Page 30 of Tempting Bo
God, I’m so fucked.
Kenzie piles out of her little sedan, several gawky high schoolers following suit. A few more cars park behind her in the open lot between the house and the barn, but I can't take my eyes off her even as a gaggle of teenagers and a few other teachers join her in a huddle along with my dad and the principal.
She might as well be glowing.
Her copper curls are loose today, tucked behind her ears by a headband but left free to dance in the wind. Her hair is longer than I realized, well past her waist and teasing at her hips. Itlooks so vibrant against the navy sweater she’s wearing, and my fingers itch to run through it.
Who am I kidding? I just want to touch her in any way I can, wrap her up in a hug and hear her squeal out a laugh into my ear as I lift her off the ground. I want to kiss her a million times over, audience be damned.
But I've been… well,shittyis a kind way to put it. I've been distant, and cowardly, and she deserves better than someone who can't figure out a single thing in his life.
Sure, Oakley’s pretty damn convinced that Savannah’s making it all up, and I'd love to believe her. But if she's wrong, I'll have just made everything worse, and I'm in enough hot water as it is.
I trudge over to the group of kids when Dad waves me over, keeping my eyes on the ground. He explains the most basic rules—don’t hurt anything, don't eat anything, don’t throw cow patties around—before leaving me and a few of the other farmhands to oversee things. They seem to have been given more of a briefing than I was, as they start dividing the kids up into groups and assigning them jobs.
I'm useless the whole time, my eyes glued to Kenzie.
When she shoots me a friendly wave, it feels like the whole world tilts on its axis. It takes me a few moments to realize that the two of us are alone with the last few kids, and I force myself to focus on the task at hand.
“What are y’all’s names?” I ask the kids.
They’re burly-looking boys, hands stuffed in their pockets and annoyed frowns on their faces. They look like they’d rather be absolutely anywhere else, probably lured in by the promise of easy volunteer hours. I get a slew of mumbles in response, and don’t bother to try figuring which jumble of letters belongs to who. They’ll either like what they’re doing and come back, or Iwon’t see them again. Once I start recognizing faces, I’ll worry about learning names.
“I’ll have you three start in the stables with Mikey.”
Like I said, you’d have to be insane to turn down a chance to get out of mucking stalls. Mikey can take over from me, and I can go hyperventilate behind the outhouse until I figure out what the hell to say to Kenzie.
It’s a good plan.
Minus the part where she follows me and the three boys into the barn. She doesn’t say anything as I pass the boys off to Mikey, but she stands quietly behind me. Waiting. I babble for longer than I need to about rules and expectations, but it doesn’t take long for me to run out of things to say.
Soon enough, all that’s left is to turn around and face the music.
My breath catches in my chest when I see her, hardly three feet from me. Her hands are clasped in front of her, fingers tangled together nervously, and the edges of her smile flutter with anxiety.
“Hi.”
“Hey.”
We both speak at the same time, jolting in surprise as we talk over each other.
“I, sorry?—”
“No, go ahead, I didn’t?—”
“Did you want?—”
“Shit, sorry.”
We snap our mouths shut and stare at each other, nerves slowly fading away as laughter bubbles up between us. Thankfully, Mikey took the kids down to the other end of the barn, because we dissolve into a fit of giggles that takes our breath away.
“How’s that for cool and collected?” I ask, swallowing down my laughter. “I was trying to figure out how to talk to you and sound normal, and I just made myself look like an idiot instead.”
“I kind of like it when you make a fool out of yourself,” she tells me.
The words startle me, but not as much as the unbridled warmth in those pretty blue eyes as she steps closer. She reaches out to grasp my hand in hers, and it’s a little relieving to feel her trembling too.
“This is hard,” she says, ducking her head down to hide her eyes.
