Page 51 of Grit
She walked past Café Maya and waited at the crosswalk, staring at the ground and trying to get her face under control. She hated blushing and only did it when Cary’s name was mentioned. Apparently.
Shit.
She crossed the street, heading for Jeremy’s comic book shop.
“Sea Sirens,” she muttered. “Is that the same as mermaids? Is it a mermaid book?” She wasn’t sure how much Abby would like mermaids, but she wasn’t going to go back to Emmie’s. Not for all the books in— “Oof.”
She wasn’t looking and nearly ran into the door as someone opened it.
“Melissa?” Cary held the door open. “Hey.”
Of course Cary was in Jeremy’s shop. Ofcoursehe was.
“Hi.” She glanced in the shop, and the memory of last spring’s Art Walk came rushing back.
His face lit up. “I didn’t expect to see you today.” Without another word, he let the door to the comic book shop close, stepped up to her on the sidewalk, put one arm around her and kissed her.
She lost her head for a second, just like she always did when Cary kissed her. All she could think about was how his lips felt and how he smelled. After a stunned moment, she pushed him away.
“Hey.” She looked around. “Hi. Um, I didn’t know we were doing… that. In public.”
He looked amused. “Doing what? Kissing on the sidewalk in Metlin is practically a tradition for us. Of course, we weren’t fighting before we kissed, but I feel like we could skip that part.”
“One time,” she hissed. “One time is not a tradition.”
He smiled. “Two times now. That’s getting closer.”
She glanced over her shoulder toward INK. Were Emmie and Tayla watching? Probably.Just kill me now.“What are you doing here?”
“Going over a new climb with Jeremy. Want to come? Tayla, Emmie, and Ox are camping with us. You and Abby could come too.”
Melissa was too confused to think. “I… can’t think about that right now. Abby’s going to her grandparents this weekend.”
“It’s next weekend, so perfect.” He tucked her hair behind her ear, his fingers brushing her cheek. “What are you doing in town?”
“I had some free time, so I set up a meeting with Brian about the bunkhouse.” Half of her wanted to push his hand away and the other half wanted to lean into it and purr. She kept flashing between kissing him at Halsey Rock. Kissing him in front of the hospital. Kissing him on his bed.
Okay, that seemed like a lot. Maybe they were kissing more than average, but what was average for friends who kissed? She had no experience with any of this.
She shrugged her shoulder and he dropped his hand. “So… what are you doing here?”
He grinned. “Going over climbing plans with Jeremy. Like I just said.”
“Right.” She was an idiot. Her brain was gone. Why did Cary do this to her? It was probably all the kissing. “So there’s a book Emmie told me Jeremy has, and she thinks Abby would like it. That’s why I came over.”
“Nice.” He looked her up and down. “You look great today.”
“I’m wearing dirty jeans and a tank top.”
“I know.” He leaned closer. “But I’m choosing to imagine you naked.”
“Cary!” She looked around. “You can’t say things like that.”
“Why not? Are you imagining me naked now?”
Of course she was. How could she not be? The man was evil. “You are…” She opened her mouth. Closed it. “You’re in a mood today. And I’m going to go buy that book for Abby.”And not imagine anyone naked for a while.
“Okay.” He opened the door for her. “I’ll help.”
