Unwrapping Holly

“You’re in my class. My psych class. My—”

“Statistics for Behavioral Sciences,” he grinned. “Yeah.”

“That’s why you were looking at me. That’s why you were staring.”

He laughed out loud. It was one of the better sounds I’d heard in a long time. “Was I really staring?” I watched as his skin flushed red. “Sorry, I— ”

“No no,” I smiled. “Please don’t be sorry. You’re my hero! You saved me. Saved my stuff.”

He nodded back to the bench, where my book lay face down on the ground. “If the thief were smart he’d have left your bag alone and grabbed one of our textbooks,” he joked. “They’re like a zillion dollars each anyway.”

&n

bsp; He stuck out his hand. I took it, and he squeezed me firmly but gently.

“I’m Brody by the way. Brody Valentine.”

“Valentine?” I smiled. “That’s really your last name.”

He frowned immediately, but I could tell he was only pretending to be offended. “Why? What’s wrong with—”

“Nothing,” I said quickly. “Actually it’s kinda cool.”

Brody guided me off the path protectively as another pair of joggers ran by. Innocent ones, this time.

“Well,” I said after an awkward pause, “you have to take something.”

I began rifling through my bag, but he laid his hand over mine.

“You have to take a reward for—”

“Are you kidding me?” he said. “A reward? For what? For tackling that asshole?” He grinned boyishly. “Anyone would’ve done that. Although I will say you got lucky. Instead of some slow, heavyweight stranger, you got one who ran cross-country all through high school.”

I chuckled. Damn, he was even cuter close up.

“And on top of that we’re not strangers,” he said. “We’re classmates.”

His sparkling green eyes were almost mesmerizing. They were an incredible emerald color, flecked with the most beautiful streaks of black.

“T—That’s true,” I stumbled. “But you still have to take something as a reward. Let me at least buy you coffee or—”

“Wanna reward me?”

I nodded quickly.

“Then go out with me tonight.”

It took a good three seconds for his words to sink in. “Wait, what?”

“Let me take you out,” he said simply. “Or if you want, you can take me out.” He smirked back at me proudly, and even that was cute. “You did say you wanted to reward me, right?”

“Yes,” I said hesitantly. “But I, uh… I don’t have a car.”

“Then I’ll pick you up.”

I felt a wave of heat. Suddenly it seemed a lot more like ninety degrees than sixty.

“Unless you have a boyfriend, or—”