Page 3 of Happily Ever Laughter

The girl jumps and flinches away from me as if I’d tased her.

“Oh my God - I’m so sorry,” I say, keeping my distance as I sit down in the chair beside her. “Are you okay?”

She takes a slow breath, holding up her hands. “Sorry. I disappear when I’m working, and it takes a lot of energy to come back from that other dimension. Sorry if that sounds weird.”

“I understand. I do the exact same thing, so I should know better.”

Her eyes are even more beautiful when they’re staring into mine. The feeling of her attention on me is unusually satisfying. Having a pretty girl notice me is always a bit of an ego boost, but this is different, like the difference between a glass of water that you have every morning, or the first glass of water you have after being stranded in the desert for years.

I’m fully aware that my mind is spiraling madly, and that I need to pretend to be much more normal, for her sake. Sticking out my hand, she shakes it automatically as I say, “I’m Felix.”

“I’m Tanis.” Her voice is light and sweet.

“And you’re a video creator?”

Her rich brown hair flows around her shoulders as she shakes her head quickly. “No, I just doodle.”

My lips purse as I reluctantly release her hand to wag my finger at her as I narrow my eyes. “Don’t do that. Don’t sell yourself short. This is really cool, and you know it.”

She exhales loudly and rolls her eyes. “Fine. It’s kind of pretty sort of neat, okay? But there’s no purpose to it. There’s no point in making these. It’s just something I...do.”

“The purpose will present itself eventually,” I said.

“That’s a nice theory, but until I see the scientific paper proving it, I don’t really know if it holds water.”

Wow, I love how quickly she makes me laugh. “Well, that’s something that my grandmother used to always say, and swore it was the truth,” I explain, trying not to stare at the elegant lines of her collar bone and the slight hint of cleavage just below.

She throws up her hands again. “Oh, well now, Grandma wisdom is totally different. That I will always believe.”

“You’re hilarious,” I say, completely

losing my mental filter and dropping my attempt to appear cool. “You’re so damn beautiful that I honestly wasn’t expecting hilarious too.”

Her head jerks back an inch, then tilts to the left. “I have no response to that.”

“May I buy you a drink?” I ask.

“Thanks, but drinks are free for ladies tonight,” she says smoothly, her lips curling up into a delightful smirk.

“Then may I buy you dinner tomorrow night?”

She pauses, tearing her eyes from mine to glance around the room. “I don’t know. I mean, you seem like an all right guy.” Her eyes narrow as she stares back at me. “Except for the sneaking up on me part. But how do I know you’re not an ax murderer, or worse?”

I wave my hand towards Oliver and Dan. “You can ask my roommates. In the past two years, my biggest crime has been leaving unwashed coffee mugs beside the sink when I’m in a big hurry. You know, on a mission to sneak up on beautiful video geniuses in bars.”

I love the way her head tilts when she’s thinking. The way she stares into space for a moment as if she’s seeing another world entirely. I understand that look all too well.

“How long have you been coming to this bar?” she asks.

“Over two years. We come here every other week for a roommate meeting and to hang out, then sometimes Dan and I come here on Fridays to shoot pool in the back.”

“I’ll be right back,” she says. “Watch my stuff.”

My eyes rake over her perfect figure and incredible hips as she rises, marching over to the bar. She’s sassy. Interesting. Sharp. Another set of attributes that I had no idea I was looking for in a woman until this very second.

Somehow, being cautious about a simple thing like giving me her number is a wild turn on. I’ve never wanted a woman like this. Which is to say, I’ve never wanted a woman like her, and I’ve never wanted a woman with my entire body and soul.

This was the sort of pure, instant desire that inspired love poems and oil paintings. Classic. Timeless.

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