Unlikely Places

Chapter 14 Perfectly Flawed

Pierce smiled at my answer. A very real and very wide smile. The overall picture was dazzling. It made his eyes brighter, the blue of his irises even more unbelievably vivid. It was oddly hypnotic to watch.

I berated myself silently as I followed behind him out the office door. I had had every intention of declining his lunch offer but I hadn't. I wanted to kick myself, and I definitely wanted to kick the percentage of me that was verging on feeling giddy at the unexpected invitation.

Pierce was out of my league. He was a professional player and I at the least, a lowly bat boy, ball boy, or towel boy to whatever sport he excelled at.

I should have cut my losses and run. Instead I was traipsing behind him to join him for lunch where I would have to talk and socialize and share. On a good day, that was tough for me, with Pierce would it even be possible?

Why had I agreed?

We stepped into the elevator and Pierce smiled down at me. His eyes smiled, too. The glacier blue had thawed. The warmth aimed towards me drew me in.

Pierce intrigued me. His outrageous persona fascinated me as much as it made me uneasy. I had seen his gentle side and his protective side as well as the hateful one. Every new side he revealed fascinated me on some level.

And then there were his looks. He attracted me. I could no longer pretend that he didn't. It was a daunting fact to accept. Like most things pertaining to Pierce, I didn't know what to do with it either.

As much as I had been repelled by Pierce, I was equally pulled towards him. He was like this huge sun I was now orbiting and when I got too close, I could feel myself being drawn in. It didn't seem to be about choice, it was just happening.

It was an entirely new thing for me both physically and mentally. I was only now accepting the physical tug. I wasn't brave enough yet to face the possible emotional impact that he could have on me. Pierce was incredibly overwhelming in so many ways.

"What are you in the mood to eat?"

His voice startled me.

I blinked up at him, my solemn face pinkening in embarrassment at my spiraling thoughts. I wondered as I looked up at him if I would ever be on an even keel again.

"S... sorry," I said. "Could you repeat the question?"

I braced myself for his irritation. Pierce didn't like repeating himself and I felt he was fairly impatient at being ignored. I had done both. I didn't expect to see his face shift to a sudden soft gentle expression as he looked down at me.

"I won't bite," he murmured.

I flushed an even darker shade of pink. I knew he was teasing but for some reason everything he said took on a double meaning to me. It had sounded almost as if he were flirting. The blush was because I liked the thought a little too much. The deeper blush was because it was terribly embarrassing to accept that.

Since meeting him I had felt so many different things. Some were good and some were bad. Many were unknown. It confused my mind and my body being stuck in the flux that was Pierce.

"I know," I muttered, stepping back a tiny bit.

I needed some distance. Just a smidge. My brain ceased functioning at its normal rate when he got too close while my body revved up like a motorcycle. The conflicting chaos going on inside had me off kilter. That he could see it happening made it that much worse.

"Okay," he murmured with that same soft smile.

The smile should have soothed me. It was similar to how Archer treated me when he felt I was reaching my limits. Only Pierce's smile was different than Archer's. It was gentle but it didn't sooth. I wouldn't go as so far as to say it wreaked havoc but the bubbly feeling racing through my veins wasn't exactly peaceful.