Page 32 of Bourbon Bliss
From the corner of my eye, I saw Cassidy wince.
“Thank you.” I leaned down, putting my face near her hair, and inhaled deeply. “You smell extremely pleasant as well. Have we talked about the impact of scent on the brain?”
“I don’t recall that we have.”
“We should. It’s remarkable.” I put my nose in her hair and smelled her again. Her scent went straight to my head, like a shot of good whiskey. “I read once that our sense of smell is directly connected to the limbic system.”
“The oldest part of the brain,” June said, her voice breathy.
“The primitive part of the brain.” Since she wasn’t moving away, I took another deep breath. God, she smelled good.
It was about then that I remembered we weren’t alone. Jonah stood in the doorway to the kitchen and Cassidy was still on the steps. Both were staring at us, open-mouthed.
I kept my attention on June. “Shall we?”
“Yes.”
I offered my arm, but she hesitated, drawing her eyebrows together and looking at me with confusion. I grabbed her hand and tucked it into the crook of my elbow.
“Oh. Right.”
Her hand was small against my arm, her fingernails cut short and unpolished. She was as natural as a woman came, this one, and I loved that about her. No games. No agenda. So different from the women who’d always surrounded us when I played football.
I tipped my chin to Jonah and Cassidy. “Have a good evening.”
“Night, you two,” Cassidy said with a smile. She wiggled her fingers at her sister.
I led June to my car and opened the passenger side door, closing it after she got in. She sat with her back stiff, her hands clasped in her lap. I couldn’t quite tell if she was nervous, or if that was just how June sat when she was in a car.
She’d relaxed quickly enough when we’d danced last night. Feeling her melt into me as we’d swayed to the music had been enormously gratifying. I could tell June was going to be a bit of a mystery. She wasn’t like most girls, and if I wanted to get to know her better, I was going to have to play by her rules.
I didn’t mind. She was intriguing. A little awkward, and often blunt. But intriguing nonetheless. A challenge. I was a competitive guy. I couldn’t resist a good challenge.
We pulled into the parking lot of the Bowl and Skate. It was packed full of cars, but I found a spot off to the side.
June glanced at me. “Bowling? Or roller skating? I should warn you, I’m not proficient at either of those activities. And it appears to be busy.”
“We’re not here to bowl,” I said. “Or skate. There’s a bowling tournament tonight. I figured we could be spectators. It’s not exactly a football game, or even baseball for that matter. But it’s the best I could do on short notice.”
June smiled. Her lips parted, the corners turning up, in an honest-to-goodness smile. It lit up her face, making her eyes sparkle. Made me feel like I’d just scored a game-winning touchdown.
“We’re here towatchbowling?”
“That we are. Sound good?”
“Yes. It sounds great.”
I got out of the car, but she was out before I could get around to open the door for her. I made up for it by holding the door open when we went into the bowling alley.
The rumble of bowling balls rolling down the lanes and the crack of falling pins filled the air. Every lane was full, a colorful motley of people in garish bowling league shirts. The scent of onion rings, fries, and beer mingled with the disinfectant the attendant sprayed into the rental shoes to keep them clean. Someone bowled a strike in lane four, and the team erupted with cheers.
I put my hand on the small of June’s back and led her through a knot of people. Most of the crowd was down near the lanes—there weren’t a lot of spectators—so we found a small table near the shoe counter.
Several laminated menus were stacked on one end of the table. I handed one to June and took a look at the selections. Pretty standard bowling alley fare. It all sounded good to me. Onion rings were definitely happening.
“What looks good?” I asked.
She tilted her head as she studied the menu. “I’m partial to just about everything they offer. Particularly onion rings.”
