Syverson

Chapter Three

Victoria

Sy followed me over and sat next to me. He was so big he almost didn't fit in the chair. I hid a smirk as I started eating. He had been a bit hard to pin down. His flirting had come on strong when he first spoke to me. Then it was like he had no idea what to do.

I thought he had lost interest, but he'd watched me all afternoon. Sometimes he watched me out of the corner of his eye as he chatted to the boys. Sometimes he sat in a chair, arms folded across his broad chest, his legs spread wide, just watching me. But he never came over to me.

I was surprised that he hadn't tried to talk to me. I was frustrated too, if I'm honest. I gave him some serious signals that I was interested. Maybe it hadn't been a good idea to play with Milo, but he had just been too cute. Maybe I had come on too strong.

At first, I was upset that Jess and Pete had tried to set me up with someone. I was angry when I saw that they had left me alone with Sy. I had been in a somewhat compromising position too. When I had realised he had been watching me, I had been furious. I'd wanted to turn around and smack his face. Then I saw his face, and I was surprised by how attractive he was in that ultra-masculine way that I liked. Maybe Jess and Pete were right to set us up. He was definitely my type. Plus, he was huge. I could imagine what that body would be capable of, and those imaginings made me tingle.

Maybe he was just naturally quiet, but I didn't think so. I didn't believe Sy would be the type to talk my ear off and ramble for hours about boring shit. Quiet and shy, though? No, I don't get from him. He was overwhelmed, maybe, a bit unsure of his place among the group, possibly. More likely, he was sitting back and assessing the situation before making a move.

Whatever the reason, when I saw Sy get up to get food, I decided to make a move myself. But now that we were alone, I took a step back and waited. I got him this far. I wanted to see what he would do from there.

Not much, it seemed. We had both nearly finished eating, and he shovelled food down quicker than anyone I had ever seen. Sy wasn't messy though, just ate fast. I was about to think it was a lost cause when he finally spoke.

"What's with the pin-up girl?" He asked.

I rolled my eyes. Imaginative. I'd never been asked that before. I thought about giving Sy my brush off reply, but I decided to be honest. "I'm an artist, and I think the feminine form is beautiful. Women's bodies are so interesting, sexual and luscious that I've always preferred   drawing women."

"You're an artist?" he asked. I was surprised he didn't know. I thought Pete would have told him everything about me.

"A tattoo artist by trade, but I dabble in other mediums," I replied. "Pete didn't tell you all about me when he set us up?"

"He set us up?" He seemed genuinely confused.

"Yeah, at least that's the impression I got from Jess. She denied they were setting us up, saying it was an idea they had but changed their minds. Then when you came outside alone, I thought that Pete had gone through with it at least."

He raised his eyebrows and sat back. Then he reached his arm out and dropped his plastic plate in the bin. He held his hand out for mine and put that one in too. His movements were slow and cautious. It was like he knew how strong he was and was careful all the time not to break things. I hoped he wasn't that careful in bed, or it would be very disappointing. The thought surprised me. I didn't think I'd already decided I'd sleep with him. Maybe not tonight, but after a date or two, I would.

"He mentioned you and a few other girls. Lookin' back on it, he played me into being curious 'bout you." He didn't seem mad when he said it. In fact, he had a small smile on his face. "He probably could have saved his breath. I was curious about you from the moment I laid eyes on you." It shouldn't have made me as excited as it did. He said, curious, not interested.