“Colton.” I fold my hand over his extended one, wrapping his fingers around the star. “Keep it. Everyone needs a good luck charm.”
“But,” he protests.
“Nope.” I hold up a finger. “Please don’t throw a hissy about this.”
Colton halts. “A hissy?”
“Yes, a hissy. And, if it makes you feel any better, all is forgiven.” I tilt my face up to him so there’s no mistaking that I’m genuine. “Truly, Colton. Don’t worry about this.”
His features seem to soften ever so slightly, and I feel my own spirit lighten.
“However, I do require a small payment for all the years of luck I’ve provided you,” I say.
He lifts an eyebrow. “And what is that?”
“If that’s one of the items you’ve been hiding in your bag this whole time, what’s your third personal item?” I smile, scooting toward his backpack.
Like a brazen squirrel, Colton snatches his bag. He jumps up, holding a hand between us while pulling his backpack away from me with his opposite arm. “It’s nothing you need to know about, Missy Jean.”
I awkwardly hop to my feet, “Oh, really?”
“Missy, don’t you dare,” he says, backing up.
“Oh, Colton, you know I’ll find out sooner or later,” I say, sliding ever closer.
“Later.” He smirks, a challenge in his eye.
I pivot left as if ready to go under his right arm, but at the last moment, I switch directions and lunge for his left arm, snatching his bag from his grip. I run for it with all the finesse of a flamingo tangled up in string, my booted foot limping across the sand as my hand fumbles through his bag.
Colton’s arms wrap around my waist just as my fingers grip the third personal item in his bag.
“Ah-ha!” I yell in victory, holding the full bottle high above my head as he tries to hold onto my wriggling body. “I knew it. It’s a second hand sanitizer!”
I start laughing at the same time Colton does. “Missy, you’re such a punk.”
I just manage to break free from his grasp and am scrambling away when I stumble backward and into the sand. I’m flat as a pancake on the ground when Colton descends. His hands find the ticklish spot beneath my ribs. I’m laughing so hard, tears start flowing again.
“Give it back, Missy Jean, and this will all go away,” he says.
“Never!” I squeal between laughs.
His hands find my arms, pinning me in place. “Then you give me no choice.”
I have no doubt I’m about to be tickled to smithereens when I realize how close his face is. How his eyes find mine. He hovers right above me, his smile fading and his gaze burning with an intensity I’ve never seen from him. My laugh dies in my chest, replaced with an awareness of how my heart is beating wildly. Our breaths come in heavy as we look at one another, not daring to move. Then his eyes flick to my mouth.
Never in all of my days of squabbling with Colton Downing did I ever imagine us here. My eyes find his lips, wondering how they would feel against my own. Warm and steady, just like him?
Suddenly, I want to know, I … I …
“I think we should get back.” The words fall from my mouth, and Colton instantly releases my arms, rocking back onto his heels.
“Uh, yeah,” Colton says, running a hand through his hair. “Yeah, we should get back.”
Chapter 19
MISSY
· DAY 13 ·
