Essie pursed her lips in another small smile to herself. “How have you been, by the way? I heard that things weren’t exactly good the last time everyone else was over.”
“You mean when I was upstairs, hiding in my room for a week?”
After a long moment, she nodded.
“I’m okay. Or I will be. I am now.” I thought about Ryan outside in his car, waiting on me. I wasn’t sure how much longer I had before he came barging in. “Things are good.”
“I’m happy for you.”
“Thank you, Essie. Will I be seeing you at the coven meeting on Saturday as well?”
She shrugged. “Probably.”
“Then, see you then. Blessed be, Essie.”
“Blessed be, Lu,” she said playfully, turning back to head upstairs as I opened the door and slipped outside.
* * *
Ryan was halfwayup the walk, pausing when he saw me shut the door behind me.
“Oh, good. I was really thinking I was about to break down the door to come and get you.” He let out a relieved breath.
What a dork.
“What’s wrong? How did it go in there?”
Before he could ask anything else, I walked right into him, my arms open and clasping him to me. He swayed side to side before he realized that he was meant to hug me back.
“I’m just glad you’re you.” I hugged him tighter.
He settled his chin on top of my head. “Right now, I am too. I guess you didn’t bring back any baked goods from in there?”
Slowly, I pulled away from him, checking to make sure that he was joking.
His crooked smile told me he was. “Ready?”
I nodded. Still, I didn’t let go of him, instead holding on to his hand. Since when had I become the sappy one in this relationship?
Relationship.The word ran through my head again with the foreignness of it. The perfectness.
I was in a relationship with Ryan Gardner. I was in love with Ryan Gardner. How many days would it take for it not to feel so wild and beautiful?
Dropping into the passenger seat, I peeked at him as he got into the other side of the car.
He had his seat belt halfway on by the time he noticed, giving me an odd look right back. “What?”
I shook my head. “Nothing.”
“Do I have something on my face?”
I shook my head again. “Just drive.”
29
“Hey, Lu.” Ryan nudged me with a hand. In one smooth stroke, he let his palm travel down my arm before tugging me up from where I laid.
I’d collapsed on his lumpy bed back at the sports house at some point between classes, working on a new project I needed to turn in next week and waiting for him to return from his adviser, where he found out what grade he’d be doing his student teaching in.
