Page 33 of Crash and Burn

Our gazes locked.

Grant placed his other hand on top of mine. It felt as if every whorl in his fingertips were being branded into me.

A tingling sensation made its way from where skin met skin, traveling up my arm, then down my stomach, settling in my belly, warming me from the inside.

"Liz…" The word left his mouth in the barest of whispers.

The sound of my name on his lips sent a shiver coursing through me.

Grant was the only one who called me Liz. To everyone else I was Lizzy, a cutesy nickname I'd been given by my friends as a kid. To my parents I was always just Elizabeth.

But when I was with Grant, I was Liz. I wasn't the flighty, wayward daughter. I wasn't the peppy ringleader.

When I was with Grant, I felt like I could be myself. I felt like, for the first time, maybe there was someone in the world who could understand me. Who could accept me. Someone who appreciated my natural bubbliness but wouldn't judge me for the times when I couldn't force a smile.

"Grant, I—"

The words died in my throat as his fingers tightened over mine. Sparks flew through me. He took a step closer, and all conscious thought fled.

"Liz," he said again. His chest expanded as he took a deep breath. "You—"

"Hey, you guys ready?" Mason called out.

Grant and I both jumped apart, our hands and arms flying back to our respective sides. I looked down to adjust the hem of my skirt and Grant hastened to pick up a cleaning rag as Mason poked his head out of the back. He paused, eyeing the two of us.

"Hey…" he said slowly. "So what's up?"

"Just cleaning before the new guy gets here," Grant said as he ducked out under the counter and popped up on the opposite side, putting physical space between me and him. "What can you tell me about him?"

I fled to the back kitchen as Mason and Grant spoke with each other. I closed the door and braced myself against the shelving, keeping my weak knees locked.

What the hell had just happened between us?

Grant had clasped his hand over mine. It had sent sparks shooting throughout my body.

Those sparks hadn't died down. They were still simmering inside me, lying in wait, anticipating the strike of a match that would send them exploding into fireworks.

He'd been about to say something. What was it?

If Mason hadn't interrupted us, what words would have left his mouth?

The look in his eyes had been so intense, so fervent.

She reminded me of you,he'd said.

Grant had broken up with Missy, and although it made me a terrible friend, I wanted to leap with joy.

His words echoed in my head.

Maybe that's why I liked her so much.

What had Grant been about to say, before Mason interrupted us? He'd said my name in a way I'd never heard before.

Was it just my own wishful thinking if I imagined there had been longing in his voice?

I dug my nails into my palm and told myself to stop.

I'd made the decision to let go of my feelings for Grant. To be satisfied with his friendship and to not wish for more.