Page 35 of Not That Ridiculous

“Wait!”

He obligingly paused as I squirmed around between his arms to face him.

“Um,” I said.

He lifted his brows.

My mind blanked.

Kevin’s biceps were now in view rather than his wrists and forearms. He peeled his body slowly off mine. His muscles bunched as he shoved against the door.

I bounced lightly again.

He bounced lightly off me again.

His brows were still up.

I heard the latch click. “That did it,” I croaked, and ducked under his arm. “Great job. Thanks so much.” I scooped my messenger bag up off the floor and made for the safety of the kitchen.

Okay.

That was seriously not a normal way to close a door.

I busied myself getting the milk out of my bag and into the fridge. Kevin didn’t follow me straight away. I heard the door open and shut a couple more times, and decided to leave him to play with it. Phil was lying on the kitchen floor by his empty food bowl, the tip of his nose touching it, in case I wasn’t clear on what he wanted.

“That door,” Kevin said, wandering in when I was scooping out Phil’s kibble, “is warped to hell and back.”

“Tell me something I don’t know.”

“All right. I’ve got a plane in my Land Cruiser, and after you’ve made my fancy latte, I’m going to fix it for you.”

“You are not,” I said firmly.

“You’re right,” he said, and snapped his fingers. “I’m doing your cabinets first. Besides, I hate to break it to you, but you need a new front door. No worries. I know a guy. I’ll get you a great deal.”

“Kevin.” I cocked a hip and set a hand on it. “You are not fixing my house.”

He shrugged.

Beside me, Phil groaned.

Right. “Sorry, Phil,” I said. To Kevin, I said, “I have to feed him first, then we can do your latte.”

“Cool. I want a bear.”

“I’m not doing you a bear. I’m not that good yet, and even if I was, I wouldn’t do one.” Kibble rattled in Phil’s bowl as I shook it out. Phil pranced on the spot beside me.

“That’s mean,” Kevin said.

I glanced up and over at him, surprised. “It’s not mean.”

“It is.” Kevin was leaning against the counter opposite me. His legs were crossed at the ankles and his arms were crossed over his big chest. His eyes were focused. There was something about the way he was holding himself that made my heart rate pick up. “You’re telling me I can’t have what I want.”

“That’s life. You don’t always get what you want, in case you haven’t worked that one out yet. You’re young. Perhaps you haven’t. Sorry to be the one to ruin it for you.”

Kevin stared at me.

“I can’t do bears,” I gave in and told him, before I did something like blush under that disapproval. “I’m actually not very good at even the basic stuff yet, and doing anything 3D will take a lot more practice to learn. As in years. And—” I couldn’t believe I was telling him this, but if I didn’t, he’d be convinced I was doing it to be ornery, “—I don’t want to create a little creature with a face and a smile and then have to watch them…you know. Dissolve.”

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