Page 12 of Dessert Flirt Repeat
I’m taken aback by the winky face she sends me. I wasn’t expecting that. For the rest of the night as I make dinner, do laundry, and clean up my place, my mind periodically drifts back to Becca and that winky face.
Chapter6
Becca
“Will you calm down? You’re going to bore a hole in the glass the way you’re staring at it.”
I pivot my gaze to Tori, who’s unloading a new batch of browned butter brickle ice cream into the front. “I’m calm.”
She sets the massive container of ice cream into the display freezer, takes a breath, then rolls her eyes at me. “Becca, you’re about as calm as a rabid prairie dog.”
I choke out a laugh. “Rabid prairie dog?”
She lightly tugs on my ponytail. “You have the same hair color.”
“Ha.” The momentary lightness is replaced by the nerves that have been churning inside of me all morning. I finish opening the register, then start refilling the napkin dispensers.
“Becca, I swear it’s not that big a deal,” Tori says as she frosts an ice cream cake. “So you sent that Gage guy a winking emoji. So what?”
My jaw unhinges. “So what? Tori, he probably thinks I’m a creep. First, I send him an unhinged drunken DM, and then I send him a winking emoji. What kind of a maniac sends a winking emoji to a total stranger?”
“Lots of people do.” Tori laughs. “Come on, you’re acting like you sent him a pic of your boobs.”
Just the thought of that has me dizzy with humiliation. I press my eyes shut and shake my head. “Oh my god, I can’t even imagine doing that.”
Tori’s laugh bounces around me. I still can’t believe I sent Gage Grant a freaking winking emoji. I meant to send a smiley face when I sent my last DM to him, but I hit the winking face by mistake and didn’t realize it until the message had already sent. Just thinking about that moment sends the same wave of shame and panic crashing through me. I froze. I had no idea what to do—send a message apologizing and sound like an overthinking maniac? Or ignore it and come off like a creep?
Tori pats my shoulder. “I promise you’re freaking out for nothing. This dude probably receives way more risqué things in his DMs. Like, just think of all the sexy messages and nude pics he gets. I mean, the comments on his videos are pretty X-rated. His DMs have gotta be worse.”
I take a breath, feeling the tension in my muscles ease the slightest bit. That’s a valid point.
“A winky face emoji was white noise for him, guaranteed.” Tori says it with such confidence, I almost believe her.
Just then the door swings open. I look up, and my eyes go wide. I pull my lips into my mouth to keep from gasping. Holy crap. There’s Gage Grant in the flesh, standing in my ice cream shop, three feet from me.
The right corner of his mouth hooks up when he looks at me. “Hey. Becca?”
I don’t say anything in return. I want to. I know it’s the polite thing to do, but I’m physically unable to move my mouth or blink or speak a single word. It’s impossible when I’m standing three feet from unquestionable nuclear hotness.
It’s not surprising that Gage is hot. That’s the most obvious thing you could say about him. It’s just that in person, he’s insanely hot—especially when he smiles—and it’s doing something strange to my brain.
God, have I always been this…shallow? I’ve been in the presence of attractive men plenty of times. And yeah, I’ve felt nervous. But this? This frozen state I’m in? I’ve never experienced that before.
I zero in on his mouth, those pouty lips, how they’re hooked up in the most perfect crooked smile.
Tori clears her throat behind me, breaking my trance. “Yes, that’s Becca.”
“I’m sorry about the winking face,” I blurt.
Tori’s disappointed sigh sounds behind me. Shame heats across my skin. I can’t see myself, but I’m willing to bet I’ve got one hell of a flush igniting my pale skin. God, he must think I’m such a freak.
But to my utter shock, his half-smile turns full. “No apologies necessary.” He sticks out his hand. “I’m Gage. It’s nice to meet you.”
Tori was right. It wasn’t a big deal.
Just act normal.
“So nice to meet you too,” I manage with a smile of my own and shake his hand in return. “Thank you so much for meeting me.”
