Page 59 of She Likes It, Hey Micah
I shake my head. “I’m lucky I remembered to pack my laptop cord, honestly.” And since he has a different kind of phone from me, I doubt Fischer can help me.
Still, he looks around the lobby with a determined glint in his dark eyes. “Be right back,” he says and then walks off, leaving me on my own.
In the ten minutes that he’s gone, I make a list to organize everyone having the chance to take a warm shower if they want it. It will mean having to clean all the towels, but I’m sure it will help everyone feel less like refugees. Hopefully there’s enough hot water for everyone all at once, but I’m still so tired from yesterday that I find it hard to care. Plus, I’m anxiously waiting for my chance to check in on Chad and make sure he and his lady friend made it through the storm intact.
Once I’ve told everyone in the lobby about the shower plan, I make my way back to the window and gaze out at the glittering snow. This storm caused a lot of problems for how short it was, but the aftermath is exceedingly beautiful. The sun catches all of the ice crystals in the best way, and I can picture my mom standing here with the forest beyond as her backdrop. She and Dad got married in June, so it wouldn’t have been snowy, but it must have been magical nonetheless.
“Hey.” Fischer comes up beside me, a mug of coffee in one hand and a phone charger in the other. While both of those things are a welcome sight, I’m a little distracted by the smear of red on his cheek, suspiciously in the shape of a couple of lips.
“Uh.” I take the coffee first—I assume it’s for me—and then I point at his mouth.
His eyes go wide and he wipes the heel of his hand across his skin. “It’s not what it looks like.”
“It looks like someone gave you their phone charger in exchange for a kiss.”
“Okay, maybe it’s exactly what it looks like. I noticed Alice has the same phone as you, but she wasn’t eager to give up her charger.” He shudders. “It’s the right kind, right? Please tell me it’s the right one.”
Though tempted to tell him it isn’t, I’m more interested in getting my phone back on so I can see if Chad has fallen in love yet. “It’s the right one,” I tell him. And then, though I probably shouldn’t, I lean up on my toes and kiss the cheek that isn’t already tainted by lipstick.
I expect Fischer to tense up, but instead his hand cups my elbow and he closes his eyes like he’s so affected by my kiss that he loses what’s left of his hard and gruff exterior. Now I’m more convinced than ever that he feels something just like I do. That doesn’t mean anything will happen, but maybe it can?
Fischer breathes in slowly, as if he’s taking in the moment however he can. Then he takes a step back and breaks our connection. “I’m going to see how quickly the roads can be cleared,” he mutters and walks away without a word.
Why is this man so difficult to read?
Chapter Seventeen
Fischer
By the time Micah andI get everyone back on their bus and on the road late Saturday afternoon, I am more than ready to close up the lodge and never look at the place again until next Friday. Somehow, Micah kept the group entertained with campfire stories and group games, while I sat down with Grant and walked him through everything we planned for the lodge. Though I disagreed with Micah, I followed her lead and told him that Lila planned it all while he was indisposed.
Once Grant decided he had had enough business talk, he and Lila camped out in one of the hot tubs despite neither grabbing a change of clothes, but I honestly didn’t care what they were doing out there as long as they left the bus passengers alone.
As soon as we had the lodge locked up, I told Kenny to go straight back to Ember Events without any detours, to which he happily agreed. He seemed more than ready to drop off his charges and get back home to his family. Besides, Lila and Grant were both pretty subdued as they climbed into the car to head back. Maybe their hot tub adventure wasn’t as fun as they seemed to think it would be.
Micah was quiet too, and I hope it’s just because she’s exhausted, like I am. After digging out my car from the quickly melting snow, we head to the highway in comfortable silence. Comfortable for me, at least. No idea how Micah feels about it.
I keep thinking about that kiss. Not the kind of kiss I would have liked, but Micah making that move and pressing her lips to my cheek has my mind spinning in a way that makes me dizzy. She’s probably the kind of person who kisses everyone like that, but she knows how much I struggle with touch. She wouldn’t do that just to do that.
As we cruise toward Sun City, I scratch my cheek and pretend it’s because the scruff is itchy. Not because I can still feel her lips against my skin. I nearly broke down when Alice demanded a kiss in exchange for her charger, and I was ready to step fully clothed into the nearest shower just to try to get the feel of her off of me. But Micah? I nearly threw caution to the wind and pulled her in for a real kiss, consequences be damned.
I glance at her, but she’s looking out the window at the passing scenery. I have no way of knowing if she’s feeling this strange pull between us or if it’s just me. I could ask her, but I’m too much of a coward for that. Her natural friendliness and bubbly personality could mean she is affectionate with everyone, and I don’t have the heart to be tossed aside again.
At this point, I wonder if I have a heart at all.
“How’s your brother?” I ask, breaking the silence for the first time since we started driving twenty minutes ago. I don’t know the answer to this question already because I’ve been actively avoiding her since she kissed me, which doesn’t exactly send the signal that I am interested. Maybe that’s why she’s so quiet?
She glances over, her smile small but warm. “He’s fine. He wouldn’t tell me much, but he said they made it through the storm without any trouble.”
“He and his neighbor.”
“Neighbors. Plural, apparently. The woman next door and the guy who lives down the street, so now I can’t decide if he’s falling in love or not and it’s driving me crazy.”
Chad’s love life is his own business, but I don’t say that out loud. That feels like a bad idea after the thorough setdown I got after criticizing romance novels. “I’m glad he’s safe. And that he knew about the batteries in the fireplaces.”
“We would have had to cuddle together for warmth if not. Huddle! I meant to say huddle.”
Or did she really mean cuddle and she’s as annoyed as I am that Grant and Lila interrupted us this morning? She definitely startled me awake, but as soon as I realized she was beneath me, all sense of reason fled my brain and I wanted nothing more than to kiss her. We’ll blame my lapse in judgment on exhaustion.
