drink.” I shoved it toward Wyatt. He took the white cup from my hand as I went running inside the pen. I chased the two dogs in circles. Laughing, I let them attack me down to the grass. They made me happier than I’d been in a long time. The adrenaline rush of doing something good was almost as intoxicating as the one I used to get while running. With the knee problems, I hadn’t been able to do that in a really long time.
As I rested in the grass, Gus attacked my hair, tugging it softly. I pulled him in a bear hug as Charlie jumped on top of me. I glanced over at Wyatt. A faint grin lingered on his lips. I crawled back to a standing position and chased the two little dogs to the other side of the pen.
I slipped another look over at Wyatt. He followed me with his green eyes. I knew he did the whole time as I acted like a complete idiot in the pen. It made those feelings happen again. I craved his attention. In this moment, with mysterious Wyatt, it felt special because I doubt he tossed much of anything out to the world. I doubt he gave many people the look he was giving me.
“Come in here with us.” I gave him a soft grin.
“Nah.” He shook his head.
He stayed firm in his spot. I got up and went back out to stand next to him. It was driving me crazy not to ask him questions. He gave an inch, and I wanted to run across the dang county with it. Slowly. I had to approach him slowly even though I really wanted to touch him. I wanted to touch his warm skin. I wanted to wrap myself around his body.
The truth is, I still knew virtually nothing about him. My feelings had progressed from questions to craving a full-blown physical attack. I needed to slow back down.
“How old are you?” The question slipped out.
Wyatt tilted his green eyes down in my direction, but he didn’t answer. He looked back inside the play area where Gus had Charlie tackled to the ground. He muttered in his raspy voice, “How old are you?”
“Twenty-one.”
“You don’t look that old.”
“We both get that a lot.”
“ We? ” He looked down at me again. I didn’t think about how I’d phrased that answer. I was so used to Blaire and I practically being the same person.
“Oh. I guess I haven’t mentioned it before. I have a twin sister.”
“There’s two of you?”
“I guess you could say that. We look alike, but we are very different.”
“Does she ask as many annoying personal questions as you?”
“Annoying personal questions? Really? ” A flash of anger got the best of me, and I couldn’t stop the thoughts from coming out as actual words. “I’m not asking unreasonable things, Wyatt. I just asked how old you are. I didn’t ask if you have a girlfriend like the crazy kind that will show up at my apartment because I talked to you. Or if your life is complicated because you have, like, cancer or something and you’re hiding out in the woods from everyone. How old are you? It’s a simple, reasonable question. Waiters in restaurants even ask it when you order a drink.”
I regretted my outburst the moment the second word jumped off my lips. This wasn’t how I’d planned for our conversation to go today. Wyatt had made my thoughts flow out like verbal diarrhea, killing all the progress I’d made with the guy.
His lips fell into that familiar thin line. His eyes went back to being razor sharp. Wyatt’s body morphed into a stiff and unfriendly lump of coal, ready to burn everything around him.
“I’m sorry.” I took a step back, giving him some space. “I didn’t mean to attack you. I’m really sorry.”
Wyatt glanced toward the kennel building for a moment, then back at me. He was contemplating storming off from our conversation. I read the idea written across his angry face.
“I’m twenty-two.” The words scratched from his lips like he’d swallowed one of those swords at the circus and had to cough it back up. “No girlfriend. No cancer.”
The expression on his face spoke to my very heart,
As I rested in the grass, Gus attacked my hair, tugging it softly. I pulled him in a bear hug as Charlie jumped on top of me. I glanced over at Wyatt. A faint grin lingered on his lips. I crawled back to a standing position and chased the two little dogs to the other side of the pen.
I slipped another look over at Wyatt. He followed me with his green eyes. I knew he did the whole time as I acted like a complete idiot in the pen. It made those feelings happen again. I craved his attention. In this moment, with mysterious Wyatt, it felt special because I doubt he tossed much of anything out to the world. I doubt he gave many people the look he was giving me.
“Come in here with us.” I gave him a soft grin.
“Nah.” He shook his head.
He stayed firm in his spot. I got up and went back out to stand next to him. It was driving me crazy not to ask him questions. He gave an inch, and I wanted to run across the dang county with it. Slowly. I had to approach him slowly even though I really wanted to touch him. I wanted to touch his warm skin. I wanted to wrap myself around his body.
The truth is, I still knew virtually nothing about him. My feelings had progressed from questions to craving a full-blown physical attack. I needed to slow back down.
“How old are you?” The question slipped out.
Wyatt tilted his green eyes down in my direction, but he didn’t answer. He looked back inside the play area where Gus had Charlie tackled to the ground. He muttered in his raspy voice, “How old are you?”
“Twenty-one.”
“You don’t look that old.”
“We both get that a lot.”
“ We? ” He looked down at me again. I didn’t think about how I’d phrased that answer. I was so used to Blaire and I practically being the same person.
“Oh. I guess I haven’t mentioned it before. I have a twin sister.”
“There’s two of you?”
“I guess you could say that. We look alike, but we are very different.”
“Does she ask as many annoying personal questions as you?”
“Annoying personal questions? Really? ” A flash of anger got the best of me, and I couldn’t stop the thoughts from coming out as actual words. “I’m not asking unreasonable things, Wyatt. I just asked how old you are. I didn’t ask if you have a girlfriend like the crazy kind that will show up at my apartment because I talked to you. Or if your life is complicated because you have, like, cancer or something and you’re hiding out in the woods from everyone. How old are you? It’s a simple, reasonable question. Waiters in restaurants even ask it when you order a drink.”
I regretted my outburst the moment the second word jumped off my lips. This wasn’t how I’d planned for our conversation to go today. Wyatt had made my thoughts flow out like verbal diarrhea, killing all the progress I’d made with the guy.
His lips fell into that familiar thin line. His eyes went back to being razor sharp. Wyatt’s body morphed into a stiff and unfriendly lump of coal, ready to burn everything around him.
“I’m sorry.” I took a step back, giving him some space. “I didn’t mean to attack you. I’m really sorry.”
Wyatt glanced toward the kennel building for a moment, then back at me. He was contemplating storming off from our conversation. I read the idea written across his angry face.
“I’m twenty-two.” The words scratched from his lips like he’d swallowed one of those swords at the circus and had to cough it back up. “No girlfriend. No cancer.”
The expression on his face spoke to my very heart,
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