“Not usually during the season. When it’s warm, Tripp likes to lie out by his pool, and I tag along. We don’t have a pool.” I shrug. “Plus, Tripp’s cousin has good weed, and he invites him over.”
“Noah!”
I look back and nearly laugh at her shocked face. “You’re the one with the tattoo,” I remind her.
“So?”
“That’s kind of bad-ass.”
“You could get a tattoo. You’re eighteen.”
“My mother would disown me. She hates them.”Crap.“I didn’t mean it—”
“Shut up.” Ember says it good-naturedly, her free hand waving around in front of her. “I don’t care. Add it to the list of things she doesn’t like about me, which isn’t very long, and yet…” She shakes her head, the messy red bun on top of her hair tilting.
“I don’t get it either.” We get to the exit and slip through undetected. My car is in the first row of the parking lot, just fifty feet away.
On the way to my house we stop at a drive-through and grab lunch.
“My mom left this morning,” I tell Ember, when her mouth is full of fries. “She had to go see a restaurant chain who’s considering carrying Sutton wine.”
Ember’s eyes grow big as she swallows. “And your dad?” Her voice is high-pitched.
“In his office at the welcome center.” I’m trying not to sound like it’s a big deal, butit’s a big deal.We came close that time at her apartment, and every time I kiss her I think I’m near combustion. I know it’s important for her, and even though it’s not my first time, it’s important to me, too.
“But that doesn’t mean anything, Ember.” I take my hand from the wheel and rest it on her knee. “We can just watch a movie, chill out, or whatever. No pressure, okay?” I wish I could spend more time watching her instead of the road. I love to watch her think. Her expressions change quickly as she flits among emotions.
“What if, maybe, I mean, um…” She clears her throat. I look over for just a second and see her square her shoulders. “What if I want to do more than watch a movie?”
I hit the gas and our heads fly back. She laughs, yelling my name.
Taking my foot off the pedal, I laugh. “Kidding, but if Black Beauty had rocket boosters, I would’ve already enabled them.”
She smiles and feeds me a few fries.
“Are you trying to shut me up?” I ask, but it comes out garbled because my mouth is full.
“Basically.” She shoots me a sassy look.
I’m trying to stay calm and not focus on the fact that she wants to domorethan watch a movie, but it’s hard. Pun intended. It’s a good thing she has started feeding me the hamburger I ordered. I need the distraction.
We pull up to my house, and just as I said, it’s empty. Dad’s car is down at the vineyard with him, and mom’s car is parked at the airport. On Tuesday’s, Gretchen prepares a make-ahead meal and takes Wednesday’s off. We are really, truly, alone.
“Movie?” I ask Ember after we throw our trash away in the kitchen and grab drinks.
“Sure,” she answers. Her voice is small.
We head upstairs to my room, and I grab the remote and lie on my bed. Ember folds herself into a seat beside me, but her body is stiff, like a puppet.
“Sometimes I think about getting a tattoo,” I say as I flip through channels looking for something good.
“Yeah?” Her voice sounds a little better now. She’s intrigued. “Of what?”
There’s nothing good on, and I’m not interested in picking a movie, so I turn off the TV and roll onto my side so I can face her. “How do I choose?”
She slides down until she’s on her back, then props herself up on her elbows. Twisting her lips like she’s thinking, she turns to me. “You have to search yourself. Your soul. A tattoo lasts forever, or it’s supposed to, so whatever you choose has to be forever too.”
“Can I choose you? I’ll get your face tattooed across my whole back. Life-size.”
