Page 16 of Rebel Heart
But I couldn’t say it didn’t make my day when I finally looked up from the bench where I was sitting and saw Beau walking in my direction. God, he was breathtakingly handsome. He was tall and muscular, but not too bulky. Obviously, he had great control over that body. And the way he was looking at me had me squirming just a touch in my seat.
He came over and sat down next to me. “Hey.”
“Hi.”
“I’m so sorry you’ve been sitting here by yourself all this time. It was a bit chaotic over there.”
I waved my hand in the air dismissively. “It’s totally okay, Beau. I’ve got the shade of this tree here, and I’ve been able to watch a ton of great skateboarding, so it’s all good.”
“Did you enjoy yourself, then?”
Nodding, I confirmed, “I did. And I guess you really didprove me wrong.”
Seemingly confused, his head dropped to one shoulder. “About what?”
I hesitated for a beat before I revealed the truth. “Your body is more than capable, despite your age.”
Beau laughed. “I tried to tell you that, but I guess it’s one of those things you need to see to believe.”
I smiled. “You’re a big deal.”
“What?”
Sweeping my hand out toward where everyone was skating and hanging out, I said, “When you told me you were a professional skateboarder, I didn’t realize just how popular you were.”
Beau draped his arm over the back of the bench around me. “I promise I’m just a regular guy.”
It took all my concentration to pay attention to what he was saying, even though he wasn’t touching me. Why did I want that so badly? Was it the ease with which we got along, the fact that he was wildly attractive, or that it had been quite a long time since I’d had any sort of romantic connection to someone?
“I know. It doesn’t bother me or scare me or anything like that. I’m just pointing out the fact that you’re basically a celebrity in this world. It’s kind of cool.”
He dropped his hand from the back of the bench to my shoulder and squeezed. Tingles shot through my body. “Well, as long as it doesn’t scare you away.”
I didn’t trust myself to speak, so I merely shook my head and tried to calm my nerves. Following a few beats, I released a long breath. “I have a surprise for you.”
Beau’s fingers pressed in firmly. “Forme?”
“Yes.” I reached into my bag and pulled out the surprise. “I know everybody else here is looking to get something from you—a picture or an autograph—but I brought you this.”
I lost Beau’s hand on me, because he immediately reached for the plastic container and turned his body slightly, so his knee was touching mine. “Are you serious? This is awesome. Do you know how disappointed I was that I didn’t get to try one of those brownies last week?”
I nodded. “I do. That’s why I brought you one today. It’s like a reward for all your hard work this afternoon.”
Beau held the container with the brownie in his hands, his elbows resting on his thighs. He twisted his neck to look back at me. “You’re such a cool chick, Jules. This is… Thanks for this.”
My belly flipped. “You’re welcome.”
“Do you mind if I try it now?”
“Not at all.”
He didn’t waste a second. Beau slid his fingers beneath the hinged lid and picked up the brownie. He took a huge bite and let out a groan that did things to me it shouldn’t have done.
“Oh, this is so delicious. You weren’t joking about it being perfectly fudgy.”
Those were the exact words I’d used to describe the brownies, and somehow, Beau had remembered them. I liked the way that made me feel almost as much as I liked the proximity to him now. “I’m glad you like it.”
He held the brownie out to me. “Do you want a bite?”
