Page 185 of Smoke and Fire
BASTIAN
Getting released from the fire, shucking my stuff at the house, and hopping into a shower felt like heaven.
Psycho remained fed, happy, and purring. I threw some food into my stomach, dirty clothes into the laundry, and hauled back out of Dad’s house to head into Pineville, all within sixty minutes of arriving back home.
Then all the excitement I felt at seeing Dahlia broke the moment I walked into the Frolicking Moose.
Didn’t take a genius to sense tension in the room once I arrived. Whether it was good or bad tension, I couldn’t be sure.
Nor was it hard to figure out that the other guy didn't love me being there. Whoever he was, he didn’t appear to be a stranger. Family, maybe?
Whoever he was, somehow, I'd shown up at the exact wrong time. Should I leave?
Nah.
I'd never roll over like that.
Besides, if Dahlia didn't want me here, which I sincerely hoped wasn't the case, she'd tell me.
A thousand questions ran through my mind when the guy stepped up to the door and gave me a quick nod. Once he left, I looked right at her.
Dahlia stared at me with her heart in her eyes. Terror, elation, shock. I read every single emotion there. All my willpower kept me from gathering her up in my arms and kissing those full lips. The fact that we hardly knew each other struck me again, rendering my excitement to see her as completely insane.
Sometimes, insanity felt so good.
Her voice pulled me from the edge of my thoughts.
She swallowed and softly said, “Hey.”
The top half of her wavy black hair was pulled into a ponytail, the rest lay on her shoulders. A tank top with a dahlia flower on it led to tight black shorts that made me want to die. She stood three seconds—two long strides—away. That’s all it would take for me to pick her up, slam her back against the wall, and—
“Hey,” I croaked.
She let out a long, pent up breath. “I wasn’t sure when to expect you. I . . . I hoped you’d come by.”
“Why wouldn’t I?”
A tentative smile appeared on her face, banishing the uncertainty that had originally shown up. I tucked my fingers into my palm to keep from reaching out for her. No, it was too soon. Although I craved her touch and dreamed of how soft her skin would feel, I couldn’t break that barrier yet.
Then Dahlia launched herself into my arms.
I caught her out of shock. My arms went around her, but bright, blaring alarms rang through my mind. What did I do now? What was appropriate? If I had my way this second, we’d be in the empty loft, tearing—
She gave a little sigh. Seconds later she extricated herself out of my arms. Once she stepped back, her missing warmth felt like a lost limb. I wanted to claw it back.
“Glad you’re safe,” she said.
Her beaming smile rendered me further speechless. No sign of sheepishness appeared in her grin. I went with it, eager for any sign that she could be as interested in me as I was in her. Because I was.
No denying that now.
“You’re back and you’re safe.” She put her hands on her hips. “That’s a great starting point. You look like you’ve showered. Did you get back earlier today?”
I nodded and followed her farther into the shop. She returned behind the counter and reached for a coffee pot. I sat at the closest table, not far away. This was the girl I’d been mooning over through video and dreams. Part of me expected to be a little bit disappointed at real life Dahlia. How could any girl, even Dahlia, measure up to the version that I’d built in my head while in the mountains?
She did.
“Around noon.” I cleared my throat, managing an awkward smile. “You definitely didn’t want to smell me then.”
