Page 17 of Dreams
“Eating healthy?” Taylor asked, glancing down at the burger, fries, and milkshake in front of her.
“I have to.” He stole one of her fries and leaned back, not wanting to elaborate. When you tell someone you’re a professional athlete, it tends to change the way they see you. For some reason, Josh didn’t want Taylor seeing him in that light. “I like the hair,” he said after a few moments of silence.
“Thanks.” She ran a hand over the top of her head, but didn’t smile.
Josh caught her stealing a glance at him before looking down at the table. He grinned, not taking his eyes from her as they ate.
“I don’t know how you do it,” he said seriously, watching as she drew a breath in sharply.
She finally met his gaze. “Do what?”
He let the tension stretch between them before he couldn’t stop his lip from twitching. “Eat fries without ketchup.”
She let out a relieved sigh and shrugged.
“It’s just weird,” he continued.
Looking down at her plate and then back at him, she picked up a fry and threw it at him. With quick reflexes, he caught it mid-air and stuffed it in his mouth.
“Throwing food now?” Feigning disapproval, he reached over and stole another fry. “I’ll be taking this as an apology.”
When he tried to take another one, she grabbed his hand and pressed it to the table.
“Those are mine,” she challenged, finally giving him a small smile.
Her hand was smooth against his calloused one, and he suddenly didn’t want her to let go.
“If I release you, will you behave?” she asked.
He flipped his hand over so they were palm to palm and threaded his fingers through hers. She froze for a long moment then snatched her hand back.
“Sorry,” she said.
“You don’t have to be sorry.”
She looked at him with clouded eyes while reaching out slowly to squeeze his hand one time before scooting out of the booth.
Before leaving, she turned back. “Can we… do this again?” She studied her feet, waiting for an answer.
“Yeah,” Josh said with a soft laugh. “I’d like that.”
