Free Ninja At First Sight by Penny Reid Page B

based on presumption rather than reality. He was so handsome, so charming, so uniquely charismatic. But what did I really know about him?
    Before I could travel too far down the road of doubt, he said, “I’m going to start calling you Fe.”
    “Why? A nickname for Fiona?”
    “No. Because you have nerves of steel. I’m not typically a game player. When I’m around you…” He stopped, swallowed, his dark eyes a little desperate. “I was going to say, you make me crazy . But it’s not you, it’s me. I make me crazy, thinking about you. Does that make sense?”
    I nodded, feeling myself thaw.
    He continued haltingly, “I did want you to go on this date with Creepy Mark from art history.”
    “He’s not creepy-”
    “He is creepy. He looks like one of the children of the corn, and take into account that we’re currently in Iowa where corn fields abound. He may have been attempting to suck the soul out of your body down there, because that definitely wasn’t kissing.”
    I found myself trying not to laugh. “Greg-”
    “But you…” He pressed his lips together again, his eyebrows pulling into a tight, unhappy line. “After you left, the thought of you out with someone else, I didn’t like it. And I don’t want you to do it again.”
    “I can’t not go out with anyone else ever again. That’s crazy. I have study groups and class projects.” I kept my tone even, reasonable.
    “I’ll overlook your atrocious double negative for now, because that’s not what I meant.” He took a step back and reached for my hand, cradling it between his large palms and shifting his focus to where we touched. “I wanted you to go out on a date with Creepy Mark because I was certain it would be a disappointment. But when you left, it didn’t matter if you had a good time or not. It was a date, a romantic situation if you will. Certainly you’ll have study groups and class projects in the future. But I want to be your only source of romantic situations from this point forward.”
    I felt my mouth pull to one side as I watched him speak, because Greg Archer was completely adorable when he was honest and sincere.
    I squeezed his hand and reclaimed the step toward him, drawing his eyes back to mine. “I would like the reverse to be true as well. I would like to be your only source of romantic situations from this point forward.”
    He sighed, it sounded both happy and forlorn. “Even if you didn’t want it, it’s yours. It’s been just twenty-four hours and I’m ruined.”
    “You’re ruined?” I grinned.
    “Yes. I’ve been through all my best pornography videos this evening and nothing interests me.”
    My mouth fell open.
    “If you want to know the truth, I’m rather upset about it. I’ve invested quite a lot of money in the Debbie Does series, and now it’s all rubbish.”
    I pulled my hand out of his, prepared to be outraged, but instead I laughed. “You’re appalling.”
    His eyes twinkled with mischief, but his face and tone remained serious. “It’s pronounced appealing, Darling. And I don’t suppose I could talk you into recording some videos? My birthday is in September.”
    I shook my head and walked around him to the last flight of stairs. “I’m not talking to you about your porn addiction.”
    “I’m not addicted to porn, but I was very fond of it. It’s helped me through some difficult times and answered so many important questions from my youth, for example—pizza delivery women, as a subset of society, are sexually adventurous and are apparently paid well enough that they can afford breast implants. Did you know that?”
    He sounded so epically sincere, I couldn’t stop laughing.
    “And babysitters across this great country suffer from a very peculiar type of alopecia.”
    “What?”
    “They’re hairless, in their lady closet .”
    “Ah! Stop!” I’m sure my cheeks were bright red.
    He had to pull me up the last few steps because he wouldn’t stop regaling me with universal