Page 25 of Pucks, Lies, and Sticktape

Don’t say a word…

“Allergies bothering you? Your face is red…” he blurted out and saw her eyes meet his, widening in horror, just before she looked away. He hesitated, mentally shrieking at himself in disbelief.

Oh, you freakin’ moron! You gotta fix this!

“It’s not bad…”

Oh my gosh, Mouth – you’ve gotta stop!

“Just a little puffy and red.”

Noooo! I just told the girl I adore that her nose is puffy and red. I am never going to kiss her or get her to stay with me – why would she?

Brain, you’re up!

Save me?

“Claritin is in the cabinet,” he continued, obviously panicking.

Good save, Brain.

Keep going, buddy…

“Coffee?”

Again, safe zone.

Thank you, Brain.

“Would you like breakfast?”Brain – three for three, good buddy…“Or are you on a diet?”

No, Mouth!

What-in-the-ever-lovin-heck, dude?!

Shut-the-heck-up!

Diet?

Are you kidding me?

“No,” she mumbled under her breath, not looking at him. “Do you have practice today?”

“Yeah.”

“Ah, okay.”

“But I’ll be back around five or so… do you want to grab dinner with me tonight?” And saw her turn curiously, her eyes glistening as she looked at him in disbelief.Was that it?Did she want to go on a date?Oh man – jackpot! I can do this! I can date my wife in a heartbeat.

“I thought maybe we could go out, see the town, and, you know, just hang out together to get used to the feeling,” he offered, trying to play it cool while his palms were sweating. He was considering wiping them on his pajama pants because hewas afraid to drop his coffee mug. “I mean, would you like to do that? Would you like to go out… with me?”

Her eyes searched his, and he realized that glorious blue reminded him of a crayon he loved when he was a child – cornflower blue.

“Anyone ever tell you that your eyes remind me of a crayon?” he said softly, feeling himself falling into them… only to see her smile a second before she started laughing nervously. She could laugh at him all day long for being stupid.

Heck, he’d take it.

“No,” she smiled, shaking her head. “You’re the first person that told me something like that.”

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