Page 69 of Finding New Dreams

We settled onto the blanket, and he set up the art supplies.

“What are you going to teach me?” I asked him.

I heard the smile in his voice even though I couldn’t quite see it. “I thought about combining some of your ideas with some of mine to see how they mesh together.”

Shucking off my sandals, I hugged my knees to my chest. “Ah, like the fusion classes at Uffda. Hunter’s grandmother runs a mean one.”

Flynn chuckled. “Yeah, like fusion. And I remember Sal. I wouldn’t get near one of her classes with a ten-foot pole.”

“I think I’ve taken them all at this point. Donny’s pet yoga, Hunter’s shadow yoga, Sal’s chaos, plus all the weightlifting, self-defense, cycling, kick-boxing, break-dancing I can handle.”

He stretched out on the blanket next to me, propped up on one elbow. “Wow, you really did all that?”

“Yeah. When most people look at me, they don’t know that I can toss someone over my shoulder, run ten miles, or touch my nose with my toe. I guess I’ve just never liked fitting into one box. Especially if it’s the box most people assume I belong in.”

He gave me a wistful smile. “I stand by my earlier statement. You do surprise me, but in the best possible way.”

“Haven’t you ever wanted people to see you differently than what’s on the surface?”

“Most of my life, no. I worked very hard to keep people from looking at me too hard. Then I never had to look too hard at myself either. And if I satisfied their low expectations, then they could never be disappointed.”

I hugged my knees harder to keep from reaching for him. “That sounds like an awfully sad way to live.”

A harsh laugh burst out of him. “Yeah, it can be. But lately, I’ve been wanting to change that. Now I feel like I’d give anything to have someone look a little closer. To care about what’s underneath.”

His eyes met mine, and time seemed to freeze. Sound disappeared.

But then he blinked and smirked. “On a more fun note, I think you’re gonna have to show me just how someone touches their nose with their toe.”

Smiling, I got on my hands and knees facing him and, in one quick movement, lifted my leg up and over my head to touch my nose with my toe.

Flynn’s eyebrows shot up, and his gaze dragged over my whole body. “That’s, uh…that’s—wow…”

I laughed lightly. Having a man stutter over me was a new experience, but an incredibly complimentary one.

A cool breeze floated through, and I almost tipped over, realizing just how much my skirt had blown up over my ass. I carefully lowered my leg and sat back down.

Flynn rubbed a hand over his face, stopping to pluck at his full bottom lip. “Man, I wish I had some secret talent to whip out to impress you.”

I smiled. “You have plenty of talents without a secret one.”

“Careful. Flattery is a terrible weakness of mine.”

“What happens when you get too flattered?”

His lips quirked in a lazy, sensuous smile as he played with the edge of my skirt. “I put on a performance of all my best talents, secret or not.”

My heartbeat felt too strong for my chest. It was like we kept dancing near a precipice. Closer, then further. Back and forth. We were going to jump, right? I wanted to jump with him. Dive headlong into a blissful, warm ocean the color of his eyes.

But the dance was exhilarating.

“Why don’t you start with this class you keep teasing me with?” I asked in a strange, throaty voice.

His smile turned wolfish, but he nodded and released my skirt. He sat up and, so quickly I didn’t have time to squeak, wrapped his arms around me. He shifted my body up against his so we were both sitting in front of the canvas.

“I thought we could do a moonscape. I would show you some of the new techniques I learned, but I’m afraid it’ll be too dark for that.”

“Maybe next time! And I love doing moonscapes. Usually, I have some kind of lantern with me though. Are you sure about this?” To emphasize my point, I leaned forward and squinted at the glowing white canvas. The silvery moonlight and the murky shadows of the river would no doubt play tricks with my eyes.

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