On the Plus Side
Page 12

She swung her hair around once more and again the light scent of vanilla and cherries rushed me.
“What kind of perfume are you wearing?” I blurted out without thinking.
“Um…I’m not wearing any perfume. Why? Does something stink?” Her perfect brow pulled down in question.
“Actually, something smells really good and since I didn’t smell it until you came around, I just assumed it was you. You smell sweet…I like it,” I said, as I threw out another flirty smile.
Her face lit up darker than before and I swam in my playboy ego for a bit. She didn’t stand a chance…poor girl. Her breathing picked up and her large chest pressed against her low top with every breath.  It’d been a while since I held a good handful that weren’t bags of silicone and Lilly was definitely more than a real handful. My mouth watered with the thought of tasting vanilla and cherries. Oh, she’d been a sweet snack if I were allowed to taste.
Maybe this wouldn’t be so bad after all. She was untouchable to me, but I was in need of a good tease.
Brown eyes flickered away from me as she put her head down. Her deep breaths cut through our silence until finally she snapped her head up and held out a necklace.
“What about this? Do you think she’d like this?” she asked.
She wasn’t making any eye contact at all.             
After being with so many aggressive women like Renee, her shyness was kind of a turn on. I liked how sexy she made me feel without even realizing it. I made her uncomfortable in a good way and she couldn’t even look me in the face without blushing. It was a boost to my manly pride since her reactions were genuine, and not like the usual overly dramatic reactions of a slutty girl trying to get laid. I liked her response to me. I liked how she made me feel.  A soft growl of appreciation slipped from my throat and it earned me a brief flicker of chocolate eyes. I fought the tilt of my mouth.
The necklace she held up was nice. It was a sterling silver rope chain with a little silver heart shaped locket. It was only a hundred and fifty bucks so I could afford it, and she liked it so I’d buy it.
“I think she would,” I said. “What do I put in it?”
“Anything you want really. You could put a picture of the two of you in it or maybe have something engraved on the inside. That’s completely up to you.”
“OK, I’ll take it.”
I followed her up to the cash register and watched as she neatly put the necklace in a little red box. She did everything so softly, she wasn’t in any rush. Her plump fingers brushed gently across the necklace and then lightly over the box. I watched as she rang it up, touching the cash register again with what seemed like the softest touch. I found myself wondering how soft her hands felt. Her touch was relaxing and it blasted me with a quick rush of chills.
I looked up at her when she gave me the total, again noticing how deep her eyes were.
“You have really beautiful eyes,” I blurted out.
That wasn’t a part of my strategy. It was a stupid moment of unwelcomed honesty. I’d be sure that didn’t happen again.
The tips of her cheeks warmed.
“Are you flirting with me?” Genuine confusion laced her expression.
I didn’t have to be a mind reader to know she was thinking of how unlikely it was for a man like me to be flirting with a girl like her. Either that or she really had no idea what flirting looked like and really wanted to know for reference purposes.
“Maybe,” I smirked and shrugged my shoulders.
Her eyes filled with panic and the part of me I never used with strangers lit up with sorrow for her. She really had no idea how to respond to me and my tiny advances.
“Um…thank you, I guess. For…for the eye comment,” she stuttered.
“Don’t thank me…it’s the truth.” I held out the money to her.
She finished the transaction and then put my receipt in the little black bag containing the necklace. I stood there a minute smiling at her and enjoying how nervous I made her, before I thanked her and left the store.
Part one of my mission was complete.
I ended up sitting in the café her mother told me about and drinking way too much cappuccino. I paid close attention to all the people coming in. I heard every order they made…a double shot of this and an extra pump of that. I’d never sleep again if I drank something like that. Shit, I’m probably not going to sleep tonight after all this cappuccino.
“Come on already, Lilly,” I whispered into the lid of my coffee cup.