Page 6

Chapter six

Janae

I can’t believe this man, this beautiful man, just made a stupid joke, but what I can’t believe even more is that it made me laugh. And not just a soft amused giggle. No, I full on belly laughed, which kind of embarrassed me even more.

Shane returns to his beer, and I take him in, my eyes roaming over his body. Shane is the complete opposite of me in every way—he’s built. Muscles on top of muscles. I’m built curvy—I have every curve you can imagine on my body. He is pale from his skin to his hair, which is so blonde it almost looks white. Shit, even his eyes are a clear blue. And it’s not just our looks either that are opposite. It would appear our personalities are different, too.

I haven’t dated anyone in a long time because men I’ve encountered don’t look at me this way. I wiggle in my seat because honestly it makes me uncomfortable.

He must feel my gaze because he looks over at me, giving me another one of his dazzling smiles and looks like he might say something, but then returns back to his drink, leaving me a little confused. The silence between us is tense, but not awkward quite yet and I find myself wondering more about him. I take a sip of my margarita, thinking what I could ask him, like I’ve never done this before.

“What is your favorite color?” I ask him.

He looks over at me but doesn’t seem to be able to keep his focus on me when he replies, “Blue.”

Why won’t he look at me, I think to myself. Maybe he doesn’t like me.

“Is there something more interesting on the TV?” I snap at him.

“No. You’re just so beautiful it hurts to look at you,” he says, looking at me from the corner of his eye.

Hmmm…his words are saying he’s attracted to me but he’s actually acting super weird if that’s the case. But I can’t help but laugh at his words because the way he delivers it so seriously cracks me up. “Do you use that line on everyone?”

“Nope,” he says popping the p.

“Well, it was stupid. Don’t say that again,” I tell him but instantly feel the regret to well up within.

With those words, he turns toward me showing me his sparkly white teeth, then says, “I’m just a little awkward. But I was serious earlier when I told you that you would be mine, and that you are the most beautiful person I’ve ever seen.”

“You don’t even know me,” I whisper, wondering if this guy could be serious.

“I don’t need to know everything about you to know that you’re going to be mine. From the moment I saw you, everything in me started screaming for you,” he says.

My heart rate picks up at his words because I’ve always been the nerdy, awkward girl that no one wants. Every relationship I’ve ever been in has ended because the person doesn’t like something about me. Sometimes it’s my dazzling personality, other times it’s the way I look.

And every time they leave, they like to give me advice, like “Condition your hair more,” “Wear clothes that don’t show off how curvy you are,” or my favorite, “You don’t smile enough.”

Which is why I’m so prickly the moment someone says that they don’t like something about me. If I put those walls up first, then whatever they have to say can’t get to me.

The pull to him is strong, so I find myself leaning closer to him. “I’m really awkward too,” I whisper.

That’s when Shane does something to me that I never expected—he brushes his lips against mine. I close my eyes and feel him for just a moment. When he pulls back, he rumbles in my ear, “Then we can be awkward together. I mean, our first date is on Valentine’s Day.”

His voice caresses my body as if it was made from silk, goosebumps spreading across my whole body. When he pulls back, he looks at me with a devilish smirk that goes straight to my clit. He knows exactly what he’s doing to me.

After a moment, I process what he’s said and I can’t stop myself. I try but I’m not able to—a burst of laughter comes from me. I try to calm myself down but can’t seem to get myself together. Another bout of laughter and then a snort escapes me. My eyes go wide along with my hand over my mouth.

What is it about this man that keeps me from keeping my walls up? I don’t laugh uncontrollably around people, especially ones that I just met. Looking up at Shane, he just keeps staring at me with a twinkle in his eye and a goofy grin on his very gorgeous symmetrical face. My mind turns to mush and I’m not sure how to respond to him, because within these few minutes we’ve been sitting here, he’s annihilated every wall I’ve built.

My breathing calms the longer I stare at him, his clear blue eyes anchoring me in the moment. Finally, I’m able to get a few words out. “Now that we have the fact we are both awkward out of the way, tell me about yourself.”

He clears his throat and I can’t help but watch as his Adam’s apple moves up and down. My nipples pebble at the sight and like…fuck, can you get turned on by someone’s throat? I think I might be in trouble.

“Since I already told you my favorite color is blue…I grew up in a small town called Rose Valley. I’m the youngest of three boys,” he tells me, watching my reaction, as if he is expecting me to question what he has said.

“Are you and your family close?” I ask.

“Some more than others,” he replies as he shrugs his shoulders but doesn’t explain any further.

A sadness washes over me as I watch him take another swig of his beer. The idea that he might not be close to any family member just strikes me as sad. My mind drifts to the dynamics of my own family and I couldn’t imagine not being close to any of them. I speak to almost every single person in my family every day. Even speaking to extended members of my family at least once a week.

“Are you close to your family?” Shane asks breaking me from my thoughts about my family.

A smile spreads across my face as I answer, “Yes. I’m really close to my family. I’m the oldest of three. I actually speak or text with a member of my family every day.”

“Tell me about them,” he commands. I don’t normally like it when someone tells me what to do. In fact, it usually grates on my nerves and makes me want to do the exact opposite, but there is something about him that makes me want to obey. So I do.

I spend the next hour telling him all about my family. How both of my parents are teachers, how they helped me as much as they could when I went to college but were grateful when I decided to work at a florist shop.

Shane listened the whole time, never interrupting, only asking questions. It seemed like he was actually interested in me and what I had to say. Hope blooms in my chest that this could be someone I could have a future with. He could be the one that’s been missing…