Page 20 of The Curious Mountain Man

"And the bad news?"

"You still kissed him on the cheek."

I let out a defeated yelp and drop my head again. "I'm an idiot. I've fucked everything up."

"No. You haven't. By some miracle, he's agreed to see you again."

I look up at my brother. "Yeah. So?"

"So it means you have a chance to make it right. You might have messed up the first kiss, but, by god, Branum, don't fuck up the second. Because then you will really be an idiot."

10

PJ

Branum smells…different.

Nice. But different.

I first caught a whiff of his cologne when he picked me up from the library at the end of my shift, just like we'd arranged.

He hugged me. It was a solid, middle-of-the-road hug. More than just a passing touch, but not reuniting with a relative after a few years apart, either. I was…happy with it.

Hey, it's better than a kiss on the cheek.

But in all the times he's dropped by the library, I haven't known him to wear cologne. It smells expensive. And it's fine. But it doesn't smell like him.

We've been sitting on the edge of a small peak for about twenty minutes. He was right about having some great birdwatching spots on his property. There's enough of a clearing to provide a good view, but the spot is also tucked away, meaning the birds hopefully won't see us and will feel free to, you know, do their bird thing in front of us.

The thing about birdwatching is that, for obvious reasons, it's a quiet endeavor. So we're not speaking. We didn't talk a whole bunch on the way over here either. He just asked me how my day was, and I asked him how his work was going. That was about the extent of it.

I haven't broached the non-kissing elephant in the room.

Neither has he.

We also haven't spotted the mountain bluebird, but to be honest, as much as I normally love birdwatching, I'd prefer to spend our time together talking rather than in silence.

"I say we call it a day," I announce, resting my binoculars in my lap.

"You sure? I've got time. Don't mind me. I love being outdoors."

I brought a spare pair of binoculars for Branum, but after a cursory look, he seems happy sitting next to me and staring out at the view.

I turn to face him. He's wearing a white button-up that shows off his massive round shoulders and bulging arm muscles. He also brought a blanket and a picnic basket.

Suppose it's time to do the adulting thing and get this issue resolved.

"So," we both say at the same time.

I giggle nervously.

"Sorry, you go first," Branum says.

"Um, okay. Thanks…" I inhale sharply. "Why didn't you kiss me?"

Branum winces but doesn't look too caught off guard by my question. Was he expecting it? Has he been thinking about the non-kiss, too?

"Because I'm an idiot," he says softly, picking at a loose thread on the red-and-white blanket. "And because I wanted our first kiss to be special."

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