escalator, I used the other to look around.
My father and I used to people watch at the mall while my mother was shopping. We made up stories about everyone passing by—the crazier, the better. He’d stopped playing the game a long time ago, but I never could get myself to quit. Even without a partner to tell the stories to, I still made them up in my head.
The woman leaning against the support column off to the left of the escalator tried her best to look nonchalant, but she never looked away from the arrivals area. She barely even blinked. Her T-shirt was vintage and looked like something she’d owned since purchasing it at a concert herself, rather than getting it online or at Walmart as a reissue. I couldn’t tell what brand her jeans were, but I’d bet my Louis Vuitton bag—okay, fake but it’s still not cheap—they weren’t Levi’s. Her Doc Martens were only laced up partway, the tongue folded down and the side of her boots open in the part-goth, part-grunge style popular back when I was in high school. Looked like it was making a comeback, judging from all the other people who wore their boots the same way.
She checked her phone for the eighth time since I first took notice of her—either checking her phone or the time. Maybe both. I decided the person she waited for was definitely her boyfriend, in the military and coming home from deployment after a year in the Sand Box.
When he came down the escalator, all pretense of playing it cool would fly out the window. She’d run to him, throw herself in his arms with tears running down her face. Tell him how much she loves him and missed him. And then he’d get down on one knee….
I blinked out of my daydream . What the fuck was that ? I’m not a romantic person. Jesus, I’ve got to stop letting Melinda pick the movies for girls’ night. Too many chick flicks and I might actually turn into one.
I was so lost in thought, Evan almost knocked me over as he threw his arms around me from behind. “Hey beautiful.” He kissed the side of my neck and spun me around to face him. “Miss me?”
I shook my head. “Not at all. Were you gone?”
He laughed and leaned down to give me a proper toe-curling, panty-melting kiss. Oh, how I couldn’t wait to get this man home and into my bed. What the hell was I nervous about? Evan slung an arm around my shoulder as we made our way to the exit. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw the girl wrapped around someone in uniform. I smiled when she pulled away, and stopped in my tracks when the girl in army fatigues got down on one knee.
“Baby, are you…” Evan followed my line of sight and witnessed the proposal.
When the girl wearing Docs nodded her head emphatically and put out her hand for the ring, applause sounded all around them.
“That was sweet,” Evan said as we started walking again.
I nodded, feeling slightly freaked out I’d just daydreamed almost the exact same scenario. “It was.”
Taking my hand in his, he pulled his rolling bag behind us with the other. The automatic doors swished open, and the Houston humidity slapped us in the face as we exited through the automatic doors.
Chapter Four
We were laying on the couch one night, watching an old Sean Connery James Bond movie with our legs tangled together, Evan’s fingers tracing absent patterns along my thigh when he turned to me and asked, “Do you want to go to The Main Event?”
My eyebrows drew together in confusion, “I’m already going, remember? I got tickets after doing the interview with you.”
“I know. I mean…do you want to go with me? Like, we ride there, and you stay backstage with me while I’m not in the ring?”
“Are you serious?”
He nodded. “Absolutely. I’d love for you to come with me.”
I couldn’t help but smile as my heart fluttered in my chest, my excitement bubbling over, “I’d love to.”
“You made my day. Thank you, beautiful.” Leaning down, he kissed me long and deep,
My father and I used to people watch at the mall while my mother was shopping. We made up stories about everyone passing by—the crazier, the better. He’d stopped playing the game a long time ago, but I never could get myself to quit. Even without a partner to tell the stories to, I still made them up in my head.
The woman leaning against the support column off to the left of the escalator tried her best to look nonchalant, but she never looked away from the arrivals area. She barely even blinked. Her T-shirt was vintage and looked like something she’d owned since purchasing it at a concert herself, rather than getting it online or at Walmart as a reissue. I couldn’t tell what brand her jeans were, but I’d bet my Louis Vuitton bag—okay, fake but it’s still not cheap—they weren’t Levi’s. Her Doc Martens were only laced up partway, the tongue folded down and the side of her boots open in the part-goth, part-grunge style popular back when I was in high school. Looked like it was making a comeback, judging from all the other people who wore their boots the same way.
She checked her phone for the eighth time since I first took notice of her—either checking her phone or the time. Maybe both. I decided the person she waited for was definitely her boyfriend, in the military and coming home from deployment after a year in the Sand Box.
When he came down the escalator, all pretense of playing it cool would fly out the window. She’d run to him, throw herself in his arms with tears running down her face. Tell him how much she loves him and missed him. And then he’d get down on one knee….
I blinked out of my daydream . What the fuck was that ? I’m not a romantic person. Jesus, I’ve got to stop letting Melinda pick the movies for girls’ night. Too many chick flicks and I might actually turn into one.
I was so lost in thought, Evan almost knocked me over as he threw his arms around me from behind. “Hey beautiful.” He kissed the side of my neck and spun me around to face him. “Miss me?”
I shook my head. “Not at all. Were you gone?”
He laughed and leaned down to give me a proper toe-curling, panty-melting kiss. Oh, how I couldn’t wait to get this man home and into my bed. What the hell was I nervous about? Evan slung an arm around my shoulder as we made our way to the exit. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw the girl wrapped around someone in uniform. I smiled when she pulled away, and stopped in my tracks when the girl in army fatigues got down on one knee.
“Baby, are you…” Evan followed my line of sight and witnessed the proposal.
When the girl wearing Docs nodded her head emphatically and put out her hand for the ring, applause sounded all around them.
“That was sweet,” Evan said as we started walking again.
I nodded, feeling slightly freaked out I’d just daydreamed almost the exact same scenario. “It was.”
Taking my hand in his, he pulled his rolling bag behind us with the other. The automatic doors swished open, and the Houston humidity slapped us in the face as we exited through the automatic doors.
Chapter Four
We were laying on the couch one night, watching an old Sean Connery James Bond movie with our legs tangled together, Evan’s fingers tracing absent patterns along my thigh when he turned to me and asked, “Do you want to go to The Main Event?”
My eyebrows drew together in confusion, “I’m already going, remember? I got tickets after doing the interview with you.”
“I know. I mean…do you want to go with me? Like, we ride there, and you stay backstage with me while I’m not in the ring?”
“Are you serious?”
He nodded. “Absolutely. I’d love for you to come with me.”
I couldn’t help but smile as my heart fluttered in my chest, my excitement bubbling over, “I’d love to.”
“You made my day. Thank you, beautiful.” Leaning down, he kissed me long and deep,
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