Page 70 of Damaged Boys Don't Fall For Bubbly Girls

“Let me.” His fingers sweep under my chin as he closes the strap. A shiver runs through me and the place he touches tingles.

“Thanks.”

He grins, tugging on the strap to make sure it’s secure. “No prob. You’re good to go.”

“Do I at least look cute?”

“Adorable.”

My cheeks feel warm. “Take a pic.”

He reaches into his back pocket for his phone and snaps a few photos of me. He holds it out for me to see them.

“You’re right. I do look pretty darn cute.”

“The cutest.”

That makes my cheeks grow warm again, more intense this time.

Brock gives me such a sweet smile that makes me want to fling my arms around him and squish the living daylights out of him.

“We should get going,” he says, his cheeks a little red, too.

“Yeah. We don’t want to waste any precious time.”

We climb onto the bike and zoom to the museum. This ride is a bit longer and I enjoy every single second of it. I’m sure Brock can hear my yelps, squeals, and cheers because I feel him laughing.

We reach the museum and Brock slides into an empty space. It’s the weekend, so it’ll probably be filled with lots of people, but I don’t really mind.

There are many parents with kids heading inside, some jumping in excitement. One girl, around eight, is gushing to her parents what she wants to see. She reminds me of me when I was that age.

Brock and I make our way inside, where we pay for tickets. Like I expected, the place is swarming with people, but it’s not too terrible. I’m not sure we’ll have a chance to see everything we want, though.

“Where do you want to go first?” Brock asks, pushing his bangs out of his eyes.

I smile crookedly at him. “Don’t you know me, Brock Hastings?”

His eyebrows furrow like he’s solving a complicated math problem. “I don’t know. It’s been so long… I havenoidea what you want to see. Could it be the birds? Maybe the elephants? What about the bugs?”

I playfully whack him in the chest.

He taps his chin. “What exhibit is Alexis West obsessed with? Hmm.” His eyes light up. “Could it be ocean life?”

“Oh my gosh! You know mesowell.”

We both burst out laughing. My smile drops. “Too bad they don’t have the blue whale exhibit. That was so kickbutt.” They had a blue whale exhibit when I was eight, then brought it back two years ago.

He nods. “Yeah, too bad. You were crazy about that whale.”

“Can you blame me? Blue whales are the greatest things to have ever been created.”

Smiling, he takes both my hands, looking into my eyes. “I know. They’re incredible, just like you.”

I gaze into his beautiful eyes, the color of the ocean. “Thanks.”

We stare at each other for what feels like hours before a kid who’s chasing his sister smacks right into Brock, sending him crashing into me.

His arms wrap around me before I fall backward from the impact. “I got you.”