City Love(13)

He scans my Post-its. “Can you show me your Post-it technique? I have a feeling I might need it one day.”

“Sure.” I roll my chair over to the side so he can stand at my desk. While I’m showing him how I organized the Post-its to represent each aspect of the project, our arms touch for a second. I yank my arm away like I was just burned. My mind is only half on what I’m explaining. The other half is wondering when our arms might touch again. Or our legs. Or our hands. Okay, I guess my attention discrepancy is more like 20% explaining, 80% physical contact.

Out of the corner of my eye, I see Parker pass by. He scoots back and leans in.

“There you are,” he says to Austin. “I was looking for you up on five.”

“I was down here looking for you,” Austin says.

“You have that paperwork?”

Austin holds up his folder. “Right here.” A paper slides out of his folder onto the floor. We both reach for it at the same time. I grab the paper and whip back up. My head bangs against his chin.

“Sorry!” I say. “Are you okay?”

Austin rubs his chin. “I think I’ll live.” He turns to me as he’s leaving. “Thanks for the tips. I feel more organized already.”

I smile at him, but inside I’m crushed. Why did Parker have to show up like that? I could have talked to Austin all day. Assuming he’d want to keep talking to me. What if he doesn’t even like me? What if he’s just being nice because I’m new? What if the attraction is all on my side? But what if he does like me? Why would he linger in my cubicle like that if he didn’t like me? And why would he keep looking at me during his presentation yesterday? This running commentary plays on a mental loop while I’m working. By the time it’s my lunch hour, there’s no way I can eat. My stomach is twisted in anxious knots. Uncertainty is the worst.

I roll out of the office at five as a jittery ball of anticipation. What if I run into Austin in the elevator? Everyone leaves at the same time. It’s totally possible that I’ll see him. I fluff my hair with a shaky hand and try to smooth down some random wrinkles on the side of my sundress. Why is my sundress wrinkly like that? Was it folded under while I was sitting? Okay. I really need to calm down. If I do run into Austin, I doubt he’ll even notice.

The down button of the elevator has already been pressed. A few people are waiting for it. When the elevator bell dings and the doors slide open, a rush of adrenaline hits me so hard I see dark fuzzy spots for a second. My heart hammers until I realize Austin’s not in the elevator. I get in, the doors slide closed, and my pulse returns to normal.

But then I see Austin through the lobby windows. He’s outside talking to some guy. Seeing him is all it takes for my nerves to start twanging so hard I’m actually shaking. I attempt some deep breathing. Is there another way out of the building? Probably some back exit with an alarm I would set off. I have no choice but to leave the normal way.

I glance outside again before pushing through the revolving door. The guy Austin was talking to is gone, but Austin’s still there. Why would he be just standing there alone? Could he be waiting for me?

“Hey,” Austin says when I come out.

Right around the corner . . .

“Hey.” He looks even cuter than he did before. How is that possible?

“How was the rest of your day? Did the Post-it technique work out for you?”

“Not exactly.” If he only knew how distracted I’ve been from the second he left. “I’ll figure it out tomorrow.”

“You definitely will.” He flashes me a smile so bright I’m temporarily blinded. No boy has ever made me this nervous and exhilarated and happy all at once.

“Well . . . see you tomorrow.”

“Hey, um . . . do you have plans tonight?”

I shake my head.

“Do you . . . I mean, I know this is late notice, but would you maybe want to do something? It’s so gorgeous out. We could walk around for a while and see what we feel like doing. If you want.”

“Yeah,” I say in a tone that I hope comes off as casual instead of exposing how hard I am freaking out right now. “Like you said, it’s gorgeous out.”

“Are you hungry?”

“Not yet. Are you?”

“Nope. But dinner can be part of the outdoor funtivities.”

“Did you just say ‘funtivities’?”

“I wanted to snatch it back the second it left my mouth.”

“No, it’s cute.”

“Not too dorky?”


“Just dorky enough.” No boy has ever asked me out this quickly. I didn’t even know this kind of thing happened in real life. There’s a very good chance my chin has hit the floor. I might need a forklift to scrape it up.

“So . . . is that a yes to dinner outside?”

“Absolutely. I love eating outside.”

“Of course you do.” He looks around. “Which way should we go?”

Austin asked me to dinner and I said yes. That’s officially a date, right? When you eat together? Holy crap. We’re about to have our first date. We could just stand here all night and it would be the best first date ever. But what if this isn’t actually a date? What if it’s just hanging out as friends? I mean, who asks out someone they just met? He’ll probably be at a bar with his friends tomorrow night, laughing about how easily he got a girl to say yes.