Page 33 of Forever Flustered

“Someone gets their feathers ruffled easily,” she began coolly.

“Enough with the teasing,” he ground out, realizing that his feathers were indeed getting ‘ruffled’ very quickly by her. She was making puns, referring to his call sign, implying that his head was too big with the melon cracks that she kept doling out, and it was a lot to handle. He didn’t like feeling off-balance, and she was definitely doing just that.

“You need to drop your baggage,” she shot back and swung her arm to the side like Vanna White on The Wheel of Fortune. “And this is the perfect place to toss it. Now, are you going to bite my head off like some feral aardvark with that nose, or are you going to relax a bit?”

“Aardvark?” he retorted, glaring at her. “What’s wrong with my nose? You have no idea how to win over a guy – do you?”

“You sure as heck are fumbling around like a blind squirrel searching for a nut – and I never said anything was wrong with your nose,” she replied and paused. “Welcome to Texas, Eli.”

“Thanks,” he grumbled and looked away, unsure of what to say or do because this wasn’t going how he imagined it in his mind. She was standing about five feet from you, looking at him with a critical eye like she was staring at a specimen to dissect – and he didn’t like it. It made him feel defensive almost immediately, like he was about to be found lacking all over again, just like when he was a kid. Finally, he turned to look at her. “What?”

“Nothing,” Maureen replied simply with that infernal smile that reminded him of the Mona Lisa. She was smiling – but not – and all at the same time.

“You’re making a face.”

“I’m waiting.”

“For what?”

“Well, to get your bag,” Maureen began with that mysterious smile once again, “Or to find out if those flowers are for someone else.”

“Who else would be waiting here?”

“Who else indeed…”

“Is this a game to you?”

“Did you bring it?”

“Bring what?”

“A better attitude in your luggage,” she chuckled and then sighed heavily. “You aren’t going to make this easy – are you?”

“Make what?” Eli began – and then froze as Maureen stepped closer to him. She was eyeballing him like a tiger inspecting its next prey, deciding how to attack or approach it. “What are you doing? Why are you looking at me like that?”

“Hold up your sleeve,” she replied simply. “You have a thread.”

He immediately held up both arms, looking for the stray thread because he was in uniform and didn’t want to appear sloppy – especially not when he was supposed to be going on his first date with Maureen and…

His brain seized.

“Oh gosh,” he rasped in alarm as she wrapped her arms around his waist, physically embracing him, and then laid her cheek against his shoulder. He could smell the faint scent of something on her, and she was… soft. Oh mercy, she was so soft and warm against him. “W-What are you d-doing?” he stammered helplessly.

“It’s called a ‘hug’, your majesty,” she chuckled softly, almost tenderly, and he tensed even more if that was possible. “When you crawl down from your high horse and walk among the ingrates who ‘eke’ out an existence down here – we tend to hug a lot to show happiness. Sometimes it’s done in greeting, during times of affection, or in sadness. Frankly, I think people should hug a whole lot more in this world – but that’s just me.”

“You’re h-hugging me…?”

“Well, I’m half-hugging you,” she chuckled again and shifted slightly, giving him a squeeze that left him breathless. “You could put your arms down or fold them around me, if you wanted to try hugging too.”

“I don’t know that,” he began and quickly lowered his voice. “I don’t know if we should do this so quickly.”

“It’s a hug – zero commitment from you is expected, I promise.”

“Maureen…”

“Would you quit arguing with me?” she grumbled and pinched his side. “Arms – put them down right now.”

He dropped both arms immediately as ordered, and then slowly moved to curl them awkwardly around her… until he heard her sigh. Tensing, he heard her chuckle once more as she patted him on the back, like he was a child.