Page 85 of One Little Kiss
Noelle shakes her head, feigning snobbery. “They don’t know bad movies.”
“No one knows bad movies like you know bad movies,” I deadpan.
She bursts out in a laugh and then makes a show of cracking her knuckles.
“What are you thinking?” I ask as I get the video going. “The Room. Maybe a little Miami Connection? Or maybe something from our John Travolta phase?”
She pretends to think it over, and then she surprises me by leaning across the table, resting her elbows on it as her eyes glint with mischievous laughter. “Actually, I’m thinking something a little more relevant.” She glances toward the other table and then gets to her feet, calling all eyes to her. “They want Marvel bad? I’ll give ‘em Marvel bad.”
She crooks a finger so I stand as well and bring the camera in close.
She leans in even further so she’s making sexy eyes at the camera. “May I present Susan Storm in The Fantastic Four…”
I start to snicker as she hams it up for the small audience around us, her voice going louder even as she adopts the worst sex kitten impression ever. “Those aren’t my lips, silly. These are my lips.”
She falls back in her seat like she’s just done a heroic deed and I shut off the video and burst into loud applause making her laugh as some of the others in the restaurant join in.
She arches one brow as I slide into the seat across from her. “Super sexy, right?”
“So hot,” I agree. “Especially with that powdered sugar on your nose.”
She touches her nose and then her head falls back with laughter.
My heart is on fire. Because this…this is how we were before the kiss. This is the way we used to flirt and have fun.
This is the girl I can call friend and girlfriend. And I hope she sees it. I hope like hell she gets what I’m trying to show her.
She kicks me under the table. “Admit it. You’re turned on by my Susan Storm impersonation.”
I tip my head from side to side. “I don’t know. What really does it for me is your Eastern European accent.”
Her head falls back as she shouts. “Lisa, you’re tearing me apaaaart.”
I burst out laughing, and so does she. I don’t think either of us even notice who’s staring as we laugh until we’re both out of breath.
When it starts to fade, I lean in and lower my voice. “See. Now that’s sexy.”
For a second, I worry that I’m gonna push her away. But even though her eyes flicker with something serious, her smile never fades. “You think so, huh?”
I nod. “I do. I really do.”
And hell….Ido. I’m not being the tiniest bit sarcastic. There is nothing sexier than Noelle being…well,Noelle.
We hold eye contact for a long moment and then suddenly she’s shooting up to her feet with a new, nervous energy. “What’s next?”
“You’ll see,” I tease as I follow her to the car.
The car is silent as we drive the very short distance back to the park, but it’s not an awkward silence. There’s a tension between us, and it simmers but doesn’t feel heavy or bad, it feels…
Expectant.
It’s the feeling in the air right before a thunderstorm, or that moment in a movie right before a major turning point.
We both know it’s coming. The talk we’re dancing around. The conversation that decides how we’re going to move forward.
As friends. Or as friends and more.
But either way, we’re back on the same page. I think. I hope.
