Chapter 4
Ryan
It waslike getting hit with a lightning bolt.
A gorgeous, raven haired, lightning bolt, that was crying. “Wait, Brooke. Whoa. Hold up,” I said, tugging at the sleeve of her shirt to slow her down. “Hey, what’s wrong? Are you okay?”
She stared out at the empty hallway and produced the fakest sneeze I had ever heard. “Yep,” she sniffed, rubbing her eyes and nose with the back of her hands. “Just too many flowers in this place. Allergic.”
Her desk was lined up with them. I rubbed at the back of my neck, wondering why she felt the need to lie to me about crying. She shook her head and looked down at the floor.
I took a deep breath—attempting to calm my reaction to her tears—locking my jaw, so as to not go all-out Neanderthal on whoever made her this upset. “Hey,” I said, reaching again for her sleeve and giving it a gentle pull, “Are you getting off work now? I was just going to get something at the diner. You hungry?”
Her eyes snapped up to meet mine. “Uh…” She looked highly suspicious of my motives. “What’s the catch?”
I placed my hand over my heart like she’d hurt me. “No catch, just grabbing a bite to eat.”
“Honestly, I’m not very hungry. Maybe some other time,” she said, but her words drowned out by an enormous rumbling from her stomach.
Stepping forward, I leaned in close to her. She smelled of sweet peas and sugar, and her hair felt silky against my cheek. “That’s twice you’ve lied to me in two minutes,” I whispered against her ear.
She gasped quietly.
“Ryan, I’m not really in the mood—” she said, pulling herself away.
“I’m taking you to dinner.” I’m going to feed her and find out what the hell was going on and hurt whoever was behind it. “Come on.”
Her stance shifted—her muscles seemed to melt—her tight shoulders pulled down, and she let out a small sigh. Except for the tears when she smashed into me, I hadn’t really noticed the tension in her body until it was seeping out of her.
“Okay,” she murmured. “Let me just get out of uniform.”
I walked beside her to the lockers and held the door open for her. The urge to reach out and touch her hand with mine was maddening. I wanted to wipe away the stains the tears made down her cheeks, and kiss her salty lips. I shook my head as we stood staring at each other in front of the locker room; she’d kill me if she knew how crazy I was about getting to know her. She gave me a curious look, followed by a long sigh, and walked through the door.
I found myself watching her walk away. Couldn’t take my eyes off of her actually, and only did so when my view was blocked by the closing of the door. My fingers itched to pull out my phone and play the video I had of her. I had probably watched it no less than two hundred times already. She was one of the prettiest women I’d ever seen, and from what time I had spent with her, I found she was intelligent, witty, and fun. I wanted to get to know her even more.That’s all, I told myself.I just wanted to get to know her a little better.
* * *
“You look exhausted,” she said, as we slid into a small booth in a quiet corner of the diner. “Everything okay with you?”
“How about this, gorgeous. You tell me why I almost got bulldozed by a crying woman, andthenyou can ask any questions you want about me.”
“You’re such an asshole sometimes,” she said through a small smile.
“I’ve been called much worse,” I shrugged, tapping the menu on the table.
The waitress came over and smiled down at both of us. “Hey, guys. What can I get you, today?”
Brooke hadn’t even opened the menu that was on the table in front of her. She just rambled off her order like she’d eaten there a million times before. “A loaded cheeseburger, fries, oh, extra onion rings and a vanilla shake.”
“Make that two of the same orders,” I said, winking at the waitress. I turned my attention back to Brooke when the waitress walked away. “Wow. Nice. I’m impressed, really,” I chuckled, watching her eyes sparkle back at me.
“I haven’t eaten all day,” she smirked.
“And here, I seem to remember you saying you weren’t hungry. Where do you put all that food anyway?” I asked, honestly questioning it.
“Have you seen my ass?” she laughed, rolling her eyes.
“Yes, Brooke, yes I absolutely have. It’s been the focal point of the majority of my dreams since I transferred here.” Her face turned bright red. “Holy crap, I made you blush?”
