Page 6 of Sturdy & Dirty

Was she… laughing?

It grew as the seconds ticked by, becoming something magical and sweet. Like the sound of bells at Christmas. But it wasn’t Christmas, and it was more likely I’d hit my head and was hallucinating it.

Twisting my neck, I looked at her.

She hadn’t moved from her sprawled state. Her long, dark hair was scattered haphazardly, forming a halo around her head as she stared at the ceiling, laughing.

So, I wasn’t hallucinating it.

Holly was either hurt or crazy. But damn if she didn’t make both of those things seem totally okay for a few minutes.

And if her smile did weird things to me, her laugh would be my complete undoing.

Fuck, I was doomed.

“Did I hurt you?” I forced the words from my throat, and they came out much harsher than I’d intended.

Somehow, this made her laugh harder until her eyes closed and a tiny tear leaked from the side.

“No, I think I’m okay,” she said when she caught her breath. “Did you hurt yourself?”

I lifted my head to see that the bucket was still lodged on my foot, and then dropped it back to the floor. I could move. That was a good sign.

“Just my pride, I think.”

This made her laugh all over again, and I didn’t mind. The sound of her humor was a balm for my embarrassment.

“I’m Austin, by the way.” I looked back to her as the laughter faded.

“Holly,” she said, still staring at the ceiling.

“I know.”

Her face turned to mine, surprise in her green gaze, and my heart decided to run a race with my breath.

“You know my name?”

Oh, shit. Was that creepy?

“Uh, yeah. This is your build, right?” Good swift recovery.

But something flashed across her eyes, and if I wasn’t mistaken, it looked a lot like disappointment.

“Yeah, that’s right. I think…” She hesitated before finishing her thought. “I think we know each other from the gym. Big B’s? You’ve been there, right? You always hold the door for me.”

She took notice of that, did she?

I felt heat flood my cheeks, and as a natural ginger, I knew my complexion was going to give away my embarrassment in point two seconds or less.

Instead of answering, I looked away, back to the ceiling.

“Sorry I ran into you like that. I didn’t see you there.”

“I had just rounded the corner. It was a wrong-place-wrong-time situation. Not your fault.”

“Should’ve been watching where I was going,” I muttered, regret still thick in my veins. “Blame it on the load I was carrying, I guess. How else did I miss a pretty lady like you coming my way?”

What the fuck did I just say?

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