"What?" Gosalyn laughed, looking up as she poured two glasses of orange juice. "Why are you looking at me like that?"
It was only then that Huey realized he had been smiling at her in silence for several minutes. He lifted his head. "Like what?"
Gosalyn set the juice carton down and leaned over the island on her elbows. She raised her brow and reached over, tapping him on the end of his beak. "Like that! You're making a face and you're looking at me like that.."
Huey propped his chin in his hand and leaned back on the barstool, maintaining whatever "look" she was referring to, unable to take his eyes off of her. I've never met a girl who can light up an entire room like she can. And she's not even trying! "I have no idea what you're talking about. I'm just smiling. Can't a guy smile?"
"You know exactly what look I'm referring to. I went to high school, Huey. I know a playboy when I see one."
Playboy? No, wait! He swallowed and sat up. "Gos, I-"
She pinched his beak shut and smiled, her eyes shining. "And try as you might, you're clearly not any good at it."
Huey's lips spread into a smile. He leaned back and folded his hands behind his head. "Really? I thought I had that look down pat."
Gosalyn rolled her eyes and slid him a glass of orange juice. "Not in the slightest. Next time, try smoldering like you're benevolently choosing me out of a crowd of your fangirls, instead of smiling at me like just being in my presence makes you the richest duck in the world." She shrugged, taking a small sip of orange juice. "Kinda ruins your whole player vibe."
Huey rested his arms on back on the counter and slid the glass of orange juice back and forth between his hands. "Man, you're right. I gotta work on that."
Gosalyn tucked one of her red curls back. "Or not. Honestly, your love-stuck look is far more convincing." She lifted her green eyes to meet his.
It was like fireworks lit off in his chest. He attempted to keep it cool, forcing his lips to stay in that sly smirk he practiced in the mirror every morning. No amount of practice could have prepared me for what this feels like. Her blushing was contagious. He felt his face get beet red.
Huey mentally slapped himself. Get a hold of yourself! He cleared his throat and forced his eyes to look away so he could come up with something clever to say. "Some might say that that's all part of the act."
"The act, huh? For some reason I find that hard to believe." Gosalyn smiled, reaching under the counter and pulling out the red folder from Professor VonDrake's lab… the "Huey" file.
Aw phooey. He stared down at it, his insides curling up in sync with his toes. He met eyes with her, expecting the mood to have shifted, but instead, she started to give him the look back!
She laughed. "Okay, don't hurl your breakfast but I did read it."
Huey scrubbed his forehead and sighed, dragging the red file over to see what kind of embarrassing facts VonDrake had gathered about him that she now had complete knowledge of.
"And I have to say, you're interesting…"
He raised his brow and shook his head. "Interesting… great choice of words there. Instills so much confidence." He flipped through the pages.
"No, that's not what I meant. I just mean… there's so much more to you than meets the eye." Gosalyn covered her face. Her laughter faltered. "Ugh, that's not what I mean either. It's just…"
Huey watched her over the top of the folder.
She stuttered and took a step back, rubbing the back of her neck. "Okaaaay, so maaaybe I shouldn't have read it. It was an invasion of your privacy. It's just… I don't know." She snatched the carton of orange juice. Huey noted the tint of red in her cheeks before she turned and put it back in the fridge.
He closed the file and pushed it aside. She was clearly just as embarrassed about reading it as he was about whatever she had read.
Gosalyn spun around in circles, running a hand through the curls in her ponytail. "Gah, I don't know what I was thinking, of course you'd be mortified that I read it. Dad's always warned me about snooping. I just get carried away and then I thought it would be cool if I told you, and we could connect but-"
"Gosalyn," Huey said her name. Just the sound of it made his stomach twist into knots.
She stopped pacing and faced him, biting her lip and picking at her fingernails.
His breath stuck in his chest. You said her name, now what were you going to say? Come on, blockhead, say something! You can't just blurt out her name just to say it. That's dumb.
The longer they sat in silence, the more nervous he got. Over the course of the conversation, their facades had come down. She knew more about him than any girl ever did, so playing it cool was no longer an option. And in the middle of trying to play smart, Gosalyn had humiliated herself, lost her cool, and was now completely embarrassed. He felt responsible for it… so why couldn't he say something to fix it?
The silence built until he said the only thing left on his mind. "Would you go out with me?" When the words left his mouth, he instantly wanted to run for the hills. Why did I say that? I mean, sure she read my file, but that's all stuff from when I was a kid. We barely know each other now… it's been two days. Why would she say-
"Yes." Gosalyn took a step closer, her cute smile sliding across her lips again.
"Seriously?" Huey blinked, watching as she pushed her phone across the counter.
Gosalyn shrugged, twisting one of her curls. "Did that gash in your head affect your hearing or something?"
"I guess I'm just not used to-"
"Girls saying yes?"
Huey typed his number in her phone, his heart pounding so hard he could hear it in his ears. "Well, yeah. Especially when we've only known each other for a couple days." He handed her phone back when she came around kitchen island.
"Sure, but, like I said, you're kind of obvious… and if you haven't noticed… I like you too." She patted his shoulder, winking at him. "Just take the win."
Yes! Yes! YES! She really said yes. She's going out with me. Huey chuckled. "I knew it."
Gosalyn laughed. "Suuuure you did. That was evident by all the nervous flirting and weirdly complimentary sarcastic comments all weekend."
"But it worked, didn't it?"
"I suppose I can't argue with your methods. Somehow between you getting hurt all the time and being a little crazy, you managed to be charming… and amusing."
"Hey, what can I say?" Huey gestured to his bum leg. "I sure know how to pull the sympathy card."
Gosalyn rolled her eyes but couldn't help smiling as she went to grab her car keys. "Although, there's one obstacle we should probably address before the two of us go out together."
He swallowed, hopping off the barstool and following her. "What's that?" Because I'll literally do anything, fight anyone, pay any price… whatever it takes!
"Somebody has to break the news to your brother. I have a feeling he'll be a little miffed" She winked and poked him in the chest. "You have fun with that."
Huey closed his eyes and heaved a sigh. Ugh, Dewey. How could I forget? "Right." He rushed with his crutch to catch up to her as she headed for the door. "Consider that taken care of. Dewey will not be a problem. Trust me." My brother will not stand in the way of me going out with the most beautiful girl on the planet.