“Yeah, I think we can arrange that.”
Satisfied, I glance at the clock on my phone.
“I need to go home. It’s almost one, and my parents are going to be asking why I was out so late,” I begin to pull away from his grip.
He immediately pulls me in tighter. “Can’t you stay?”
I laugh at the craziness of his idea. “You may not have parents to watch over you tonight, but I still do. I can’t get away with staying.”
“Do you really think they will notice you’re still gone? It’s got to be well past your parents’ bedtime. I know them, and they are not late-night people.”
“When I’m out with a boy until late hours of the night, they are surprisingly alert.” I scramble to my hands and knees, beginning to crawl out of the fort. “I can come back over tomorrow to help you take this down, but I’m already probably going to be in the doghouse.”
“Okay, we will get you back, but at least let me walk you home. It’s dark out.”
I agree as I fold a blanket up, dying inside just a little bit at the thought of this fort being left overnight without being cleaned up. At least we cleaned the kitchen after our flour fight.
“Come on, Miss Neat Freak. You said we have to get youhome.” He chuckles, placing his hand in mine as he guides me toward the front door.
Outside, the rain has stopped. It’s peaceful as water silently drips off the rooves, and the air smells like fresh rain. We walk the hundred feet or so between my house and his, and he turns to kiss me before I walk up the stairs.
Gosh, his lips, the feeling of his taut muscles beneath my hands, him. It all makes it hard to say goodbye, even if it is just to go to sleep.
I pull back first and blow him a quick kiss again as I walk into the house.
Sure enough, my dad is sitting on the couch, asleep. He was waiting for me. I cross the room to shake him awake and let him know I’m home so he can go sleep in his bed.
“Hey, honey. What time is it?” he asks groggily.
“Late. You can sleep in your own bed now.”
“What were you doing out so late?”
I roll my eyes playfully. “Dad, we agreed I didn’t need a curfew this summer. You know I’ve stayed out later than this at school.”
He glances toward the kitchen to check the clock, but he’s out of luck without his glasses. He can’t see that far. Then he adamantly adds, “In my mind, you’re home and in bed by nine pm every night. I’m going to bed, darling. See you in the morning.” He presses a kiss to my cheek and slowly moves toward the staircase leading up to his bedroom.
I turn down the hallway to head to my room. I still feel like I’m walking on clouds, even with this being such a simple date together. We didn’t go out, and we didn’t dress up, but it was one of the best dates I’ve ever been on. That’s a perk of dating your best friend, I guess.
My thoughts remind me of the Tim McGraw song Andrew shared with me earlier today, so I pull my phone out of my pocket and play it on low volume while I change,careful not to wake Dani up in the room next door. She needs her full eight hours of uninterrupted sleep, or she gets cranky.
As I’m tugging my pajama shorts on, I hear a tapping sound. I pause the music on my phone, listening. But I don’t hear it anymore. I reach back to play the last minute of the song, but the tapping starts up again. It’s coming from my window.
Peering out into the darkness, I see a light flicker on as Andrew illuminates his face with the flashlight on his phone.
He indicates for me to open the window. Bewildered, I pull the latch and slide the window open.
“Now that you’ve made it home for your parents, you’re coming with me.” That mischievous grin is back.
“Coming with you where?”
“To bed,” he says simply.
I shake my head in disbelief. “You’re going to get me in trouble.”
“No, I won’t. I promise. Your parents already know you came home tonight. If they find you’re not here in the morning, they’ll just assume you went for an early run, which is pretty much your routine all the time now.”
I tilt my head, acknowledging he has a point. I meet his gaze and see the hope filling his eyes. He’s going to convince me with that look alone!
