Terms and Agreements (on hold indefinitely)

Mr. Hot Stuff Pisses me off (again) - but Then Saves my Ass - Twice

                                                                             12

As we were walking through a small wooded area of the park, Flynn spoke abruptly.

"Hey, Alison, I just thought of another loophole."

I looked up at him and asked, "Really? What is it?"

"I could just kiss myself," he said with a small laugh.

"So have you kissed a frog before, or will this be the first time?" I asked playfully.

Flynn threw his head back and laughed. I smiled, looking up at the colorfully decorated trees' branches that formed a shifting tunnel above our heads.

I was still a little chilly, but I wasn't going to take Flynn's coat, even though he wasn't even wearing it anymore. I have dignity, despite what impressions you may have gotten.

"Excuse me," a woman's voice jerked me out of my thoughts, and I looked back down to earth, halting my steps as Flynn stopped as well.

In front of us on the path stood a middle-aged woman with dark hair and a large, bulky, expensive-looking camera.

My brain froze immediately. How am I supposed to speak with an absolute stranger unexpectedly?

But fortunately, Flynn was there, and he's kind of a social butterfly. "Yes?"

The woman smiled. "I was wondering if I could take your picture. You see, I'm a professional photographer and I like to take pictures of couples I find interesting."

Couples? Interesting? We were neither interesting nor a couple. And had she been following us all day, watching us to see if we were interesting enough to warrant a photograph?

"Okay, sure," Flynn answered immediately. What?!

His hand brushed against mine before apparently he sprouted a brain cell (shocking!) and didn't touch me. I hid my face behind my hands, a blush creeping up my cheeks, not that anyone could see it. I peeked through my fingers, and saw the photographer woman smiling at me.

Flynn leaned down slightly, whispering in my ear. "Come on, don't hide your face, Alison. A face like yours doesn't need to be kept behind hands, or a veil of hair."

While he was saying all that bull-crap, I heard the camera click several times. Flynn straightened back up, he and the woman exchanged trivial little niceties before she walked away, thanking us for our time.

When she was gone, I immediately returned to my normal self. I smacked Flynn in the arm.

"How dare you let her think we were a couple!"

"We are a couple. A couple of people walking down a path in a park," he said, smirking.

I glared at him. "You know what I mean." I started walking away, and of course he followed me.

I glanced over my shoulder at him. "Look, I want some time to myself. Just meet me at the car at 6:30, okay?"

He looked concerned, but simply nodded.

I turned to leave, but he stopped me. "Alison, wait."

That sentence was beginning to sound like a broken record. I slowly rotated to face him, and he was looking at me with those brown-black eyes of his, looking a bit like a lost puppy or something.

"What? There's nothing wrong with recharging my antisocial batteries that get drained by human interaction. Also, I'm a bit fed up with you at the moment."