Page 60 of Shy Girl
Dagny tensed, but I wasn’t sure why. People, crowds, mingling. In general, I didn’t have her pegged as a girl that loved that sort of thing. But tonight would be different, because she wouldn’t leave my side. And I didn’t want to stop touching her, so if she was so easily distracted by my touch now, maybe tonight would be just fine.
“S-sounds like a f-full day. How c-can I help?”
“This is a perfect start. Most of it is me helping Grady. If you want to stay here, I can come back and get you.”
“I’m here for whatever you need.”
I tightened my hold on her for a moment, and she snuggled closer.
“Thanks. How about you stay here and enjoy your day on the beach until it’s time for us to get together? I’ll come back for you after thesee the bridething is done and my part in the pictures is over. That’ll give you time to get ready and we can head to the ceremony together around 4:30.”
She nodded. “G-good.”
With my arms braced to hold my weight, I flipped her onto her back and rolled with her. Her breath caught and eyes dilated, but she didn’t protest. My fingers tangled in her hair as I studied her, noticing a very light smattering of freckles on her face for the first time. Her gaze dropped to my lips, then back to me. The rise and fall of her chest against mine sent a dizzying curl of heat through my stomach.
“Can I kiss you again?” I asked.
She nodded.
When the soft pillow of her lips pressed into mine, I almost lost it. I scaled back my response, but couldn’t stop a low growl. Her hands came around my back as she tilted her head to deepen the kiss. With a sharp breath, I pulled away, then brushed the hair out of her face.
“Touch is a dangerous part of my world,” I whispered with a soft kiss to her cheek. “I have to be careful of anyone touching me when I’m on duty, because I never know what it will mean. So your touch is like water to a dying man. Thank you.”
Her expression softened.
“And if I kiss you again,” I continued in a low growl, “I will not leave this bungalow for the rest of the day. My position as Best Man is theonlyreason I’m leaving you in this bed alone. I want you to know that.”
With that, I pushed away and forced myself out of the bedroom before I frightened her with the raw intensity of what she made me feel.
At 10:49 am, four DVD's in clear cases rubbed together as I extracted them out of my pocket and glanced at them. Digital copies waited on my computer—I doubted any of us even owned a DVD player—but there was no drama in emailing a file. This way, our childhood and idiotic teenage years would remain truly immortalized through physical and digital means.
In the reflection off the top case, I could just make out my freshly-combed hair and shaved face. My face disappeared as I focused my gaze beyond the clear case and looked at the DVD.
The C-tape.
The stupid camcorder that Bastian found in his father's dinky garage had made us legendary. Not just because of the stunts that circulated on the tape, but the difficulty of finding a VHS. Those who were able to sneak into the library and the old VHS still had been lucky—because many tried, and that old man librarian didn't let anybody through.
Rumors abounded about what stunts we included on the tape, because we couldn't tape all of them. Just the dumbest ones. A lot of the rumors were speculation, but most of it was truth, as dumb as that truth was.
Whenever the Merry Idiots got a new idea, people tried to go with us to see the stunts or predict where we'd act next. For weeks, rumors would circulate until they died down, and we resurrected them with fresh ideas later. Because Vikram was both diabolicalandpopular in high school, he’d throw out ideas constantly, just to keep people waiting. Most of them never happened.
A lot of the time, however, we kept our ideas between us and the tape. Now, the C-tape would see the light of day once again. I shoved all four DVD cases into my pocket and jabbed the elevator call button.
A hand clapped my shoulder as I turned my thoughts away from the C-tape and back onto Dagny. The movement jarred me.
“There's the Best Man!” a voice cried.
I glanced back to see Anthony Dunkin. Alison, a few steps away, waved over her shoulder and headed to the other side of the lobby as if they'd just split apart. Reputedly, the bride and bridesmaids were supposed to meet there for pedicures before their luncheon.
“Morning, sir,” I said.
Although I didn't know him well, Anthony Dunkin had the air of someone that commanded respect, so I slipped into my best behavior voice. The one that evenabuelareceived, except I feared her more than the wealthiest man in Texas.
His nose wrinkled, but he had an amiable smile. “Please, don't call me sir. Sounds too much like my grandfather, and I'm certainly not there yet.”
“Of course.”
His tone turned musing. “How are you these days, Hernandez?”
