Page 4 of Space Crush
And I might feel charmed if I wasn’t suddenly concerned with the breeze I feel along my backside.
Twisting my body, I try to see below my belt. And when that fails, I slide my hands down and?—
“Kaley, hold up!” Evan, having made it out with the jet pack unscathed, comes to a stop beside me. Panting, he lowers the pack to the ground, just as my fingertips graze skin.
Myskin. Mybareskin.
The little girl, ever helpful, points to where I’m touching, drawing Evan’s and everyone else’s attention. “You have ahugehole in your pants!”
Kill me now.
THREE
CRANKSHAFT CONTROL THEORY
Evan
The thong is unexpected.
But then again, so was getting launched ten feet in the air by a five-foot-six safety engineer in front of twenty-plus cheering kids.
Speaking of…
“I see your butt.” The little girl giggles before pressing her hand to her mouth.
Kaley makes a strangled noise before grabbing hold of my shirt and yanking me to her. “Don’t. Move.”
I’m too shocked to move if I wanted to at the sudden feel of the length of her back pressed up against my front. “Yeah. Sure. Got it.” I grab her hips, making sure to close the gap, and therefore the line of sight toward her backside, from view.
This time the strangled noise she makes is at a higher pitch, but she clasps both of my hands and wraps them around her middle, effectively anchoring me to her.
“Okay.” Her nails dig into my forearm. “What do we do?”
Oddly pleased by the ‘we’ in her question, I scan the area for an idea on getting Kaley out of the festival. “My office is right across the lot.” I point to Building Ten with my free arm. “I have an extra set of coveralls.” I tilt my head, trying to see her face. “Will that work?”
From her profile, I can see her right nostril flare as she nods. “Yes. Okay.” She takes a step, then immediately retreats when it creates space between us.
“Hold on.” I hold her more firmly against me. “We’re gonna have to do this together.”
“Do what?”
We start, both of us having forgotten about the little girl still standing beside us.
“Um…” Kaley trails off, probably at a loss on how to explain the situation to a child.
I don’t even bother trying. “You want more astronaut ice cream?” My voice is loud enough that quite of a few of the surrounding kids hear too.
Their chorus of yeses draws the rest of the younger crowd’s attention.
I point to the other side of the bouncy house, where my co-worker Andy has just shown up for his shift of festival duty. “He has it.”
Like a rocket, they take off.
I’d find the horrified expression on Andy’s face hilarious if I wasn’t so concerned with getting Kaley and her thong out of the children’s area before she gets arrested by NASA security for indecent exposure.
Making a mental note to apologize to Andy later, I straighten behind Kaley and line up my toes against her heels. “Ready?”
She replies with a hard nod. “Let’s do this.” Her terrified expression morphs into determination. “I’ll call out the steps.”
