Page 54 of Mother Parker
I guessed I was quite big, so it wasn’t a stretch to call me that.
“So?” he asked.
I stared at him for a moment, trying to remember what we were even talking about but coming up short.
Then Hwan lifted his phone and pointed to a vase on a table, and it all came back to me.
“I don’t know. You just…keep taking the same pictures. That’s all,” I said.
“Would you…?” he started, but his voice trailed off, and I was forced to look at him again.
“What?” I grumbled.
“Would you like me to take new pictures?” he asked, smirking.
Stupid smirk I wanted to wipe off his stupid face.
“I don’t care what you do. I just can’t see the point of taking pictures of the same crap.”
“So does that mean I can take your picture?” he said and immediately pointed his camera at me.
Before I could stop myself, I snatched his hand and tried to pull his phone away, but all I did was make him collide with me.
His smirk dropped but never quite disappeared as he stared at me, only inches apart.
My body was hot all of a sudden. Cold sweat formed on the small of my back and breathing was hard.
He smelled like roses. His face was glowing—I still couldn’t tell if it was makeup or just his natural skin—and he had freckles sprinkled all over his cheeks and nose.
I held his hand on my stomach, glued between our bodies, dangerously close to my crotch that seemed to be reacting to the contact and proximity. But even if I wanted to move, I couldn’t.
My heart beat wildly and my muscles tensed.
Each rose-scented breath I took intensified the strange chemical reaction I was having to Hwan being pinned against me. Each breath sent more goosebumps through my entire body. Each breath made my choice almost impossible to resist.
I didn’t know why, but I wanted to kiss him. It’d be easy to. His lips—pink and glossy—were mere inches from mine.
This had never happened to me. I had never been this close to temptation before. It was intoxicating.
And what was more intoxicating was the way he looked at me.
It was desire: hot and inviting.
It was amusement: intrigue and curiosity.
It was fear: deafening and undeniable.
Even though I was frozen in place—like him—I was aware I was moving closer.
I didn’t know how it was possible. And how I could stop it. If I could stop it. If I even wanted to.
I was so close that I breathed in the air he breathed out. So close, I felt the warmth and texture of his cheeks just by looking at them.
Just when I was about to physically place my lips on his, a ring blared in my ears and I came back to my senses.
I took a step back, and Hwan did the same. His Adam’s apple bobbed as he swallowed and slid his finger across his phone screen.
“Hello,” he said. “Yes, this is he.”
