On an Edge of Glass

wiser.”  He cocks his head to one side and winks at the kid.  “Do we have a deal?”
    The little mo nster looks properly shamed.  Under his breath, he mumbles something unintelligible that may or may not be an apology.  Then he hops to the other side of his mom’s thigh and grabs onto her free hand in the most angelic fashion that a demon spawn can muster. 
    I swivel, my hands still clamped to the armrest of the chair.  “I cannot believe he fell for that,” I half-laugh.  “Thank you.”
    Tall, dark and handsome leans closer to me.  I get a whiff of soap and something light and woodsy on him.  It’s decidedly delicious and I involuntarily inhale deeply. 
    “ No problem.  I have four little brothers and I’m sort of an expert when it comes to dealing with brats.”
    My eyebrows sho ot up.  “ Four younger brothers?  Your poor mother!”
    He smiles at me then, one dimple emerging on his cheek.  His eyes are crinkled at the corners.  Whoa.  My pulse spikes noticeably. 
    This guy is ridiculous.   And dangerous.
    He’s got a face that you might pass over at first glance.  But once you really look—really see the dark eyebrows falling over the straight-edged angles that make up his features, you can’t look away. 
    I would say that h e’s got the type of arousing attraction that has girls dropping their panties with one crooked grin and a few cliché words.  I’ve seen it happen to too many of my friends.  The fall is hard and fast and not easy to pick yourself up from.
    “ Are you going to sit there and say that you wouldn’t like to deal with five of me?”  He points at his chest with a mocking smile that kills me.
    I sputter out a cough. 
    Admittedly, the first answer that comes to mind is not accompanied by a PG rating.  All the pores in my body seem to be opening up.  I fumble over my tongue to say something witty, and cute, and not laced with a sexual innuendo.  But, before I manage to botch my response, the line shifts forward and Sir Hotness steps away. 
    I take a long, jagged breath into my lungs and release it slowly.  Honestly, it’s probably a good thing that the conversation ended when it did.  Lord knows that I do not need that kind of complication in my life right now. 
    De spite my best intentions toward indifference, I spend the next six minutes simultaneously finishing the closing paragraph of my essay and darting looks at my sexy savior.
    Sl im, dark brown pants cover his long legs.  Up top, he’s wearing a thin navy blue tee that fits him snugly in all the right places and exposes his sinewy forearms.  A black corded leather band circles his left wrist, and I think that I catch the glimmer of a silver ring on his thumb.  His long brown hair is tucked behind his ears so that I can clearly see the strong line of his unshaven jaw.  Absently, he touches the soft skin just below his ear and I suck in an uneven breath. 
    I remember that his eyes are somewhere in between brown and gold.  I also remember the tingle that coursed through my entire body when he looked at me.  I think my skin actually started to hum. 
    That i sn’t normal, right? 
    Maybe for Payton, one of my roommates, w ho falls in lust with someone new nearly every other month, and drops him once she gets involved enough to learn his middle name.  But, I am not the type of girl to get goose bumps over some random guy—especially not a stranger with long hair who looks like he could use a good shave.
    I shake my head to clear it and turn back to my work.  After a final read-through, I click the send button to turn in the paper.  Checking the time, I note that I have about two and a half minutes to spare until the deadline.  Cake.  I lift my hands in a sort of silent cheer and stretch out my neck muscles.  As I turn my head, I look up and directly into brown eyes staring back at me from the cream and sugar counter.  A shot of something electric and warm buzzes through my entire body.  He smiles and I feel an answering grin spread across my face. 
    When he glances down quickly and chews on his bottom lip, I just about fall out of my chair.  A swarm of frenetic butterfly wings are flapping against the walls of my stomach. 
    So much for being an empowered independent woman, Ellie .  Apparently, I’m just as susceptible to a sexy look from a mysterious guy as the next girl. 
    He finishes stirring his coffee and slips the lid back on his cup.  He hesitates.  He chews that