my dad's voice, his favorite phrase encouraging me, "Come on, Kittycat, don't be a bystander." I squared my shoulders. Dad had never let life pass him by...
And asking about the nearest store was an innocent-enough reason to introduce myself. If Mom was right and they were my age, maybe this wouldn't turn out to be such an epic fail of a move. This was stupid, but I was doing it. I hurried across the lawn and across the driveway before I chickened out.
Hopping onto the wide porch, I opened the screen door and knocked, then stepped back and smoothed the wrinkles out of my shirt. I'm cool.
I got this. There is nothing weird about asking for directions.
Heavy footsteps came from the other side, and then the door was swinging open and I was staring at a very broad, tan, well-muscled chest.
A naked chest. My gaze dropped and my breath sort of...stalled. Jeans hung low on his hips, revealing a thin line of dark hair that formed below his navel and disappeared under the band of the jeans.
His stomach was ripped. Perfect. Totally touchable. Not the kind of stomach I expected on a seventeen-year-old boy, which is how old I suspected he was, but yeah, I wasn't complaining. I also wasn't talking. And I was staring.
My gaze finally traveling north again, I noted thick, sooty lashes fanning the tips of his high cheeks and hiding the color of his eyes as he looked down at me. I needed to know what color his eyes were.
"Can I help you?" Full, kissable lips turned down in annoyance.
His voice was deep and firm. The kind of voice accustomed to people listening and obeying without question. His lashes lifted, revealing eyes so green and brilliant they couldn't be real. They were an intense emerald color that stood out in vibrant contrast against his tan skin.
"Hello?" he said again, placing one hand on the doorframe as he leaned forward. "Are you capable of speaking?"
I sucked in a sharp breath and took a step back. A wave of embarrassment heated my face.
The boy lifted an arm, brushing back a wavy lock of hair on his forehead. He glanced over my shoulder, then back to me. "Going once..." By the time I found my voice, I wanted to die. "I...I was wondering if you knew where the closest grocery store is. My name is Katy. I moved next door." I gestured at my house, rambling like an idiot. "Like two days ago - "
"I know."
Ooooo-kay. "Well, I was hoping someone would know the quickest way to the grocery store and maybe a place that sold plants."
"Plants?"
For some reason, it didn't sound as though he was asking me a question, but I rushed to answer anyway. "Yeah, see, there's this flower bed in front - "
He said nothing, just cocked a brow with disdain. "Okay."
The embarrassment was fading, replaced by a growing surge of anger. "Well, see, I need to go buy plants - "
"For the flower bed. I got that." He leaned his hip against the doorframe and crossed his arms. Something glittered in his green eyes. Not anger, but something else.
I took a deep breath. If this dude cut me off one more time...My voice took on the tone my mother used when I was younger and was playing with sharp objects. "I'd like to find a store where I can buy groceries and plants."
"You are aware this town has only one stoplight, right?" Both eyebrows were raised to his hairline now as if he were questioning how I could be so dumb, and that's when I realized what I saw sparkling in his eyes. He was laughing at me with a healthy dose of condescension.
For a moment, all I could do was stare at him. He was probably the hottest guy I'd ever seen in real life, and he was a total douche. Go figure. "You know, all I wanted was directions.
This is obviously a bad time." One side of his lips curled up. "Anytime is a bad time for you to come knocking on my door, kid."
"Kid?" I repeated, eyes widening.
A dark, mocking eyebrow arched again. I was starting to hate that brow.
"I'm not a kid. I'm seventeen."
"Is that so?" He blinked. "You look like you're twelve. No. Maybe thirteen, but my sister has this doll that kinda reminds me of you. All big-eyed and vacant."
I reminded him of a doll? A vacant doll?
Warmth burned in my chest, spreading up my throat. "Yeah, wow. Sorry