Beingflat on my belly on the sidewalk is bad enough without someone standing over me.
IfIignore him,I’msure he’ll go away.
“Seriously.Areyou okay?”Thevoice is a bit closer this time.
Guesshe’s not going away.
Ipeek over my arms.
Thoseare highly polished black shoes.I’veonly seen those kinds of shoes on peopleInever wanted to see again.
Thepin-striped legs above the shoes bend as their wearer crouches in front of me.
Yup.Definitelynot going away.
“I’mfine, thank you,”Isay to the sidewalk.
There’sa snort of suppressed laughter. “Okay.ButmaybeIcould help you up.Evenif you are, you know, fine.”
Ahand moves down into my line of sight.It’ssmooth, and the nails look recently clipped, but not filed.Likehe cares about his appearance, but not too much.
“LikeIsaid,I’mfine.Thanks.”Iignore the outstretched perfect hand and push myself up onto my knees.Endingup eye to eye with the man crouched before me.
Eyeto sparkling eye.
Twoof them.
Blue.
Andtwinkly.
Idon’t thinkI’veever been so twinkled at.
“Ijust…”Idrag my eyes from his and look down at my grubby, scratched palms. “Mypants got, er, well one of them did, one legImean, it got, um, stuck.Itgot stuck.”
Suddenlya bit sweaty,Itwist around to unhook myself from the nail.
ButbeforeIcan stretch back far enough, he leans in and beats me to it.Acrisp white cuff with a silver cufflink in the shape of anMpeeks out from the arm of a jacket that matches the pants.Hegrabs my hem and jiggles it off the nail.
Ashe pulls back there’s a waft of herby hair product.Hmm, rosemary with a hint of mint.
“Thereyou go.”Hestraightens to an imposing height, his broad frame blocking the early spring sun, and offers me his hand again.
IpretendIhaven’t noticed his hand, get to my feet, and dust myself off, refusing to look up.Idon’t need another encounter with those baby blues.
“Thatwas all fairly dramatic.”There’sa smirk in his voice.
Heneeds to go away now.
“Definitelya nine out of ten from theBulgarianjudge for the midair double axel.”
Oh, good.Hethinks he’s funny.
Itake a deep breath, pull my shoulders back, lift my head, and find myself face to chest with a blue tie with tiny yellow dots.Itrests on top of the crisp white shirt that sits snugly against his pecs.
Witha mind of their own, my eyes keep going up to a chin with the perfect amount of one-day stubble, lips that are quirked into a half-smile at one side, brows raised over those bright eyes, and thick dark brown hair that he’s currently pushing his fingers through.
“I’msorry,Ididn’t mean to laugh.”Hedrops the smile. “Itactually looked painful.Maybeyou should check your knees.”
