Page 63 of Single Girl in the City
Taking the bulb from her apron, his hands grazed her stomach, a feather-light contact, but her lungs went on strike. His gaze locked on hers and held for an eternity. With a wink, he lifted an arm and easily screwed in the bulb.
“Now you’re just showing off,” she said.
“Is it working?”
“I don’t know. I was too busy,”checking out your lips, “thinking up ‘How many friends-without-benefits does it take to screw in a light bulb’ jokes.”
“I hope the answer is two because I’m a one-woman kind of guy.”
Oh boy.Needing a breather, she looked back at the light fixture that was a mile overhead. “This is so stupid.” She breathed out the words slowly. “I mean, it’s just one silly step.”
He ran his thumb along her jawline, then tucked her hair behind her ears. “Sometimes the first step is the hardest.” His hand slid down her arm, giving her a little squeeze of support, then let go.
Her heart raced, but for a whole other reason. She felt as if this was a turning point for them, that if she didn’t do something now, the moment would pass.
What had been stopping her to begin with? First, it was to keep her distance, which was a joke. She couldn’t stay away from him even if she wanted. Which was why she hadn’t found a new place to live—because she didn’t want a new neighbor. She wanted her current neighbor, who was looking at her as if he could read her every thought.
If so, maybe he could explain what was going on. Explain why she’d been holding back. His bar was running like a well-oiled John Deere at the county fair’s annual tractor pull, her job was technically done, yet she was still working there as if there were other things to fix besides light bulbs.
She was afraid that if their relationship changed, she’d lose what they had. But there was a potential amazing on the other side if she was brave enough to go after it.
God, she wished Jenny was there to tell her what to do. Right at that moment, a warm strength filled her chest and she knew what Jenny would say.
“I have a favor to ask,” Abi said. “I need a ride somewhere Tuesday night.”
He lifted his head and his lips quirked at the corners. “Are we stopping global warming? Saving the dolphins?”
“Something better,” she said, knowing what she had to do. “And before you say no, Nora is managing that night and—”
“Yes.”
She stopped. “What?”
He stepped up one more rung and everything lined up. Thigh to thigh, shoulder to shoulder and all the good parts in between. His good part was a little bigger than it had been moments ago, which made her nipples hard. He leaned in and, against her ear, whispered, “Anything.”
“Even though it’s Two-Dollar Tuesday?” Which, with its two-dollar drafts, was almost as packed as game nights.
“Even then.”
Chapter Twenty-Two
Happy Things:
A good game of Grab Ass
“What kind of good deed are we talking?” Owen asked as he looked up at the flashing neon sign, which readsaddle rack.
The Saddle Rack was a country bar and dance hall that Abi frequented. It was a city take on a country-bred pastime, and a decade past its prime, but it was the closest thing to remembering her roots Abi had found since arriving in Portland. She wasn’t a regular, but she tried to make it to Tuesday night Two-Step-Off, where couples showed their moves for a plastic trophy and a free pitcher of Lone Star.
Abi never turned down the opportunity to dance, but she’d turned down plenty of offers for more. Usually she came for the comradery, a chance to feel not so alone. Tonight, she’d come for so much more.
“It’s a surprise.”
“Are we teaching Delores how to ride the mechanical bull?”
She grinned up at him, which meant she had to tilt her head all the way back. Damn, the man was tall, and big and built and a whole lot of other adjectives that if she listed, she’d be there for hours. “What part of surprise includes me telling you the surprise?”
“The kind of surprise where I know what I’m walking into.”
