Page 57 of How He Got the Girl
Is this a normal girl thing? Holding your friend’s purse while they take pictures?
Shayna comes out of nowhere, taking both our cappuccinos.
Seriously, is there some kind of friend assembly line I don’t know about?
Kelsey holds a phone up as Mallory drags me in front of the tree.
“What pose do you want this time?” she asks. “You mentioned a kiss on the cheek, but our height difference may be a hindrance. We don’t want you looking like the Hunchback of Louisville.”
“I can fix that.” I bend down, wrapping my arms around her legs, under her butt, and lifting her into the air with ease.
“What are you doing?” Her voice is breathless.
“Getting rid of the height difference.” I smile as she scowls at me. “Now, maybe keep one of your legs straight and pop the other foot up. And I’ll kiss you on the cheek if you want to look at the camera.” Leaning my face toward hers, my nose brushes her cheek. “Remember to look like you like me, beautiful.”
I close my eyes and press my lips to her cheek in a featherlight kiss. Her skin is cold beneath my lips. I’d spend all night warming it up with a thousand kisses if she were really mine.
“Okay, I got some good shots.” Kelsey’s voice breaks me out of the moment.
I blink, opening my eyes to find Mallory looking at me like I’m a puzzle she’s trying to put together without thepicture on the box—not impossible to solve, but harder to do without the full picture.
I don’t realize I’m just standing there staring at her until she presses her lips into a firm line. “Can you put me down?”
“Right.” I carefully set her back on her feet. “Sorry.”
Kelsey sends us the pictures, and I immediately select my favorite.
“Mind if I post this one?” I show it to Mallory, and she nods.
“That’s fine.”
I do a few small edits to lighten the photo and type up a quick caption:The only present I want under the tree this year.
I tag Mallory as a collaborator on the post and press the share button, which she quickly accepts. “You might need to be the one to post the next picture. You could even do a story tonight, holding your drink with me in the background or something. We don’t want the relationship to look too one-sided.”
“You’re probably right.” She slides her purse back on while I grab our drinks from Shayna. I hand Mallory hers and take a long drag of mine.
She pulls her phone back out, holding her drink out in front of her. “Say cappuccino.”
“Cappuccino.” I smile.
“What kind of words do people put on their stories?” She blushes. “Does that make me sound like a total social media newbie?”
“It’s refreshing.” I step behind her, looking at the photo over her shoulder. Even though the focus is on the cup in the photo, the way I feel about her is written all over my face. My stupid, lopsided, dopey grin that only she seems to pull out of me is plastered on my face, and my eyes are squinty but bright, filled with adoration for this woman.
I clear my throat. “People handle stories a lot of different ways, but you can tag my username in it, if you’d like, and put emojis or a few words on it.”
She bites her bottom lip while typing for a minute. “How’s this?” Mallory hands me her phone while she sips on her drink.
In the bottom right corner of the screen, she added the wordsI only have ice for you, followed by the eyes emoji.
My hopeless romantic heart pounds in my chest. The little traitor. “That’s perfect. Very punny.”
“I thought you’d like it. Seemed like it matched the lovesick expression you were going for.”
I’m not sure whether to celebrate or feel devastated by the fact that she thinks I’m acting. Is that why she’s seemed so confused since I ran into her again?
“Posted.” She looks up at me with a small smile. “My first story.”
