Free The Happy Endings Book Club by Jane Tara

shoulder.
    Okay, quitter.
    Coney Island was packed, with long lines for all the rides, but the Mirror Maze was relatively empty. Michi laughed as she stepped into it and caught sight of herself in dozens of mirrors. Short, fat, tall, each reflection was weirder than the last. They moved from mirror to mirror, laughing and waving their arms around. The maze was lit with strange lights and carnival music played loudly. They were surrounded by dozens of misshapen versions of themselves, and each turn they took was the wrong one.
    “Oh shit, my eyes! This one is so unbelievably grotesque,” Jake called out.
    Michi ran over to him but then saw it was a normal mirror. “You’re right, that one’s hideous.”
    He moved on to the next one.
    “Check this one out.”
    Michi doubled over laughing. He was wider than he was tall.
    “No wonder you wouldn’t kiss me,” Jake moaned.
    Michi gave him a playful slap. “That was more your attitude than your looks.”
    Jake grabbed her wrist and pulled her close to him. Very close. Too close. She stopped laughing and stared into his eyes.
    “You promised,” she said. “If I went on the Rotor, you promised.”
    “I didn’t promise anything. I don’t make promises I can’t keep.”
    And with that he kissed her. His lips slammed down on hers. She didn’t even bother resisting. She slid her arms up around his neck and responded with ferocious desire. He pushed her back against a mirror, and around them hundred of versions of them kissed like it was the first and last time it would ever happen. Finally, Jake pulled back. His eyes were glazed.
    “You’re right. That’s way more frightening than the Rotor.”
    Michi turned and ran from the maze.
    *
    Michi stared out the window at the harbor. Jake had finally caught up to her and brought her to Luna Park’s bar, The Deck. He’d put her in a seat by a window and gone to get them both a drink.
    She needed one.
    What the hell was that kiss? She’d never been kissed like that. She didn’t know it was possible to be kissed like that. Oh yes, she read romance books—she had a real soft spot for them—but even in the books she read it wasn’t like that . She was awash with desire. She could feel the moisture between her legs and knew it wasn’t sweat because the bar was air-conditioned. Sitting here now she could barely think straight.
    “Here’s your beer.”
    “Thanks.”
    Jake sat opposite her and watched her for a moment. “You okay?”
    “Sure, why wouldn’t I be?” she said way too quickly.
    “I’ve wanted to kiss you from the moment I laid eyes on you yesterday.”
    Christ, they needed to turn up the air conditioning in the bar.
    Michi gave him the evil eye. “You make it sound like you deserve a medal for waiting so long.”
    “And right now,” he continued, “I’d like to take you back to my place, but I won’t because I don’t want to scare you off.”
    “What makes you think I scare that easily?”
    As soon as she’d said it she wished she hadn’t. They locked eyes, and there was a moment where he visibly bit his lip … and then they both cracked up. As daft as she felt, it broke the tension.
    “Yeah, right, you’re a regular adrenaline junkie,” Jake laughed.
    “You must think I’m such a wimp,” she said.
    “C’mon, with your job? No. You know what I think?” Jake ran his eyes over her face. “I think you like things to have a certain order to them. I bet your apartment is very organized.”
    “Yes, it is. Drives my roommates mad.” Michi squinted slightly. “So what else, Sherlock?”
    “You live a life that to most bystanders seems quite interesting, even courageous. You’ve left your home country, moved to London. You probably travel to Europe when you can.”
    Michi didn’t like where this was heading now. “I do.”
    “You have a job that is great dinner party conversation and god knows would give me nightmares.” He leaned forward. “But you don’t want to lose control.