Page 46 of Finding My Charming

I opened my mouth, but he spoke first.

“What’s your favorite animal?” He looked just as surprised as I was by his question. “Sorry. I tend to blurt out things before thinking. My friends always get annoyed with my would-you-rather questions.”

I laughed for a second and shrugged. “I love those questions. Ari only plays along for a few minutes before she gets sick of it. It’s a sea otter.”

He nodded several times looking deep in thought. “Loyal, playful, and resourceful. Good choice.”

I giggled then quickly stopped. I sounded like a silly school girl, even to my own ears. “What’s yours? Please don’t say lion, tiger, or eagle.”

He chuckled and looked down at me. “Why not?”

“Way too predictable.”

“Got it. Good thing mine is a squirrel monkey.”

My eyes shot to his face, and I waited for him to laugh or say he was joking. My expression must have given my thoughts away because he started laughing.

“Seriously! Have you seen one? They’re adorable! Plus, they peel their bananas correctly.”

I laughed at him and shook my head.

“Fine. Agree to disagree on the best animal. If you could go anywhere in the world, where would you go?”

I waited for him to smile or say he was kidding. Are we really going to play Twenty Questions for the rest of the wait?

“I’d go to England. That’s where my family is from, and I’ve always wanted to go see what it’s like.”

He seemed to be absorbing my response. “Makes sense.”

“What about you?”

“I want to go to Italy to see where my family came from. Take a boat through the canals, eat all the bread and pasta I can get my hands on, and see the architecture. That sounds perfect to me.”

I studied his face while he watched the Ferris wheel rotate. So, he was Italian. That explained his deep olive completion and thick, dark brown hair.

He caught me staring and smirked. “Were you checking me out?”

I debated for a half second if I should try to deny it, but what was the point? “Maybe.” I hid my face behind my hair and smiled to myself. Less than ten minutes with this guy, and I was giggling and blushing like a little girl. How embarrassing.

He stretched his arms over his head then flexed obviously. His smirk grew into a lopsided smile. “Can’t say I blame you.” He winked then started laughing.

My hand hit his shoulder before I could process my actions. I was already so comfortable with him that teasing came naturally. “You’re too much.”

Slowly, the line crept forward. With each step toward the entrance, we grew closer to each other, until halfway through we were brushing shoulders while talking.

“Are you good friends with Calvin and the guys?”

His chocolatey eyes met mine, and I melted a little. I had to pinch myself to focus on his question. “Ari’s friends with everyone. I’m just the tagalong.” I brushed my hair away from my face mostly as a distraction.

“I doubt you could be considered a tagalong.” He was looking at me like he wanted to say more, but suddenly the line surged forward, and we were close to the front.

“Did you just graduate, or are you a senior this year?” I was pretty sure of the answer, but I wanted to fill up the silence.

“Just graduated.” He smiled down at me, and I was pretty sure he knew what I was up to. “You too?”

I nodded. “What are your plans?”

“Playing soccer at Northern Oregon University.”