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Holy cows. The man could kiss. How had she never discovered that? Obviously, he could kiss. Everyone could. But...he...he could really kiss. Nat stared up at him as he carried her across the room. He didn't so much wince at her weight. There were no straining muscles. His biceps were bulging though. Her foot forgotten, she memorized the feel of his strong arms holding her high against his chest. The look in his eyes told her he wanted to kiss her again. The blue depths held a desire she'd never seen before. A matching desire pooled deep inside her. Carefully he lowered her to the couch. Her mouth went dry when she came eye-to-crotch with the zipper of his jeans. “I'll go get your crutches,” he said and disappeared out the front door before she could say a word. She stared after him, words, lots of words, on her tongue. But she couldn't form any sentences and it wouldn't matter even if she were able to. A minute later she was still staring at the door he'd just exited. Was this all some crazy dream? The slight tingling of her lips told her that it was very much a reality. He had kissed her. More than kissed her...he'd made her melt and feel...feminine. First the kiss, then the melting. How had she never known that he could make her feel like this? She'd never kissed him. Had never let him get that close. All the years they'd been friends and things had never crossed the line toward romance. Suddenly she wondered why not. Originally, their friendship had been just that. A friendship. They'd dated other people and he hadn't seemed interested in her that way. Certainly he'd never initiated anything romantic... Perhaps that's why his declaration today had been so much of a surprise. A knock at the door stopped her from pinching herself to make sure she wasn't dreaming about this newfound chemistry. “Yoohoo. Natalie...It's Mrs. Portman.” Nat let out a small sigh. “Come in,” she called, praying the door was unlocked. There was no way she was hobbling over there. She felt too woozy to stand, much less walk on an injured leg. And she wasn't entirely sure she could blame her wooziness on the medication she'd been given at the hospital. The door opened silently and her seventy-something neighbor poked her head in. “Elizabeth just told me the wonderful news! Where did that handsome hunk of yours run off to, dear?” Mrs. Portman had lived on her street long before Natalie had moved in. And she made it her business to know everything that was going on in their little neighborhood. The woman might be old, but she was still spry. That included the comings and goings of all the residents and all the residents' relationships too. For a woman who enjoyed crocheting doilies and baking pies, she had an unusual interested in Natalie's dates. As Mrs. P would put it, she had eyes in her head and she wasn't dead yet so she liked to look. “What happened to your leg?” She stopped at the end of the couch, drawing her sweater tighter around her shoulders. “Twisted my ankle this morning. Dylan's on his way to get me some crutches.” “Bah, forget crutches. Elizabeth said he carried you just fine.” Her penciled in eyebrows wiggled up and down. “Can I get you anything dear? Are you in pain?” “I'm okay. You don't need to wait on me.” Ordinarily, Nat didn't mind her neighbor's prodding or visits, but right now she wanted to dissect what was going on with Dylan. She needed to formulate a plan...but the Mrs. Portman wasn't easily dissuaded. “Nonsense,” she said, and settled herself in the chair across from the couch. “Now tell me what happened.” “I'm not entirely sure. It must have been a root. Or a hole.” “No, no. With Dylan. When did you two become an item?” “Oh. Well, we're--” The front door opened, cutting off her words. Dylan strode in, crutches in one hand and a bag from the local drugstore in the other. Mrs. Portman pushed herself out of the chair. “Hi Dylan. I see you're taking good care of our Natalie.” She started for the door and Dylan gave her one of his charming smiles. She patted him on the arm as she shuffled by. “I'll leave you two lovebirds alone.” Natalie held her tongue until a few seconds after the door closed. Then she exploded. “Lovebirds!” Dylan gave her a what's-got-your-tail-in-a-kink look. “Now everyone thinks we're an item.” She used her fingers to make quotation marks in the air. “Here are your crutches,” he said and laid them next to the coffee table. “And some chocolate.” He dropped the bag in her lap. “Chocolate?” She stared up at him wide eyed, pleasure and confusion lacing her tone. “I had a feeling you might need it.” She smiled at him then. He needed to get out of here...before she started asking questions. He didn't want to hear her reasons for dating a long string of guys she had no intention of settling down with. And he had no interest in pointing out why she was afraid of commitment and he really couldn't bare hearing her tell him that she didn't love him.
What should happen next? It's your call! Email me and let me know.
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