I glanced at Wyatt with excitement, and he grinned back at me.
揊irst up is our favorite photographer and blogger, Don, singing Total Eclipse of the Heart.?
I remembered a couple days ago when Don shoved the can of beans into my hands, feeling sorry for me, and when Wyatt抯 gaze met mine, I knew he was thinking of the same thing. We both burst into laughter.
揌e felt so sorry for me,?I whispered as Don warbled through the song.
Wyatt shrugged. 揑t抯 okay to make an ass of yourself once in a while. Are you still embarrassed about it??
I took another sip of champagne. The sharp stab of embarrassment had turned into more of an annoying flicker. 揂 little.?I snorted again. 揑t抯 more funny now.?I glanced at my almost-empty glass. It must have been the champagne, making me care less.
Wyatt slid his full glass of champagne over to me and took another sip of his beer.
We watched Don finish his karaoke song and cheered for him and all the others who sang. The energy in the bar was so fun, supportive, and silly. Everyone knew each other. It didn抰 matter if people were bad at singing, everyone got big cheers and applause.
Community, I realized, with a sweet, happy hum in my heart. This was my community. I loved this little town.
揥hat would you sing up there??Wyatt asked as Olivia brought another glass of champagne for me, and a beer for Wyatt.
揙h, another? I抦 going to get silly.?
揝o get silly.?Wyatt抯 gaze flicked over me. 揑抣l walk you home.?He glanced over to the empty corner with the dart boards.
I snorted. The champagne had loosened the laughs from me. 揑 can抰 do worse than Carter.?I pictured the beer running down his chin and cringed.
揧ou抮e doing great, bookworm.?Our eyes met and his gaze warmed me all the way to my toes in my sneakers. 揓ust great.?He tilted his head and narrowed his eyes. 揟ell me more about why you want to be a hot girl.?
揥ho wouldn抰 want to be??
He raised an eyebrow, pinning me with his gaze.
I squirmed. My skin prickled like he could see through my clothes. 揑抦 never going to meet someone hiding in my bookstore.?
He considered this but didn抰 say anything.
揑抦 turning thirty in a few months.?I played with the stem of my glass, spinning it in a slow circle on the table. 揟here are a lot of things I haven抰 done yet.?I shrugged, staring at the bubbles in the glass, rising to the surface. 揃y the time she was thirty, my mom had done so much. She had traveled all over the world, gotten married, had me, started her own business.?
He watched me, listening closely, and my mouth snapped shut. He sipped his beer, waiting for me to go on. My face heated.
揑 wish you wouldn抰 do that.?
He blanched and laughed. 揇o what? Listen while you talk??
A noise of frustration came out of my throat, but I laughed. 揟hat watching thing you do.?
揧ou don抰 like it when I watch you??His tone dripped with innuendo and my face warmed further.
I rolled my eyes. 揧ou know what I抦 talking about. You抮e trying to make me uncomfortable so I抣l say more.?
He shot me a roguish grin.
揧ou like to push my boundaries.?
His eyes were warm but mischievous. 揗hm.?He took another sip of his beer, regarding me over the rim. 揧ou抮e so locked up, bookworm, but sometimes you let out another person who I think might be the real you.?He snorted. 揕ike when you asked if you needed to teach me to read.?
I buried my face in hands and he laughed. 揟hat was so mean. I抦 sorry.?
揑 liked it.?
I lifted my gaze to his and laughter bubbled out of me. Something occurred to me and I straightened up. 揑 forgot to tell you.?I pulled my phone out. 揧our social media is doing so well. A bunch of the other surfers recognized you from events.?I showed him the main account pages where I had posted footage from the other morning. On the photo app, there was a shot of him at the food truck, shirtless with the top of his wetsuit hanging from his waist. On the video app, I had posted footage of him gliding through the water.
At least half the comments on every video were about how hot Wyatt was. I had smiled as I read them, but at the same time, something pinched under my ribs.
He glanced at the videos and read through some comments before he set my phone back down on the table. 揟hanks for doing that.?
揙f course. You抮e helping me with, um厰 I shrugged, suddenly embarrassed to say it out loud. 揑t抯 fine. I like doing social media stuff.?
揥hy don抰 you do it for the store? You like it and it would be good for business.?
揙h. Um.?My mouth twisted to the side and my stomach tightened. My dad had phoned the other morning and I was this close to asking him about social media for the store, but I had chickened out. 揧ou know, it抯 not really our thing.?