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Shaking her head at her friend, Liz reached for my hand and pulled me away from the table. “Let’s go.”
Liz pulled me through the tent and around to the narrow space between our tent and another. She dropped my hand and rounded on me.
“What was that?” she demanded, pointing back at the tent.
She looked as discombobulated as I felt, cheeks red and chest heaving. It somehow calmed me down.
“I was being spontaneous, which by the way, is totally out of character for me. It was a great kiss. And you seemed to enjoy it as much as I did.”
Her eyes narrowed and I rushed to add.
“You feel it, right? This attraction between us? It’s not just me?”
I felt suddenly vulnerable. Had I mis-read this situation? What if I was imagining this whole thing between me and Liz?
“Yeah,” she said softly. “I do feel it. But I’m not sure it’s a good idea to act on.”
“Why not?”
She started ticking off reasons on her fingers.
“One, I’m not really a one night stand kind of person if that’s your thing.”
“Neither am I,” I admitted.
“Two, you’re much younger than me.”
“Only five years.”
She looked suspicious. “Are you sure? You look like you’re in your early thirties.”
“I’m forty, only five years younger than you.”
Her eyes narrowed for an instant like she wasn’t sure if she believed me, but then she went on.
“Three, you live in the city, and I live up here in Pine Bluff.”
“It’s only like a forty-five minute drive when the roads are clear.” At the moment, that seemed like nothing if it meant that I could spend more time with Liz.
“Fourth, we have a serious conflict of interest here.”
I nodded. She had me on that one.
“I already decided last night that since I’m having feelings for you, I’m going to turn your permit application over to my supervisor to avoid any conflicts.”
When she didn’t respond, I added, “He’s way nicer than I am.”
She burst out laughing. I stepped closer, slipping my hands underneath her open jacket and wrapping them around her waist.
“I know this is all happening really fast. We’re not kids anymore, but I was dying to kiss you since the minute I set eyes on you. And now that I have, now that I know that this attraction is mutual, well, I really want to spend some time with you and see where things go. Can we do that? Please?”
Liz searched my eyes, as if checking for the truth of my words, then to my relief, she nodded.
“Okay.”
We stared at each other for a long moment, grinning like fools, before Liz stepped back.
“Shall we check out the festival?”
