Under My Skin

I am in the midst of editing this short story for you all and hope to have it ready to post tomorrow. In the meantime, I wanted to give a little taste of what I’ve been working on. Enjoy.

He grabbed my hand and his, gently caressing his thumb over my own. “I’m sorry about that.” I thought I heard him say but I was too busy focusing on my heartbeat in my ears and the surge of electricity flowing through my fingers. 

We locked eyes and something else passed between us. Not exactly lust but maybe want, need, dare I even say . .  . like

My eyes bulged and I immediately ripped my hand from his grip. Mike coughed, turning away from me but I could see the crimson hues spreading up his neck. What just happened? 

“Uh, I got to go,” he sputtered, digging around in his pants pockets before dumping a crumpled twenty and some candy hearts on the counter and taking off. 

“Hey! What about your candy? Or your change?” I called after him. 

“Keep it!” He hollered back. 

“Uh, thank you!” 

He only waved before disappearing inside the school. I picked up the twenty and straightened it out before putting it in the lockbox. I would give him his change tomorrow. And his candy. That’s the least I could do. 

I also picked up the candy he left and noticed they were Dove chocolates. Warm from being in his pockets but not soft or melted. Where did he get this from? And why did he give me these? 

The strangest feeling took over me and I couldn’t stop smiling. Mike normally irritated me to the core. Just the very site of him sent me on edge. You would think this would be more baffling than appealing. Although, if I had to put my finger on it, dare I say, I might, possibly like Mike. 

I went through the rest of my shift in a haze. Part of me was on a high, still elated by the kind gesture, yet the other part of me was trying to deny that first part. I mean, Mike wasn’t the worst. He was funny (some of the time) and he was my biggest customer. None of the other baseball players ever bought candy or chips or soda. But Mike also teased me relentlessly. 

The first time we met he walked right up to me and said, “Wow! This must be some special candy if they’ve hired The Lollipop Guild to sell it.” 

It wasn’t even that funny of a joke but it got big laughs from the rest of the baseball team. It was all I could do not to throw something at him. Ever since then, he had been getting under my skin. But now, he was getting under my skin in a whole new way.