The edges of my mouth turn up just the slightest bit, and he reaches through the window to help me out.
“I don’t even have any shoes or a change of clothes for the morning. My cover story only works if I actually come home in running clothes, not pajamas,” I explain.
“Sorry, I got too excited. I guess you have a point. Hurry up and grab your clothes.”
Then I hear a knock at my door. No mistaking it. My eyes grow wide, and I shove his arm back through the window, closing it quietly behind me before I open my bedroom door.
Dani is standing there, her hair in disarray, squinting hard from the light. There’s a scowl on her face.
“Sorry, Dani! I just got back from my date with Andrew, but he called me because I left something at his place. I’m going to bed now. I’ll be quiet,” I insist, hoping against hope it isn’t obvious I’m lying.
I’ve never been a good liar, and I’m not very quick on my feet when it comes to making up excuses. Good thing I’m not an actor. I would be horrible at improv.
Dani slowly stops squinting as her eyes adjust to the light. She crosses her arms. “I’m not an idiot. I could hear every word you two just said.”
I try to hide my panic as I face her.Maybe I can come up with some cover? No way. She heard everything we just said!
I sigh and shrug. “We only have a few weeks left before we go back to school. I’m trying to soak up my time with him,” I offer, hoping I can get her to sympathize with me and not blab to my parents. Dani is a rule follower, but she’s never been a narc.
To my surprise, she leans against the door jam, her arms still crossed as she asks, “Have you two talked about how you’re going to handle long distance?”
I grimace. “Not really. I’m kind of waiting until the very last minute because things have been going so well.”
“Just make sure you two are on the same page before you leave. Distance can be difficult, even with all the technology we have to stay in touch nowadays. You may expect to text all the time, and he may think you two are only going to check in a few times a week on Facetime."
I eye her, wondering when she became the expert on relationships. “Fine,” I say. “I’ll talk to him if you cover for me in the event mom or dad notice I’m gone.”
She considers the deal for a momenttoo long. I know Andrew is still right outside my window, waiting to find out what’s going on.
“Please, Dani. You said you’d be my Rebecca. Rebecca would do it for me.”
I grimace as I process the words that just came out of my mouth. Even if they’re true, I feel dirty using Rebecca like that to get what I want.
“I don’t feel comfortable lying to Mom and Dad, but it’s not a big deal as long as you two aren’t getting into any kind of trouble.” She pins me with a glare. “You’re going right to sleep in your own bed and running in the morning, you say?”
I pause a moment and then nod as I realize what she’s saying. “Yeah, I’m going right to bed and then I’ll probably go run early in the morning with Andrew because he has to lift with Brendan later.”
She nods curtly. “All right then. Goodnight.”
“Goodnight,” I reply as I close my door and then open it right back up again so it doesn’t look weird when I’m gone tomorrow, supposedly on a run.
I immediately rush over to grab running clothes and shoes from my dresser and closet, even making sure I grab my watch off my nightstand before opening my bedroom window again.
Andrew welcomes me into his arms, immediately cuddling me up, and then lifts me off the ground after I quietly shut my window behind me. He struts back to the Martin mansion very casually as if he isn’t carrying around a one hundred twenty-pound weight.
When he swings open the front door, he sets me down but immediately wraps his arm around my waist and pulls me in for a fierce kiss.
What has gotten into him?He’s usually so patient and tender, but now it’s like he can’t get enough of me. I pull back and tease, “I thought you said I was coming over here to sleep?”
He immediately takes a step back, and I can see howflustered he is, conflicted between desire and concern. “You’re right. I said that, and I meant it. You know I would never pressure you into anything, Em. I’m in this relationship for you and everything that comes with you. We don’t need to rush anything. I like the way things are going.” He pulls me in for another kiss but quickly pulls back again.
It's funny how a man saying he will wait for you somehow makes you not want to wait. I follow him down to his bedroom as if my heart isn’t pounding from that kiss and my body isn’t buzzing with the same desire I saw in his eyes a moment ago.
He laces our hands together as we mosey down the steps, descending into the basement. Instead of heading straight for his bedroom, he stops at the linen closet.
“What are you doing?” I whisper, despite the fact we are the only two people in the entire house.
He turns around, holding a pillow and an extra blanket. “I wanted to make sure you were comfy.”
