Flirt-Fest!

The Flirt Fest is brought to us by the wonderful women of Critique This WIP. Thanks to them for hosting, and be sure to check out the other contributions!!

It's been a long time since I gave you guys a Thairon scene, but he's definitely the most fitting choice for a flirt-fest. This particular scene takes place before the book I wrote for him, during his college days, when he's just getting to know the love of his life. It's written from her PoV, because, well...because. If you're wondering, this is the moment that Setta is referring to in the scene linked to above.

    The silence between them lasted for the duration of the drive, and she was starting to feel guilty. He parked in front of her building, but when she turned to look at him to say goodnight, he was already opening his door and getting out. She fumbled with her seat-belt to catch up with him, and he caught her door when she pushed it open, offering her a hand out.

    When she hesitated, staring at his palm, he chuckled and closed it into a loose fist, dropping his hand to his side. “You can’t say I didn’t try to be a gentleman.”

    “No. I guess I can’t.” She got out of the car and he shut the door. He walked with her to the building, then held that door for her too. “You don’t have to—”

    “I don’t have to do a lot of things, and if you were just some girl, I wouldn’t. You seem reluctant to trust anything that comes out of my mouth, though, so I’m going to have to prove myself some other way.” He smiled, but she felt as though it was more to hide his determination than anything else. “It’s all right. I’m up to the challenge.”

    She wasn’t sure what to say. His expression was so serious, and she didn’t want to offend him. Not really. Dissuade, yes, but hurt?

    She let him walk her up the stairs to her floor, and then down the hall to her dorm room. They had gathered an audience by that point, but she couldn’t bring herself to meet the eyes of the girls they passed. She could feel their appraisal. Of him, of her. The judgment and the questions. Uncomplimentary, for the most part. It was always uncomplimentary.

    Her hand on the knob, she paused and turned. He was right there, near enough that she wanted to step back, but she had nowhere to go. She took a deep breath and looked up, meeting his eyes. “Thank you for dinner.”

    He smiled, leaning down. She felt herself pressed against the door, though he didn’t touch her. “Are you sure this is what you want?”

     “What?” Having him looming over her that way was incredibly distracting, but she wasn’t sure if she wanted him to step back, or step forward.

    “Oversized stuffed animals and embarrassing bouquets of flowers.”

    She laughed, half from nerves, and gripped the door knob to keep from leaning into him. “You can’t embarrass me into liking you.”

    “And if you didn’t like me already, then I’d be concerned.”

He glanced away, at the two girls who just happened to be lined up at the water fountain. There were at least three more who had fallen silent in the lounge across the hall, she was sure. They were listening so hard, she could practically hear them, and she had a feeling that he could too. That he knew they were there, waiting to see what would happen. Waiting to see what he was to her.

    “You know what they’ll say, when you leave?”

    He raised both eyebrows, looking back at her. “What will they say?”

    “They’ll say that you’re far too good-looking for someone like me to be dating. They’ll argue about it, maybe, amongst themselves for a while. Trying to decide if you’re fair game or not. If there’s anything between us. But ultimately, they’ll think we’re just friends. Because nothing more than that is possible between people like us.”

    He grinned. “You don’t strike me as the kind of woman who lets opinions like those dictate her life.”

    “Why should I?”

    “I’ll tell you what.” He looked down and caught her hand. She let him pry her fingers gently from the door knob. “If you did, I wouldn’t be standing here. But it seems kind of unfair to disappoint them.”

    His other hand came up to her face, brushing her hair behind her ear.

    “Disappoint them?”

    And then he was kissing her, and she didn’t care anymore what he had meant.

    He pulled away too soon, and she dropped her hand back to the door knob. The traitorous hand that had made itself a fist in his jacket, trying to hold him, to pull him closer. She cleared her throat, and resisted the urge to touch her mouth. She couldn’t even bring herself to meet his eyes.

    “Breakfast tomorrow?” he asked. “Adams Hall?”

    She nodded, not sure that she could speak without sounding like a fool.

    His hand slipped away from her face, and she felt him step back. “Good night, Gwen.”

    She made herself look up, though her face was flushed with heat and her stomach felt as though it had leapt into her heart. Or maybe her heart had fallen into her stomach. He was smiling slightly, his eyes warm and searching. She bit her lip. He was much too charming for her own good, but there was no point in pretending after that kiss.

    “For the record, if you insist on some kind of embarrassing display of flowers, I like daisies.”

    He chuckled. “I’ll keep that in mind.”

    She watched him walk away down the hall, admiring the line of his shoulders, and then shook her head and let herself into her room. She didn’t know what she was doing, but she didn’t see how she was going to avoid it now. She hoped that it would lead to more kissing.

Happy Flirt-Fest! I hope this one counts as flirting :)