Chapter 8
8
S taring at her, I wonder if she suspects something about me. She’s too comfortable in this situation. If the roles were reversed, I doubt I’d feel the same.
“Can I see your hand?”
“Why?” She arches a brow, suspicious but intrigued.
“I want to show you one of my bar tricks.”
She smirks but extends her hand. I take it, palm-up. “Just as I thought,” I say, teasing, as I examine the lines.
“What?” She leans in, curious now.
“You’ve got high standards for relationships.”
“What?!” she nearly squeals.
I trace her love line slowly. “It starts under your index finger. That’s not so common.”
“Wait, you read palms?”
“I have sisters.”
Her hand is soft, smaller than I expected. I trace more lines, but my fingers keep returning to the love line. “These branches here … they mean you’re both passionate and reasonable. That’s very attractive.”
“So, I’m not crazy?”
“Time will tell.” She swats my arm. “It means you have a big heart.”
Anna narrows her eyes playfully. “You really trust this ‘science’?”
“I like that it gave me an excuse to hold your hand.”
From the smile on her face, I know it landed.
“You have sisters?” she asks, glancing at me over the mask. I’m still holding her hand. She hasn’t pulled it away, and I decide to keep tracing the lines on her palm.
“Three of them. I’m the oldest.”
“Oldest and youngest …”
“What do you mean?”
“I hear that’s a good match,” she says with a sly smile.
I smirk. Although I know her sister is older, I ask. “You’re the baby?”
“The youngest. Not the baby.”
“You don’t like to be called baby?”
“The context is important for that word.”
Anna is funny. I’ve always thought so. And I can’t believe she hasn’t pulled her hand back yet. I can feel the warmth of her skin against mine. It’s nice.
“Let me show you one of my bar tricks.” She pulls her hand back. “Aaron, can I have a bottle of beer?”
“Which one?”
“Any one.”
He cocks a brow, then bends down to open a cooler before handing her a beer. She takes it and smiles at me before opening it with her teeth.
“Anna!” I yell with concern behind the mask. “Don’t fuck up your teeth … but that was impressive.”
“Why don’t you want me to fuck up my teeth?”
“Because you have a pretty smile.”
“You have a creepy one.”
“I know this mask is better suited for Halloween.” We both laugh. “Alright, little bunny, do you want another drink? You don’t have to drink the beer if you don’t want to.”