Page 53 of How to Get Revenge on a Cheating Ex
My lungs contract, and for a second I can’t breathe. Bailey going up on her tiptoes, her arms wrapping around my neck as she presses against me, and?—
“Zack?” Bailey’s eyes narrow. “Why are you looking at me like that?”
I give my head a shake and clear my throat. Reality smacks me in the face and I shove all those thoughts out of my head. I point to her. “You. Me. Closing time. It’s a plan.”
She fidgets, shifting from one foot to the other. “It’s not much of a plan, though, is it? I mean, won’t it seem weird that we’re kissing right in front of the staff trailer?” Her eyes widen as she adds, “Where Grayson just happens to be?”
“You’re overthinking this.”
“I’m not. I’m just saying, why would we be kissing in front of the staff trailer when?—”
“Because we got caught up in the moment, Bailey.” I hop down from the counter and that puts me right in her personal space.
She doesn’t back up. So, at least she’s getting more comfortable being close to me. That’s progress.
“We did?” Her brows draw together in disbelief.
“Picture this.” I move in a little closer. “You and me, we’re doing our bickering thing. You’re giving me a hard time about my terrible work ethic and I’m making you blush by talking about how great your legs look in that little pleated skirt.”
Her eyes widen slightly. “They do?”
I nod. “Hell yeah, they do.”
Her cheeks flush, just as I’d said they would.
“You’re teasing,” she mutters.
“I’m not.” I move in closer until she’s backed up against the counter.
I place my hands on either side of her, having a little too much fun watching her eyes darken with awareness. “Can’t you picture it? Bickering turns to flirting, and flirting...” I reach out and tuck some hair behind her ear. I don’t even know why, I just want to touch her.
Her lips part, and my point is made, but I spell it out for her anyway. “All week Grayson’s been watching the sexual tension build between us. And today, that sexual tension is about to break.”
She blinks a few times. “It is?”
I nod. “It is.”
I see the tip of her tongue as she wets her lip, her breathing uneven. “Okay then.”
I fight a smile because the way she’s looking up at me right now, all wide eyes and parted lips? It’s exactly like I’d imagined.
The sound of the bell dinging over the shop’s door has her jerking away from me as she calls out a greeting to the middle-aged couple who’s walking in.
They smile and wave, and we both wait until they’ve started browsing the T-shirts by the front window before we go back to the topic at hand.
Bailey turns to me with a determined look. “Tonight, at closing.” She draws in a deep breath. “We’re doing this.”
The next couple hours crawl by as we go through the work that Bailey insists we do. How she can worry about whether or not I’ve swept the back room is a mystery to me, but I go along with it because at least nagging me and checking chores off her list keeps her mind occupied.
She’s almost calm by the time we lock up and head over to the staff trailer. Almost.
We have time to kill, which doesn’t help. It’ll take them a little while to do the closing routine, and it’s not like we can stand out front for too long without it looking weird. So, wetake a leisurely stroll through the park, watching harried parents herd their kids toward the exit and concession stand workers as they pull down their gates.
We watch as lights go out one by one as the rides stop and the games shut down for the night.
We’re oddly quiet as we walk together. But it’s not a bad quiet. It’s actually kinda...nice.
When it’s time to head to the trailer, her hands won’t stop fidgeting with the hem of her polo shirt, and I can feel her tension grow by the second as we head in Grayson’s direction.
