Page 51 of Face Off Flirting

“And I chose violence,” she said.

“No, babe, you chose to stand up for yourself and kick some ass,” I said.

There it was again.

That word.

Babe.

No longer April? No longer Auggie? No longer the annoying, dorky girl with braces?

She was now… babe?

A babe? Or just babe?

Everyone continued to stare at April and me.

I wasn’t sure if it was more staring at me because of who I was or mostly April because of the ass-kicking-clinic she just put on for everyone to see.

“What are you drinking?” Bailey the bartender asked.

“Uh…”

April spun around and looked up at me.

Her eyes looked different.

I thought I saw her shaking a little.

I touched her arms. “Adrenaline rush?”

“I want to get out of here,” she said. “Is that okay?”

“Yeah, sure,” I said. “Back to my place?”

April nodded.

I said a quick goodbye to Bailey the bartender, then April and I left.

She apologized six times on the ride back to my place.

When it came time for the seventh apology, I decided to make a move…

She stoodnear the sliding glass door.

Lingering as I approached with a drink in each hand.

“You know, you can go out there in the dark,” I said. “There aren’t any monsters.”

“You don’t know that,” April said.

“Are you afraid of monsters,Auggie?”

She turned and curled her lip at me.

“A drink,” I said. “That was a wild thing you did back there. You really took that guy down. I’m very impressed.”

“And I’m very sorry about it,” April said. “I ruined our night.”