Chapter 31
31
CONNOR
I like Ember’s laugh.
I like it a lot .
Of course I noticed her sitting in the bleachers watching me win that woodcutting competition with that stare of hers directed solely at me. I didn’t like taking off my shirt in front of everyone, but I had to - it helped me swing the axe. It wasn’t a vanity thing. And Ember did not take her eyes off me.
Maybe Eric was right. Maybe she does have the hots for me.
Ha. That’ll be weird.
I really enjoyed our fairground walk and talk together, even if she asked way too many questions. Her life seems so interesting – I gotta find out more about her. She’s a lot different from any other girl I’ve met. I like her intelligence and her drive in life. She’s lived a very unusual life.
And, I have to admit, her sunny attitude has made me smile. I can’t help it.
And her laugh.
And being with her actually makes me feel... happy .
God. What have I become?
This is not me.
I drive her back to her motel in my pickup truck and try to repress any nice thoughts about her.
Or the shape of her body.
Or the way she makes me feel.
“You were great today,” she tells me quietly as we zoom down empty streets.
I shake my head and keep my eyes firmly on the road and not on her beautiful face.
Try, Connor. Try to ignore her.
“You are one crazy woman, Ember.”
“Thank you for the compliment.”
Keep focused ahead. Don’t look at her. Don’t reveal what you’re really thinking. Don’t reveal how your body is reacting to her.
I pull up outside the motel, and I realize I don’t really want to say bye to her just yet.
I could talk to her all night – it is simply that easy between us.
But Ember gives me a wink and jumps out of my pickup truck before I do something reckless, such as asking her to stay with me for the night, gripping the two massive plush dolls in her arms as she takes her leave.
Before she’s gone, she pokes her head through the window and looks at me with sparkles in her eyes.
“That was a really nice day,” she says to me in all seriousness.
She really enjoyed it.
Does she enjoy being with me? As much as I enjoy being with her?
“It was,” I reply.
“I’d like to talk to you again,” she says. “For the article. I feel like we have unfinished business.”
I nod.
Jesus. I’m like a nervous schoolboy.
“Yeah, I’ll like that too,” I reply.
“Really?”
“Yeah. For the article.”
Yeah, totally for the article...
“Let’s arrange something, okay?” Ember asks me.
And I nod.
Then I drive away before I do anything else totally reckless.