Page 79 of The Romantic Agenda
“Don’t be funny. Actually, yes, continue to be funny, it’s great. But my point still stands. I’m interested in what you have to say, what your opinions are.” She tilts her head back, pressing closer to him, her front flush with his side. “I want your thoughts. Give them to me.”
The left side of his mouth quirks upward, making his dimple pop.
“You know, every time you drop thathmmwall, what you say blows me away.”
“That’s why I don’t do it that often. I want to make sure you stay right here.”
“Oh, that’s awful, and I walked right into it.” Joy begins towheezewith laughter. She drops her forehead against his shoulder. “I love this for us. I really do.”
Twenty-One
Pie assembled, top crust weaved with Suzy Homemaker precision, Joy places it into the oven with an encouraging, “You’re going to be amazing.”
The opening chords of a sweeping ballad begin to drift through the kitchen. Joy twirls in time to the music, right past Fox, holding her apron like a corner of a dress. Growing up, she wanted to be a Disney Princess—one who didn’t get turned into an animal twenty-five percent of the way through her movie. Her favorite clothes to wear were dresses for that very reason. You never knew when the right song would play and require you to dramatically twirl on a moment’s notice.
“Joy,” Fox says. And then he’s there, taking one of her hands in his, one hand at her waist. She automatically places her hand on his shoulder, assuming the position before she realizes what she’s done. He spins her in a circle, and she squeals with glee when he dips her quickly before bringing her back up.
Alleged Romantic Bucket List item number 12: slow dancing in an unconventional place.
A kitchen had to count for that. And okay, it may not have been romantic, but pretending it’s real feels as good as the real thing.
“Okay. This is probably, definitely why Summer accused me of casting a love spell on you,” she says with a completely straight face.
“...What?”
Joy hadn’t meant to bring it up. It just popped into her head. Summer was right—Fox really is different when it’s only the two of them. There’s no way the grumpiest grump to ever grinch would be dancing with her in the kitchen if they weren’t alone.
“Did Summer tell youeverythingabout our fight this morning?”
“She didn’t tell me anything. I caught her coming out of your room, crying, but she didn’t tell me why.”
Joy tells him what happened with Summer. She peeks around Fox’s shoulder to check on the pie. It’s already turning golden brown with fifteen minutes to go. “I guess it’s not possible for you to honestly like me. Somethingmustbe wrong.”
“And what if I did?”
“Huh?” She didn’t mean to say that—it just slipped out.
Fox doesn’t repeat himself. No smile. No laugh. He’s not joking, and he knows she heard him.
And then, she realizes he’s waiting for an answer.
what if what if what if
This moment feels familiar, like the time she and Malcolm kissed at the bar in college. Doubt had plagued her almost immediately. Did he mean it? Was it real? She’d wanted to ask Malcolm, but nothing changed after because they were already close.He never tried to kiss her again, and she couldn’t shake the feeling he was waiting forher. Was there something she was supposed to do? Malcolm had adjusted faster than she had—was there some kind of social rule she hadn’t learned yet that she was supposed to follow? She never got an answer. That kiss lingered between them for days, then weeks, and then a month later he went on a date with someone named Dylan. Joy had cried for a week straight.
Now, that same yearning gulf is widening before her, except this time there’s a bridge, with Fox waiting on it. He’s giving her a way to reach him if she wants. All she has to do is accept.
Does she like Fox?
Of course she does. Yes. If she thought about it... no wonder she was so determined to get to know him and make him smile. Friendly at first, they’re technically dating after all, but this... isn’t that. Her brain had made the leap from friendship to romance and she hadn’t even noticed.
Slowly, she stretches her fingers against his chest near his shoulder. Her thumb reaches his firm collarbone, and she runs her fingers along it, back and forth.
Joy has rules for moments like these. She needs to be sure first. See what he wants.It’s okay, she thinks.It’s Fox. He knows.She asks, “Can I kiss you?”
He nods... and then doesn’t move. They’re still slow dancing in the kitchen, swaying lightly to the music, surrounded by smells of flour, baked apples, sugar, and spices. She waits and waits and waits...
Joy almost laughs when she gets it. He took her literally—she’s supposed to kiss him. She stands on her tiptoes to reach him and smiles through their first kiss. When he kisses her back, he doesn’t linger at all. It’s quick, efficient, and strangely enough, she doeslaugh then, a disbelieving and breathy sound as she presses another kiss on his dimple, because he’s smiling too.
