Page 12 of Anyone And You

He scoffed quietly. “Is this all you want tonight? Just the carnival?”

All I want.

I wanted a lot.

And judging by this date, I wasn’t sure one nightwasall I wanted.

He’d been my neighbor for over a year. We’d passed glances in the hallways and interacted more times than I could count. I’d almost considered him a friend were it not for his unwillingness to open up. I’d always wondered what was beneath his hardened exterior, why he was the way he was. The way he’d always looked at me, like he hated the thoughts going through his head for daring to look.

And after tonight…

This had felt too right. This had been too comfortable. Every touch and word we’d spoken had felt completely normal. Even the silences had felt right. I knew if this night were to go further, if I went back to his place, spend the night, and tomorrow, if he looked at me as though it were nothing, I’d be broken.

Anyone else… Anyone else would have been easy. Anyone else would have made this simple.

But it washim.

“I’ll meet you at the tables behind the Ferris wheel,” I managed before letting him go.

The thoughts swirled in my head as I ordered my latte and cake. Distracting me so much that the beverage guy had to call out for me when the line moved.

Axel was waiting for me at the edge of the Ferris wheel line, two piping hot drinks in his hands. His tongue darted out to lick his bottom lip as his gaze lingered on my hips before moving back to my eyes.

“See something you like?” I asked him.

He didn’t answer except with the brightness in his eyes. I jerked my chin toward the tables at the edge of the tree line.

“Come on. Best view for the fireworks,” I said.

The walk to the tables was silent, and I took in the smell of the carnival, the trees, and the crisp autumn night air. A few delighted screams followed us from one of the more dramatic rides on the other side of the Ferris wheel, and I smiled as I sat on the top of the table.

“What?” he asked as he did the same.

“Do you remember being young and fearless?” I asked him. “Full of adrenaline, like nothing could hurt you. Not even rides like the Tornado, which literally flips you upside down.”

The softest chuckle sounded beside me, and I turned to see Axel almost smiling down at his cup. “Complete asshats,” he said gruffly.

I choked out a laugh and broke off a piece of funnel cake. “Asshats?”

“My friends when we were younger.” He took a swig of his drink, leaving foam behind on his mustache that melted away before I could do anything about it. “Shitheads, all of us. We’d take our bikes out on Halloween and ring random doorbells—“

“I think we all did that,” I said, remembering my own rambunctious days. “I miss being that person.”

He looked at me then. “Seem pretty fearless to me,” he said.

“When I want to be,” I agreed.

I pulled the sleeves of my sweater down over my hands as I hugged the warm apple cider whiskey cocktail to me. I inhaled the sweet scent, the cinnamon stick and the tang of whiskey. The hum of people laughing and talking seemed to drown away there. I turned to Axel and considered how his elbows were braced on his widespread knees, how his flannel shirt strained over his biceps, and how his grasp encompassed the seemingly small cup in his hand.

“Here—“ I said, setting down my cup and grabbing the latte. “Try it.” I held the pumpkin spice out to him, and he eyed me. I almost laughed. “Big burly man afraid he’ll like pumpkin?” I mocked him.

The challenge irked him. He set down his whiskey and hesitantly took the latte from my hands. I watched him sniff it, watched the reluctance rise in his gaze, but he took a swig, and for a moment, I couldn’t tell whether he liked it.

And then, he took another sip.

“Youlikeit,” I realized, my eyes widening.

“Mm… No—” He held the cup up and looked at it like he thought I’d lied about the flavor.

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