Page 60 of Anatomy of a Meet Cute
“Or a good one. Or actually, any type of day at all that seemed like a reason to watch a movie.”
“Holy shit,” Sam mumbled as it dawned on her. Her friends were right. Grant Gao, sexy doctor of scowling fame,likedher. Not the hate-like, have-sex-and-get-you-out-of-my-system kind of like. Not even close. Heliked herliked her, as in he paid attention to what made her happy.
Sam couldn’t remember the last time someone in her life had done something like this. That Grant liked her enough to care if she was happy was ...
“We don’t have to stay if—”
“Are you kidding?” Sam shook her head so hard her ponytail wiggled. Grant blinked at her for a second, and she realized she needed to use her words or risk him having some sort of stress-induced meltdown. “This might be the sweetest thing anyone has ever done for me. Can I hug you?”
“Oh,” Grant exhaled, and a metric ton of tension left his shoulders. “Yes.”
She closed the gap between them so quickly that Grant barely had time to set his paper bag down. Sam wasn’t one of those people who claimed they didn’t like hugs. She loved hugs, and she got them all the time. But the second his arms wrapped around her, she was certain she had never gotten a hug like this in her entire life.
Grant gave the kind of hugs that made her want to just stay wrapped up in him. From the way she fit just right in the crook of his neck to the way he held her. Tight enough to feel like he was solid, but not squeezing so hard that the life was crushed out of her. The heat from his body warmed her own, making her light headed. This close, she could enjoy the feel of the muscles in his shoulders. The ones that she pretended not to eye in the gym were now very real beneath her palms. There was something absolutely delicious about the feel of them that sent little bursts of want all through her body.
“Thank you for doing this,” Sam said. Turning her head closer into his shoulder, she took a deep breath just to enjoy the smell of him. Everything about being this close to him made her feel like she was experiencing a craving and getting exactly what she wanted at the same time.
“I kept hoping I would run into you so I could tell you about the movie,” Grant said into her hair. This close to him, she could feel his voice vibrating in his chest. That feeling was more intoxicating than wine, and Sam had to remind herself that unless she jumped up on him, she literally couldn’t get any closer as he said, “But then I didn’t see you at all. So I just kinda had to hope you would be free, since this is one of the last movies of the year.”
“Had I known, I might have tried to have a bad day sooner.”
Music began playing from the massive speakers next to the screen, and Grant let go. Looking as dazed as she felt, he licked his lips and said, “We should go grab our spot.”
“All right,” Sam said, smiling over at him. She waited until he picked up the paper bag and then wrapped her arm through his.
Grant looked at their arms for a second as if surprised that she was still near him; then his entire demeanor relaxed. As he began steering them toward an open patch of grass, he said, “I wasn’t sure what kind of food you would want, so I just got us one of those boards with a bunch of crackers and stuff on it.”
“That’s perfect. I will always eat cheese and carbohydrates,” Sam said, releasing his arm so that she could spread out their blanket. She could deal with not being close to him if it meant snacks.
“I figured. Also, the ice cream is salted pretzel.”
“You got a weird flavor?” Sam smiled up at him as she dropped to one side of the blanket. “That feels like a big sacrifice on your end.”
“Meh, it’s a small price to pay to hang out with you.” Grant shrugged and settled in on the other side of the blanket. Sam’s heart did a backflip, and she focused on looking at her hands to keep from fully staring at him with doe eyes.
The intensity of how badly she wanted to be near him, not just physically but emotionally, made Sam nervous. She wasn’t used to having the people in her life prioritize her, and now she was getting attached. But surely he had sharp edges—everyone who loved her did. Then again, who said anything about love?
Slow down,Sam told herself. She could just enjoy being at a movie and a fantastic hug. That would be enough until she had a better understanding of how all these pieces fit together. No one needed to decide their entire future tonight. Not when she finally had an outdoor movie to enjoy.
While Grant unpacked their snacks and methodically set out their utensils, Sam looked around. The evening could not have been more perfect for this. The golden-hour effect gave everything a tinted glow, and although the sun was setting, the air hadn’t started to chill. Streaks of pink and orange were visible behind the screen as Max pretended to be Powerline in the opening scene.
“I love this movie,” Sam whispered as Grant passed her a plate.
“Isn’t it older than you?” Grant laughed.
“My dad loves it. Whenever we wanted to watch cartoons, this is what he put on.” Sam smiled as much at Grant as at the memory of her father howling along to Tevin Campbell / Powerline.
“Guess my timing worked out then.” Grant grinned, then picked up a few crackers and a bit of brie for his plate.
Sam let herself fall into the magic of the moment, nomming on charcuterie while happily listening to the campy sound of Goofy trying to reconnect with his son. Eventually, both of them had their fill of crackers and dried fruit, and Grant put the food away and fished out two spoons and the promised salted-pretzel ice cream. Raising one eyebrow at her, he held out one of the spoons. Pushing their plates out of the way, Sam crawled to the center of the blanket so she could sit next to him, then accepted the spoon.
Scooping up her first bite, she made sure to get a big hunk of pretzel wrapped in vanilla ice cream, popped it in her mouth, and moaned. She wasn’t sure how they pulled it off, but the ice cream tasted like a sweeter version of a pretzel, complete with the same satisfying crunch. Out of the corner of her eye, Sam caught Grant trying to chew and smile simultaneously. Leaning into him to grab another bite, she whispered, “Have I made you a weird-ice-cream-flavor convert now?”
“Maybe.” Grant gently leaned into her arm so their sides were flush. Scooping up some more ice cream, he added, “I need a couple more bites to be sure. But the early results are promising.”
Sam snort-laughed in spite of herself, and Grant looked pleased that a joke that even dads should be ashamed of had gotten a laugh. Finishing another bite of ice cream, she said, “That was a pity laugh. You don’t deserve it.”
Looking into her eyes, Grant held her gaze with a look so hot it could’ve scorched the grass around them. Like her mouth was just as good as ice cream. He wanted to kiss her; she could feel it.
