The three of us laughed together as we made our way back to theVIParea.
“You do realize that all you did back there was light his flame, right?” Kenzieasked.
“And there are probably dozens of women waiting to blowitout.”
“Emma!” a male voicecalledout.
My breath quickened. A revved up, tingling sensation spread through me in response to those two syllables. Oh, shit, my rusty engine was turning over again. At least Finn could start one thing up. I eagerly sought out the owner of the voice. Kenzie and Casey spun around too, seemingly surprised that a human male knewmyname.
“Hey,” Finn panted, as he came to a halt in front of me. Either he’d sprinted like a track star to be by my side or he was in particularly bad physical condition. I took in his rather jarring appearance. He was wearing a blinking headband wrapped around his hat and had multiple glow-in-the-dark necklaces and bracelets rolled up his arms. In his hand was a flashing plastic drink cup with a long, glowing handle. “I’ve been looking everywhere for you. Have you been here awhile?”
“Just…um… a couple ofhours.”
“Just a couple of hours?” he repeated. “Apparently you lost mynumber,then.”
“She was just about to call you,”Kenziesaid.
Yes.Good thinking, Kenzie.I nodded inagreement.
“Right, just about to… um…callyou.”
Finn cocked his head and raised a singleeyebrow.
Casey stepped in. “Hi, I’m Casey, and this isKenzie.”
Kenzie waved, and for some reason, her ridiculous greeting made me giggle. I slapped her on the arm and we both started laughing in earnest. I wasn’t usually so playful, but Finn’s presence made me giddy in a way I hadn’tanticipated.
I wasn’t paying attention to the words or the niceties the three were exchanging because I had more pressing issues to deal with – mainly whether or not Finn had magically grown hotter in the last few hours. Maybe it was just the alcohol heightening my senses, but had his body always been that tall and solid? Wait a minute! When did he grow a dimple in his right cheek? And his eyes, had they always twinkled like that or was the incessant blinking making themsparkle?
Huh. Was this really the same guy I’d picked up on the side of the road? It made perfect sense now. No wonder I stopped. Suddenly I felt so much better about my near-death experience. Mom would totally understand why I’d put my life in peril. I mean, lookathim.
“Right, Emma?” Kenzie asked. Apparently the three of them had been having an in-depth conversationwithoutme.
I nodded absently, having no idea what I’d just beenasked.
“You’re very blinky tonight,” I said, addressing Finndirectly.
A smile lit up his already bright face. “Well,thankyou.”
“You look like you were dipped into Disney’s ElectricalParade.”
Finn’s laughter shook me from my daze. Was this really possible? Did a guy actually find me amusing? I guess there was a first foreverything.
“That’s exactly the look I was going for,” he answered, running his eyes over me. “And you’re looking fine tonightaswell.”
We stared at each other, not speaking. The heat between us threatened to set us both on fire. The sounds of the others were muffled as I fought the primal instinct to jump his bones on the spot. What the hell was in thosecocktails?
“I, uh, I still owe you a drink.” He stumbled a bit on thewords.
I just smiled and nodded, never taking my eyesoffhim.
“So we’ll just be leaving,” Kenzie said, backing away from our two-person play with a big smile on her face. “Casey, can you help me with that thing I forgottodo?”
“Of course,” she replied, in an exaggerated way, jamming her thumb in Kenzie’s direction. “She always forgets…the thing.Uh,Emma?”
I was staring at Finn withblinderson.
“Emma?” This time Casey snapped her fingers in front of me. “Text us when you want togo,okay?”
