wet blob on her head, and my top hat sunken in. Our clothes clung to us, every inch glistening with water, and the only way Belle’s makeup was still in place had to be from waterproof magic.
We were out of breath, panting, and even though it was the middle of June, the combination of the cool rain and the air conditioning in the restaurant already had me shivering.
I lifted my eyes like a coward, grimacing when Belle met my gaze.
But she just covered her mouth with both hands, and then burst into the loudest, longest fit of laughter I’d ever witnessed.
She bent at the waist, one hand covering her stomach like it hurt how much she was laughing, and the other hand reaching out to squeeze my soaked jacket on my arm. That made her laugh even harder, and in the next breath, she was in my arms, pressed up onto her toes, her mouth on mine and her arms wrapped around my neck.
I inhaled the scent of her, her perfume mixed with the rain, and even though she was trembling in my arms, her body was warm against mine.
“I’m so sorry,” I breathed between a kiss. “I’m a fucking idiot for not getting a car.”
“Stop,” she said, pulling back with her hands still wrapped around my neck. “That was fun. Besides, I hated my hairdo anyway.”
She shook her head like a dog, hitting me with droplets as she laughed again, and I pulled her into me for a kiss like it was the only possible thing I could do in that moment. This time, I held her close, wrapping her in my arms like I could warm her up from the inside out. I kissed her slow and sure, and it wasn’t until someone cleared their throat as they walked into the restaurant and slid past us that I broke the kiss, putting marginal space between us.
“I’m starving,” Belle said, and the way her eyes heated with those words, I wondered if it was the food she wanted, or me.
“Well, let’s get you fed.”
I grabbed her hand, turning and expecting to find us face to face with an annoyed hostess. Instead, I found an almost-empty room, with simple gray tile floors and high industrial ceilings, the brick exposed on either wall, and a whopping five cafeteria-like tables with four fast-food type chairs at each.
I swallowed, looking up at the menu on the wall, and then at the counter where it seemed you ordered your food.
It wasn’t a restaurant at all.
I grimaced, looking down at Belle and expecting to find her nose wrinkled in the same way. But instead, her eyes were bright and diamond-like, fixed on the menu as she read off each item. “Oh, the spinach and cheddar ones sound amazing,” she said. Then, she turned to me. “Are you going to get yours with sour cream and chives?”
I shook my head, watching her in awe.
“What?” she asked. “Why are you looking at me like that?”
Because you’re the most fascinating, beautiful, wonderful woman to ever exist.
“Nothing,” I said instead, guiding her closer to the counter. “You order for us. Let’s get a smorgasbord and try whatever you want.”
“Whatever I want?” she repeated, leaning into me as she lowered her voice. “I hope that offer stands at the end of the night, too.”
Then, she was ordering almost every pierogi on the menu.
And I was thinking of football and stray dogs and my mom and anything else I could conjure up to ward off the erection threatening to grow in my very wet, very stuck-to-every-inch-of-me pants.
Despite its rugged, somewhat rundown appearance, it was easy to see how the restaurant had such great reviews once we’d finished eating. The pierogies were out of this world, perfectly fried little pillows of potato heaven, with different fillings and garnishes that left us both maybe a little past comfortably full by the time we were done.
The rain had come and gone, but we were still damp as we walked down the street to where the theatre was. I tried offering a car a million times so Belle could go back and change, but she insisted she was fine, and we walked into the theatre with our heads held high — despite the fact that our clothes were wrinkled and damp, Belle’s hair looked like a bird’s nest, and my shoes squeaked every time I walked.
“These seats are insane,” Belle said when we were settled in, her eyes lighting up as she took in the