Free Shallow by Georgia Cates Page A

struggled to not show my irritation. “Show him the one you want, Doll Face.”
    “That one,” she said as she pointed toward the biggest bear hanging on the wall. Her eyes lit up over that ugly stuffed bear and I knew I was giving her something she would never forget. It wasn’t the bear, it was the memory.
    “Thank you, Nick,” she said as she leaned over and kissed my cheek.
    Damn, that was a total letdown. A brotherly peck on the cheek was not the kind of kiss I had in mind, but I smiled because I didn’t want her see that I had expected more.
    “Glad I could be the one to give you your first Fair Bear.”
    “ Fair Bear ,” she laughed. “I like that. I think that should be his name.”
    It was starting to get late and I guessed they would be shutting things down soon. “You seem like you’re feeling better. You wanna give the Ferris wheel a try before we go?”
    “Yeah, I’m feeling much better so I definitely want to do that before we go.”
    The line was short because it was getting late so we were quickly loaded into the carriage that would carry us up to overlook the Collinsville fairgrounds. We rose higher into the sky each time a carriage was loaded with riders and I watched the excitement on Payton’s face as we got closer to the top.
    She twisted in the carriage and looked around in every direction. “I know we’re just on a small Ferris wheel, but it feels like we’re on top of the world.” She laughed as she turned to me. “You think I’m being silly, don’t you?”
    “No, I don’t think you’re silly at all. I think you’re intriguing.”
    I licked my lips as I stared at the shiny gloss on her lips and imagined how soft and slick her mouth would be against mine. I had never wanted to lean in for a kiss so badly in all of my life. Being on this Ferris wheel on top of the world with her couldn’t be more perfect, but I couldn’t do it; I was too scared.
    I, Nick Hawke, the sexpert and fearless daredevil, was scared. I was too pansy to kiss this beautiful girl because she was wonderful and perfect and different. She was special and I didn’t want to blow it with her by pushing too hard, too fast.
    The wheel stopped again to load another couple. “I’m sorry I didn’t say this already, but thank you for taking care of my drunk ass last night. I didn’t think I would be so wasted after only two drinks. I guess I just drank them too fast.”
    Without thinking, I reached for her hand and gave it a squeeze. “Hey, I didn’t mind. It was my pleasure, puke and all.”
    She shook her head as she looked down. “Liar,” she laughed. “The whole thing with Cooper seems so stupid now. I tried to make him be my Jessie. That’s weird, I know. I’m sort of messed up that way.” She looked up at me. “I’m sorry. I don’t know why I told you that.”
    Claire was right. She was beginning to see that she never really loved Cooper.
    All the carriages were loaded and we began to rise and fall as the wheel spun around. A gust of wind picked up as we rose to the top and a wild strand of hair blew into her face and got stuck in her lip gloss. I couldn't resist the excuse to touch a part of her so I reached forward to set it free.
    All I could taste and breathe was this moment with her. Our time together would be over soon and I didn’t want to go home without telling her that I had to see her again.
    I twirled the wild strand in my fingers and then tucked it behind her ear. “Last night, you told me you wouldn’t go out with me because you were looking for something different, yet you’re here with me now.”
    A regretful expression came across her face. “Nick, you’ve been really sweet to me and I’ve had a wonderful time with you tonight, as a friend. We can never be more than that. You’ve gone through too many girls.”
    “I’ve always used protection. Every time without fail. I swear I haven’t caught anything if that’s what you’re worried about.”
    “I’m glad to know