plastic coverings…”

“And the fact that the pond is so shallow here.”

Her smile widens. “Exactly.” They exchange numbers as I shift impatiently, eager to get her away from this pushy stranger.

Finally, Jason jogs off with a parting wave. Allie sags in relief once he’s out of sight, some of the tension leaving her body.

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