Page 68 of Wrench
in your eyes. We were talking, and I opened up, and you¡ pulled away.¡±
¡°But you pulled me back,¡± he said so quickly that I could see him mentally shove his
foot in his mouth. ¡°Wow. Why did I just say that?¡±
His candor softened me and I giggled to show my sympathy. ¡°I don¡¯t know why I said
any of what I just said, either.¡±
¡°I didn¡¯t mean to do that¡ to pull away,¡± he said, and I let him brush his fingers
against my arm. ¡°It just freaked me out.¡±
I stepped an inch back with my nose scrunched. ¡°What freaked you out?¡±
¡°You.¡± I didn¡¯t hold back my glare and he stammered out a correction. ¡°Not you. This.
Talking to you. Thinking about you. How your ex cheated on you.¡±
That time, I was the one with my foot in my mouth. Smacking my forehead, I said, ¡°Oh
my god. I was talking about my ex-boyfriend.¡±
¡°No, it¡¯s not that. I was the one who mentioned it in the first place.¡±
¡°Then¡ what?¡±
¡°I¡¯m not used to¡ feeling upset for someone.¡±
¡°You¡¯re¡ upset for me?¡±
Inhaling, he walked around me and leaned against the railing of the deck, staring out
into the desert. His gaze landed on one of the cacti I admired earlier, and he exhaled,
answering, ¡°Yeah.¡± He looked skeptical in himself when he said it. ¡°I¡ I pulled away
because it freaked me out. I don¡¯t do this. Feel things for other people, especially not
people I take up here.¡± I stayed silent as he continued. ¡°It scared me that I don¡¯t think¡¡±
I stepped toward him so that I was facing his shoulder and looked up through my
eyelashes. ¡°Think what?¡±
He squared his feet with mine.
¡°That I don¡¯t think I want this to be a one-night stand.¡± The bright, large moon that
hung high in the sky was all that illuminated his face, but I could see the sincerity. There
wasn¡¯t a shred of deceit as his green eyes stared through mine. ¡°I don¡¯t want to stop
talking to you after tonight. I¡¯m having so much fun tonight. Just talking. I don¡¯t want to
stop.¡±
¡°Me neither,¡± I said and wrapped my arms around his neck. What he said held very
