Page 102 of The Thorne at My Side
"Good morning, Maggie Collins!"
"Holy shit!" I yelp as I skid to a stop outside Sunrise. "Austin?"
"The one and only, well, not really, but the one you know and, well I was about to say love. That isn't really true is it? The one you know and…”
"Despise?"
"Ouch," he pulls a hand up to his chest like he's wounded. In the arm that is still by his side I see a little box.
"What's that?" I point to it.
"A gift for you," he says as he hands it over to me.
"You can't buy my friendship, you know," I say with a smile as I pull open the ribbon on the small square package. Austin looks delightfully disheveled this morning in jeans and a gray t-shirt. The soft cotton frames his broad chest that looks firmer than I remember. While my eyes notice the physical changes in Austin since the fall, my heart is stumbling over the flowers and now the surprise present.
"I've got money to burn so I'm going to try."
I roll my eyes as I open the box. It's a gift card to Sunrise. I pull it out of the tissue and look up at him.
"A gift card to the bakery on my street?"
"I want to buy you breakfast," he says with a small shrug. He takes a barely noticeable step forward but I can feel the electric charge of his body through the post-exercise heat of mine. "And since I probably can't do that after spending the night, this is a way for me to buy you breakfast every morning. There's five grand on the card."
"Five thousand dollars?!"
He throws his headback and starts laughing. It's a rich, sexy sound. If I wasn't livid with him for this gift I'd probably throw my arms around him and kiss him to try and swallow the sound for myself.
"No, but oh, shit, that was worth it," he wipes at tears in his eyes. "I put fifty bucks on it," he holds up a hand. "Scouts honor."
I push his shoulder hard and he stumbles backwards with another giggle. I turn and start walking to my apartment and I hear him grab his skateboard and jog to catch up to me.
"Aren't you going to buy me breakfast? It's what a friend would do."
I roll my eyes. "I'm starting to wonder what kind of friends you have."
"I've got great friends," he defends. "I'm trying to add another one to the mix."
"Well this friend has a seminar at 10:00 so she's got to go upstairs, shower, and get ready."
"Can a friend help another friend with their shower?" He asks as a devilish grin spreads across his face.
"No." I say sternly. But Little Maggie between my legs screams yes. I open the door to my apartment building and then pause before going all the way in. I turn back to him, "thanks for the gift card, I hope you have a good day,friend."
"She called me friend!" He yells as he lifts his arms victoriously and spins in a circle. A laugh bursts from my mouth. A woman with a stroller walks past and he turns to her and reports, "She called me friend!"
"Ohmygod, get out of here," I laugh as I close the door.
The smile doesn't shrink from my face as I shower, as I get dressed, as I pack up my bag.
There wasn't a message from DCFox when I woke up this morning but I check the phone before I leave anyway because I'vequickly become re-addicted to messaging with him.
There's a new message.
DCFox:I don't understand women. I know that's a broad statement but time and time again I find myself questioning their logic.
Nails for example. I don't know if I've ever given one thought to a woman's nails but I hear women talking about their nails constantly. What shade. What shape. The trends.
Am I supposed to notice a woman's manicure? Compliment it?
