Page 24 of Crazy for You
Holy hell.I swallowed the desert of sand in my mouth.
His hair tickled my cheek as his broad chest barely kissed mine.
I whimpered, a sound I prayed he didn’t hear. I closed my eyes, wanting to disappear. No, scratch that. I wanted to rub my hands all over him.
His warm breath tickled my ear. “Breathe, Skyler.” His voice was husky, and I shivered. “I’m just getting your skateboard.” As he did, his body brushed mine.
I willed myself to stay still and my lady parts to calm the heck down.
His fingers landed under my chin. “You can open your eyes now.”
When I did, he was examining the wheel on my board.
I slid off to the side, letting out the air in my lungs. “Can you fix it?” That was the proposition I had for him, but somehow, all thought escaped me.
“Mmm,” he said. “It looks like you’ll need a new wheelbase.” He continued to examine the shark with jagged teeth, big eyes, and red jaw I’d painted on the bottom. “Cool drawing.”
I shook off the myriad of feelings coursing through me, or tried to, as I zeroed in on my board. “Thanks.”
“Are you any good on this thing?” he asked.
“Not Olympic good, but I can hold my own. Why? Do you skate?”
“My younger brother did.” His hand began to shake.
Somehow, I found the courage and erased the small space between us. I wasn’t sure of what to say or do. I only knew his brother died in a drowning accident. But something told me not to say a word.
“Actions speak louder than any words,” Mom had always said.
So I gently placed my hand over his and held it there.
He froze as we locked eyes. We didn’t need words. I hoped he saw my empathy and sympathy. I knew what it was like to lose a loved one, and until a person went through a death, they didn’t understand.
“I lost my mom,” I said on a whisper.
Despair washed over him, sending a zap of pain to my heart. Then his chest heaved, and he withdrew his hand. “I've got to run. Do you mind if I take this with me? I’ll see if I can pick up a new wheelbase for you.”
He could take me instead. “Go ahead.” I couldn’t use it, anyway.
With my most precious possession in his grasp, he headed for the door, when his phone rang, the sound blaring in the carless garage. He stopped to answer. “Yeah.”
Amanda’s squeaky voice came through loud and clear, as though he had her on speaker.
I ground my back teeth.
He watched me intently as he listened to Amanda prattle on about being on time for something.
I snarled, not caring that I was laying my cards on the table.
A slow, wolfish grin emerged on those thick lips of his, making my freaking heart beat out of control. I had no idea what was happening between us, but whatever it was had to stop. He was dating Amanda, and I wasn’t a relationship breaker.
“I’m on my way,” he said to Amanda. “Let Grady know I’ll bring the beer.” Then he pocketed his phone.
One of my eyebrows climbed up to my hairline. “Drinking like your dad?”Oh, for fuck’s sake. Shut up, Skyler.
He ambled toward me with a sense of purpose. Yeah, that purpose was probably to cut out my tongue. I wouldn’t blame him.
Once we were toe-to-toe, he brushed strands of my bangs off my forehead. “Grady thinks you were prettier with long hair.”
