Alarm

“We have to stop meeting like this.”

“I’m so sorry!” I cried.

“Then again, I’m starting to like it.” His eyes twinkled as he looked down at me.

I was beyond flustered. Aside from the embarrassment of falling into the guy again, I was horribly distracted by the feeling of his hands on my sides. I could feel the grip of each of his long, warm fingers on my skin. He tightened his hold, and it sent a rush of sensation through my body, which focused right between my legs.

What the hell?

That little alarm in my head went off again, and I pushed away from him, barely stopping myself from falling backwards. I quickly straightened my shirt and steadied my footing. My heart was pounding, and my hands shook a little as I tried to regain some of my composure, failing miserably.

“It was just an accident.” My voice sounded mousy and was was barely audible with the bar music blasting.

“Some accidents are good,” he said.

I narrowed my eyes as he took a fast glance down my body. My drunken embarrassment was quickly turning into something else as my heart continued to beat frantically, and my palms got a little sweaty.

“Well, this was just your normal, everyday, bad accident.” I swallowed hard and tried to figure out if what I had said made any sense at all.

“Well, I’ve specialized in train wrecks before,” Brick Wall informed me, “so it’s still all good from my perspective.”

He took a half step closer to me, and I backed up and into the stool.

“I am not a train wreck!” I heard myself say. “I’m just a little…”

My words trailed into nothing as I contemplated what the rest of my sentence should contain. Again, I failed.

“You’re a little cute,” Brick Wall said.

I glared at him as my face warmed. I was in no shape for this sort of nonsense, certainly not with a guy like this.

A guy like what?

Alarm!

I needed to get the heck out of there.

“I’m a little out of here,” I said haughtily. I turned slowly so I wouldn’t lose my balance again and headed for the door.

Brick Wall followed me.

“Hey,” he called out, “I wasn’t trying to insult you or anything! Where are you going?”

I didn’t turn around or respond even though I knew I was being rude by ignoring him. I still needed that fresh air—now more than ever. I shoved at the handle of the door, and inertia nearly slammed me into it. Realizing I was pushing the wrong side, I moved my hands over and tried again with much better success.

“Hey, babe,” Brick Wall said as the door slammed shut behind him. “Really, where are you going?”

I concentrated on navigating the steps to the parking area and continued to ignore him. From behind me, I could hear him laughing, and I didn’t like the sound of it at all. Angry and confused, I fished around in my purse until I came up with my car keys.

“Whoa!” Brick Wall exclaimed. “What do you think you’re doing?”

“I’m going home!” I snapped back.

“Babe, you can hardly walk,” he said. “There is no way you can drive.”

My head swam again, and just to prove his point, I stumbled into the side of my car. A moment later, he was next to me, gently but insistently pulling the keys from my hands.

I turned, intending to get my keys back, but found my hands pressed against his massive chest instead. I didn’t realize how close he was. With one hand right next to my head, he leaned against the car door. With the other arm extended behind him, he held my keys far from my reach.