Page 9 of Wrong Number

“That’s Stanley,” Tyler said. “Don’t be alarmed – he gets all hyper at these things, and jumps right into his last-minute ideas.”

“Clear the way,” Stanley shouted, dragging a furniture dolly from the back room that held three more partially finished flamingos.

They were all gray, unpainted, but he added them to the semi-circle of sculptures, creating a full circle with just a small space to walk into the center. Then he grabbed a giant hot pink pillow from a sofa in the corner and placed it in the center.

“That’s it!” he shrieked. “You can’t just view the flamingos. You have to be surrounded by them.” He began dragging people one by one to sit in the center of his sculpture circle so that they could take it all in.

Tyler and I stepped out of the way so that Sylvia could serve drinks to newcomers. He took my hand, guiding me to the now pillow-free sofa in the far corner.

“Look what you’ve done,” he laughed, sitting close beside me. “You were the catalyst to an artistic breakthrough.”

“I didn’t do anything,” I protested quietly.

“Yes, you did, and you’re amazing,” he said softly, staring into my eyes.

We each took another sip of my special drink, then he placed it aside on a table so that he could turn toward me, wrapping an arm around me.

“You know, I’ve never liked a girl enough to bring her to meet my friends,” he said softly, reaching up to tuck my hair behind my ear. “I don’t want to frighten you off, but I need to be honest. Tana, I think you’re amazing. I feel like we’re already a couple.”

Nodding slowly, I was incredibly aware of the way we were both leaning toward each other. “I’ve never been part of a couple before,“ I said softly. “Is there a handbook I should read so that I don’t do anything wrong?”

His arm wrapped around my waist, pulling me against him. “You could never do anything wrong, Tana. You’re so beautiful and light. I love the way your eyes sparkle when you’re curious. I love the way you actually took the time to make dinner more equal from a caloric perspective.”

I began to laugh, but then he kissed me. This time it wasn’t a tiny brush of his lips. His mouth settled over mine as he pulled me closer, and my hands automatically circled his neck.

As his lips caressed mine, I could feel how much he wanted me. It was strangely overwhelming. I’d never truly been this close to a man before, and it felt like he was hungry for me.

My lips gently parted as his tongue tentatively curled inside my mouth, making me shiver with arousal. My body was becoming aware of its own hunger, which was a new and fascinating sensation.

He finally pulled back, murmuring, “Tana, you’re so sexy. If there weren’t so many people around, I swear I would ask permission to undress you right here.”

I began to giggle, even though I could see in his eyes that he wasn’t joking. My mouth opened to try to speak, but suddenly my elbow was being shaken.

“Genius girl, you have to tell me what you see,” the orange-haired man said excitedly. He was giddy like a kid who had just eaten all of the Halloween candy.

Tyler just laughed. “Tana, Stanley. Stanley, Tana.”

I was practically dragged to the center of the sculpture circle, where I was expected to sit on the pillow and describe precisely what I experienced.

After babbling as much as I could about being surrounded by something fun, but ridiculously over the top, Stanley clapped and jumped up and down a few times before allowing me to leave the circle.

The studio was starting to get pretty crowded when Tyler whispered in my ear, “Are you ready to leave?”

“Sure.”

We waved goodbye to a few people, then headed for the strange wooden stairs. Tyler placed his hands on my hips, walking up the stairs close behind me. “I’m helping,” he laughed.

The way he touched me so casually was unbelievably cute, but also very sexy. It was making me feel more comfortable with him, and also a little fluttery.

As soon as we were back out on the street, he spun me into his arms under a bakery shop awning. “Tana, You were absolutely incredible.”

“I didn’t do anything,” I said.

“You did,” he murmured, kissing along the arch of my left eyebrow. “You were open-minded, and fun, and didn’t once look down on people for being a little weird.”

“I was going to say something about the guy with rubber ducks tied to his belt, but certainly not in front of him,” I giggled.

His strong arms held me tight against his massive chest in such a comforting way that I could have stayed there forever.

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