8. Xavier
EIGHT
XAVIER
L ater that night, I found myself in Central Park, my eyes wandering over the mass of people. It was stupid of me not to have asked for her number. It wasn’t like I didn’t know how busy it was going to be, and that it was going to be a challenge to find her. I sighed, but avoided ruffling my hair so I wouldn’t mess it up.
How I was so sure she was going to show up was beyond me. But deep down, I knew.
I continued walking, looking for red hair among the crowd. I occasionally smiled down at a few kids who bumped into me, but besides that, my attention was solely focused on finding her.
“Looking for someone?” a familiar voice rang behind me. I turned around in surprise, finding Fire Girl behind me with a grin on her face. She was wearing a floral dress and had her hair tied up into a bun, two strands touching her cheeks.
I couldn’t help but see the difference between the woman on the football field and the woman standing in front of me. Out there, she had looked put together, with no sign of creases on her uniform and no hint of a facial expression. Here, she was a spring flower that just bloomed and mesmerized everyone with her beauty.
My blood immediately heated at the sight of her. Never in my life had I met a woman as attractive and easy-going as she was. As much as a part of me was positive she would show up, I couldn’t help but feel a flicker of surprise.
I smiled. “Nah, I think I got what I need.”
“Do you now?” she raised a brow and started walking away.
I frowned. “Where are you going?”
Fire Girl glanced at me over her shoulder, smiling as her dress swirled around her knees. “Getting some ice cream.”
Something was different about her.
I caught up quickly, but with an absolutely contagious laugh, she started running. This woman was likely older than me, but somehow I doubted it by the way she was acting. Christ, I didn’t even know her age—or even her name—yet I was chasing her through a park.
I couldn’t help but grin, and in record time, I found myself running next to her. She was still smiling before a grimace covered her beautiful face, and she slowed down.
Concern swept its way under my skin, and I stopped abruptly. “What happened?”
Fire Girl looked at me from the corner of her eye, massaging her knee. “It’s just … my knee.”
“Old injury?” I asked.
She nodded, biting her lip. “Yeah. The recovery was hard enough, but it seems it will haunt me my whole life.” A flash of sadness passed over her features, but it left so quickly I thought I’d imagined it.
“Let’s get you some ice, fire girl,” I suggested. She was ready to leave on her own, so without really thinking it through, I snuck one arm under her knees and the other behind her back.
She let out a squeal of surprise as I lifted her into my arms. “I can walk by myself,” she puffed, trying to push on my chest so I would let her go, but she didn’t really want me to. I could tell by the little amount of force she used.
I chuckled. “I know, but you don’t have to.”
We settled into a comfortable silence as we walked around the park toward the store where I could grab her some ice.
“Why ‘fire girl’?” she asked. I looked down at her, somehow surprised that she’d spoken. She rolled her eyes dramatically. “I mean, it doesn’t take a genius to understand, but I was just wondering if it’s more than that.”
Her head on my chest and the intense stare of her green eyes made me squirm in my own skin. I swallowed, and decided to look at the path in front of us to avoid crashing into anyone by mistake.
“Because you looked like the kind of person who deserved a special nickname to be remembered by, even if you were just a stranger,” I admitted. When I stole a glance at her, I found her speechless. “Plus, it kind of fits your attitude, not just your hair.” I held back my laugh when she slapped my forearm. “See?”
When she laughed, I felt like I had made this date work—even if we were just strangers who probably lived miles apart. For me, nothing mattered as long as I saw her smile more often today.