Page 25 of Love at First Flight

“Oh, okay, good.” Dex didn’t have anything else to say, but for some reason, added, “Good luck,” making him want to do a full-face cringe before turning and leaving to retrieve Harper, who was waiting in her carrier in the visitor center.

For him, the day was fun and busy. It was exciting to see people come specifically because they heard about the event he helped create. At one point, there was a long line to participate. In addition to this, he got to do his favorite thing, which was talk to guests about the park, wildlife, and Harper. Many people donated, leading him to feel successful, no matter what.

There was a flaw in the whole plan, though. He didn’t get to hang out with Selah. He had more interactions with her sisters and mother than he did with her. Naomi and her mother chatted with people, using people’s phones to take pictures while slipping them High Desert Tours business cards. Her other sister, Hailey, flitted about with her phone like a busy hummingbird, taking images and video. Sometimes he or Harper was her focus, but he tried to ignore it because he wasn’t sure what to do that would appear natural and not awkward.

None of this stopped Dex’s attention from sliding in the direction of the balloon or its pilot. It was a huge distraction. Literally. His focus drifted her direction more than once, and she may have even returned his look. It was hard to tell with the sunglasses, but she leaned on the basket, propping her head on the bent arm resting on the basket’s edge, facing him, before suddenly snapping straight to turn on the flame to add more air to the balloon or talking to Boone and—

What was Boone’s deal? Was there a reason he was chosen to stay with her instead of somewhere else? Was there something between them? The situation annoyingly picked at Dex and he wished he wasn’t stuck here while she was over there.

At one point in the early afternoon, Selah and Boone swapped spots and Naomi joined the basket. Selah left her post, heading toward the restroom.

“Can you hold down the table? I’m just going to take a quick restroom break,” Dex said to Jon.

“Is your bird going to be okay without you, or are you taking it with you?”

“I’ll just put her in her carrier.” Dex removed Harper from his shoulder, where she’d spent most of the day, keeping herself entertained by latching onto one of his earlobes and tugging, as though he were a slot machine, and this action caused treats to drop out. He put the bird in her carrier before walking toward the restroom and dusting off the top of his shoulders in case there were any feathers or bird dandruff.

As he reached the corner of the cinder block public restroom building, Selah rounded the corner. Almost bumping into each other, her damp hands pressed against his chest and his went to the tops of her arms, stopping a full collision.

“Oh! Sorry,” she said.

“Hey. Funny seeing you here. You come to this restroom often?”

She released a laugh, her eyes lighting with warmth. Her sunglasses were on the top of her head, holding those dark wavy curls away from her face, giving her a more open and approachable look again. This was the version of Selah he’d been hoping to see all day.

“Only when my mother insists I drink a whole canister of water. Oh, sorry. I didn’t mean... it’s just water,” she replied, removing her hands from his chest, leaving behind damp splotches on his clothes. “There were a couple of kids playing with the hand dryer and I didn’t want to wait.”

He hadn’t removed his hands from her arms, continuing to hold her, liking how she could feel tough and strong and yet there was something delicate about her, something that made him protective. He didn’t want to let go, but he did anyway. “You doing okay over in your area?”

She peeked upward at him, smiling softly, “Oh, yeah, doing okay. Boone does a pretty good job keeping curious people from getting too close and he helps keep the basket stabilized.”

He supposed Boone’s involvement made sense in that respect, but he still felt like a villain, wanting to shake his fist and curse the other man’s name. All he could do was respond, “Good. Well, if you need anyone else to stabilize your basket, I can help too.” He nearly closed his eyes at the cringe of it all. Did that somehow sound sexual, or was it just him? Either way, he quickly followed with, “Or tackling. You shouldn’t have to do it. You’re too short.”

She flicked him a playful look. “Aw, okay, I see how it is. I must bethis tallto tackle and, apparently, to date. Is there anything I’m not too short for?”

His suddenly dirty mind came up with some things, but it wasn’t appropriate to voice, especially for a friend he hoped to elevate to the next level of friendship. “Piloting is clearly something you’re not too short for. And who said you were too short to date?” It had to be another asshole dump truck, and he considered sending Harper to shit on their head as payback.

“Now let me think. Who was it that said I was too short to date?” Selah did that thing where she rubbed a pointer finger against her bottom lip while thinking. It was cute and got him entirely too focused on her mouth. “I think it was some tallish park ranger. He might have a crow as a roommate.”

“Me?”Hewas the dump truck? In response, his ears grew hot. He regretted wearing his standard baseball hat instead of something more practical and fashionable, like Chris’s campaign-style headgear that was able to hide the tops of his ears better. His boss was clearly onto something. With this reminder, Dex was beginning to remember the whole height conversation and kicking himself for suggesting such a thing. These days, he didn’t consider her to be “too” anything.

“I’m also apparentlytoo coolto date or something, which I don’t even know what that means.” Selah did the most sarcastic finger quotes he’d ever seen.

This point remained true. “Yeah, it’s all coming back to me now. Hmm. I seem to recall you saying I’m too tall, so it’s clearly not just me.”

“Exactly. It’s all so impossible.”

Her face tilted upward and was entirely too pretty. Huh. There was something she was “too” much of, after all. “Yeah, impossible. Can you imagine? What am I supposed to do, hunch over like this?” He tipped over her, coming closer to achieving a new goal of his and still feeling much too far away. “It’s not recommended for anyone’s spine to bend over like this for any length of time.”

“True. Spine health and posture are too important to risk long-term back pain. And what am I supposed to do? Go up on my tiptoes like this?” Selah rose a few inches, their faces now close enough for him to imagine all kinds of obstacles he’d be willing to overcome in order to close the gap, even poor posture.

“What am I? A ballerina?” Losing her balance, she stumbled backwards, her back hitting the building’s cinder block wall, and she giggled. “See? It wouldn’t work. I have to be the worst ballerina.”

Dex couldn’t help smiling as he adjusted his position, using a hand on the wall to support himself as he leaned into her space. “So, a better pilot than a ballerina?”

“I guess so. So, again, the whole thing is... impossible.” The last word was said on a light breath and paired with a coy smile. He was coming to appreciate those smiles. They were the type that made it seem she was holding back intriguing thoughts. He wanted to weasel his way into her brain, to uncover every single one of them, because based on her expression, they were something good.

Before he could reply, Selah’s name was called from beyond the building, and she snapped from this intimate bubble. “Oh God. That’s my mom. I need to get back to the balloon.” Due to her short stature, Selah easily ducked under his arm and jogged to the event area, leaving Dex behind to pick up the pieces of his scattered self. He took a moment to lean against the cool surface of the concrete wall, closing his eyes, and taking deep breaths.

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