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If I was too embarrassed to talk to him before, no way do I want to face him now, after he had to start a fight with a stranger because I froze, too worried about other people staring to demand Pervy Gym Guy be brought to justice.
The cool evening air hits me as I exit the gym, the setting sun turning the sky shades of pink and purple. I inhale the summer freshness, my heartbeat already steadier. It must be around eight, and the calmness of the night helps me clear my head. I don’t think anyone followed me, so I relax my pace, strolling along the side of the redbrick exterior.
“Hey! Hold on a second!”
A quick glance behind me reveals Mr. Blue Eyes jogging my way. He doesn’t have any of his belongings with him; it looks like he ran out when I did.
My stomach drops. I increase my pace, lengthening the distance between us, and right before I cross the street, the end of my mortification only seconds away, I stumble and drop my bag and keys. I sense him gaining on me, and I need to get to my car before that happens, so I hastily swoop down to pick up my stuff, not looking back but knowing he’s close.
Please let me stop embarrassing myself in front of him!
I straighten and step off the curb to cross the street in a rush.
A few things happen simultaneously. That deep voice yells something much louder and more urgent than before. A horn blares, and I whip my head around. Headlights blind me. A force knocks into me, taking my breath away as I’m tackled to the ground. The car I stepped in front of continues harmlessly along, the driver not even stopping to see if it hit me or not.
I take a shaky breath. I almost got hit by a car! I’m such a coward that in my haste to run away from Mr. Blue Eyes, I walked right into the path of an oncoming car!
“Are you okay? Man, you gave me a scare,” comes his voice from under my shaking body.
Wait. Under me?
I finally tune in to my surroundings. I’m lying on top of Mr.
Blue Eyes on the grass, my face mere inches away from his. His arms are iron bands wrapped around my waist after pulling me out of danger, and our legs are tangled together. I’m pressed so close to him that despite everything, I notice that although his eyes are blue, there’s a tiny ring of hazel around his pupils.
“Youareokay, right?” he presses again.
Oh my goodness! I’m still lying on top of him staring at him like a total creeper.
I scramble off and sit up. My voice is thick, and I physically can’t bring myself to make direct eye contact with him. “Yeah, I’m fine.” I clear my throat as I assess my limbs. “Are you?”
He sits up beside me and dusts off his hands. “Yeah, but geez. Way to kill a guy’s ego. You’d rather jump in front of a moving car than talk to me.”
Thatmakes me look right at him. He’s still gorgeous, even with the ruffled hair. “That’s—that’s not what happened!”
He’s smiling at me, and his teeth are so white and straight I’m 90 percent sure his dentist actively practices witchcraft.
“Of course it isn’t.” That smile never falters. “Not to lecture you or anything, but you should probably look both ways before crossing the street.”
“Yes, thank you for refreshing me on first-grade skills. I promise I don’t make jumping in front of cars a habit.” I pick up the things that have fallen out of my bag, and he helps. I die a little inside when he gathers a bunch of tampons and deposits them into my gym bag.
“Guess I’ll have to take your word for it,” he jokes, helping me up and holding my keys out.
I take them, and when our fingers brush, electricity zips all the way up my arm. “Yeah, well . . . thanks for saving my life, I guess. And for what happened in there with Pervy Gym Guy.”
He lifts an eyebrow at the nickname, and I don’t realize I said it out loud until it’s too late.
“He deleted the pictures, and I don’t think he’ll be coming to Grant’s anymore,” he says.
Pictures? As in plural?
Something on my face must alert him because he quickly adds, “Some people are just disgusting.”
I give him a small smile, genuinely grateful for his interferencetwicetoday, but still embarrassed, especially about jumping in front of a car. My face is so hot I’m sure it’s beet red.
“Yeah, thanks for that.” I back away toward my car. I need to escape so I can die of embarrassment alone, the way you’re supposed to. “And thanks again for the whole car thing. I guess I’ll see you around.”
Before he can say another word, I whirl around and run all the way to my Honda.
