Page 6 of Barefoot Chaos
His attention was on the students as he began his speech, so I did what any hot-blooded woman would do. I pushed my glasses back up my nose and raked my gaze over his body, taking the time to memorize the look of his hands, the muscles in his forearms, and the tattoo on the back of his calf.
He looked strong. He looked interesting. He looked hot.
My face was heating up again and I willed it to behave. I couldn't even tell you what he was saying. I was just listening to the sound of his voice wafting over me as I sat stock still taking in all his finer details. I wasn't one to wax eloquent over a man's physique, but it was like my hormones decided to riot the minute I laid eyes on him.
Kai.
I had a name now. I gulped when I thought about what I could do with that information. Probably nothing, but I didn't see my obsession with this man just going away on its own. Twice now he'd stolen my breath and pumped blood into my cheeks from somewhere else in my body where it was most likely needed more. I was having heart arrhythmia and he was responsible.
Loud clapping broke me out of my medically unstable trance. Kai was smiling at the kids and then he was walking away to sit back down with the other presenters. I even liked his walk. It was manly yet sensual, if that even makes sense. It was like he was so comfortable with his body, he could have been walking down at the beach by himself or like now, in front of hundreds of students. It wouldn't have mattered.
Damn, confidence was sexy as hell.
The other presenters kept coming and I managed to take some paltry notes. My attention was shot and all I could think about was how to make my move. Desperate times called for desperate measures, you know?
The assembly finally ended, but I planned to stick around and make sure my seniors were striking up conversations with the professionals in the booths lining the walls of the gym. In the mass of bodies exiting the gym, I lost track of Kai's location.
"Ms. Woodland?"
A student materialized next to me, looking up tentatively.
"Yes, Grace?"
"Can you go with me over to the booth over there? There’s a female entrepreneur that I want to talk to. But I'm kinda nervous." She was wringing her hands and I felt bad for her. Of course, I'd help, that was my job. Never mind that I was letting my future husband walk out of the gymnasium before I'd had a chance to approach and make things awkward.
"Sure, kiddo, let's go." I marched her over to where she pointed, seeing a woman standing behind the table with a few students clustered around.
As we got closer, I realized it was Esa, the lady who owned Chocolate Dreams.
It was like the universe was sending me bright neon pink signs, that looked a lot like Cupid's arrows, pointing me to my lifeguard. I refused to believe in coincidence.
Esa caught sight of me and she broke out into a big, friendly smile. "Hessa, right?"
"Yes! Great memory." I smiled back at her. "One of my students, Grace, would like to meet you and talk to you about starting your own business." I gently pushed Grace up closer to Esa, who reached over the table and grabbed Grace's hand in a hearty hand shake.
"Hi Grace! Come here, Hessa, join me." Esa pulled me around the table and put me right next to her, her arm around my waist.
All my friends from college had moved away over the years, and I hadn't made a whole lot of new ones here in HB. I wasn't used to all the touching and had forgotten what it felt like to be instantly accepted.
It felt nice.
Esa asked all kinds of questions to the group of girls hanging out at her booth. She encouraged them, gave them sound advice and told them to come see her at her shop. The hot chocolate would be on her. I couldn't have asked for a kinder role model for my female students.
When the girls reluctantly moved on to another booth, Esa dropped her arm and moved us further back in the booth for some privacy.
"So what happened?" She looked at me like I knew what she was talking about.
"Come again?"
"Where were you last night? You know? Wednesday night? Chocolate Dreams? Lifeguards?" She rolled her eyes at me, but softened it with a smile.
"Oh. Well, I'm planning on swinging by one of these days, but to be honest, I didn't feel my wardrobe was up to snuff."
She burst out laughing, laying her hand on my arm. "Oh, Hessa. I like you."
"Thank you, I like you too," I answered truthfully.
That got her laughing harder. She collected herself finally and whipped out her phone. "What's your number?"
