Bittersweet Symphony (Bittersweet #4)(8)
“Oh my God, you scared the crap out of me,” she says, gasping for breath. I can’t see her ocean blue eyes in this light and wish I could.
“That was the point. Anyone, and I mean anyone, could take advantage of you out here. You were completely oblivious to your surroundings, so much so that I could’ve snuck up on you. What If I was a bad guy?” I don’t want to be a dick, and I don’t want to put her down, but I can almost guarantee that if she had seen half the shit I had, she wouldn’t just sit on a random corner on a bench at three in the morning.
“But you’re not the bad guy, so it doesn’t matter. Besides, anyone who would attempt to attack me would have another thing coming.” I advance on her so quickly, I think I see her head spin. One second we are feet apart and the next I am directly in front of her. She holds herself together, even though she’s shaking slightly. The breeze blows lightly, and I can’t help but catch a whiff of cherries and vanilla.
“You don’t know if I’m the bad guy or not.” I try to forget her scent but can’t. It surrounds me, and for a second, I think I can taste the cherries.
She holds her chin up high; her eyes never leaving mine. There is a confidence in her stare, begging me to break it. “Yes, I do. You’re a good guy because anyone else would’ve walked right on by had they seen what Sam was doing. But you, you put yourself right in the middle of us. You protected me without even knowing me. If that doesn’t make you a good guy, I don’t know what does.” I watch her for a second, absorbing her words. She is so, so wrong; however, at the same time, I want her to be right.
I pick up her tablet and hand it to her. “You should probably get a case for that if you plan on throwing it like that.” I give her a wicked smile, one that would have anyone else dropping to their knees in front of me.
“Yeah, if you keep sneaking up on me, I probably will need one.” Blondie lets out a quiet sigh as she looks up at the night sky.
“I haven’t really meant to scare you, Blondie; I just don’t want you to get hurt.” I can’t believe I just said that. When did the ice around my heart start melting?
“There you go again trying to protect someone you hardly know. You don’t know me, Ryder, not from Adam, but you’re out here telling me that you don’t want me to get hurt…. Why?” Her voice is sharp, and I can tell she’s looking for answers.
“Your innocence. You ooze it from every pore in the way you talk and the way you dress. You don’t even realize how beautiful you are. People like you get hurt more often than not by guys like me. I don’t want someone to hurt you, to take your innocence away. I don’t want someone to taint that perfection, that light in you. I want you to be whole and find happiness; I want you to find love and that stupid fairytale bullshit. I want you happy because if someone else ever had a choice to make for me in the matter, I would hope they would pick for me to find happiness.” By the time I am done speaking, her eyes have grown wide, and her lips part. I won’t lie, I’m attracted to Kennedy so much that I want to take her and hide her from the world.
“You don’t mean that…” she starts to say, but I interrupt her. I don’t want to hear her excuses.
“I do, Blondie. I f*cking do from the bottom of my heart. So, while you might not give a shit about sitting out here, I do. I don’t know you, but I know I want to get to know you, and that to me is a good enough reason to care.”
We sit in silence as she absorbs my words, probably shaming herself for being caught out here in the dark. After what Sam has put her through, I would think she would be more careful.
“Do you ever just look up at the sky and wonder what’s out there? Wonder if there are other people out there?” I give her a “are you off your rocker” look and then dissect her question. It isn’t often that I think about much of anything other than… Okay, not going there.
“I’m sure there are; people would be stupid to think that we’re the only people in the whole universe.”
“You’re right,” Blondie says, shrugging her shoulders as if she has given up on the whole conversation.
“Well, I better get going,” she says, grabbing for her tablet. I can’t help what I do next. My hand reaches out to hers, our skin touches, and it’s like an electrical charge runs through us.
“Sorry,” I mutter. I’m not sorry that I touched her, just that I shocked her.
“Do you want to go to breakfast?” I ask her.
“Is this your lame attempt at a date? Because I don’t date guys like you. Hell, I don’t date period.” Her smile is like sunshine, and I never want it to go away. I want to do whatever I can to keep it here.
“Nope, no date. Just breakfast between two friends.”
Blondie looks at me, hesitant as to what to say. I can see the unsureness in her eyes; she doesn’t know what to think.
“Friends? We’re friends?” she asks curiously.
“Of course we’re friends, Blondie,” I reply, unable to not smile when someone that adorable peers up at me.
“Okay, we can only be friends if you stop calling me Blondie. My name is Kennedy; you may use it.” I let out a quiet laugh, knowing for sure I have no choice but to give in to her.
“Okay, Kennedy, breakfast as friends it is.”