He quirked an eyebrow and tilted his head back to look at the sky. “Lots of things. Most things. Not your health. Even if we never saw each other again, I’d say you need to be careful and go.”
The sentiment twisted up in my gut. I knew what it was like to be sick and just fucked—look at Dad. Of course, he did everything humanly possible to make his situation worse instead of better. What if I ignored this? What if it meant I had trouble typing later?Fuck.
“I’ll go. You don’t have to pay for anything.” I took a step back from him, and he paced me like we were dancing. I wasn’t the one leading.
“I will pay.”
“You won’t.”
His face flushed red, and I braced for impact. He turned and stepped over to grip the railing tightly. There was a creak of metal that had my brain spinning like a web page that wouldn’t load, and then Casey jerked his attention back to me. “You’ll go, though?”
“Yeah.” I licked my lips and they went icy cold from the wind.
“Let me turn off the lights, and we’ll leave.”
Shivering, I nodded. “I’m… uh. Damn it. I’m sorry.”
He smiled at me. “I’ll take you down to the dock first, okay? That way you aren’t standing around waiting for me on deck with no lights.”
It was fucking dumb to be touched that he’d remembered I didn’t like the dark. He wasn’t a good guy because he was able to recall I had a fear that maybe bordered on phobia; nevertheless, I couldn’t get over how considerate he was as he helped me down the ladder to the dock. He made sure I was wrapped up in his coat again and then climbed back aboard.
The lights powered down, the same as an amusement park at the end of a good day, and I was startled by my disappointment. The first fun I’d had in a long time had happened here, tonight, and wasn’t that fucked? The worst and best things to happen to me in a while crushed together all in one night. He jumped from the last few rungs on the ladder to the dock and smiled when he was at my side again.
“Can we come back a different night? I want to see the rest of it.” My heart almost popped out of my chest it beat so hard. I swayed on my feet. What was I doing?
He blinked at me. “Anytime. You tell me when you’re free.”
I ducked my head. “Not exactly jamming out a packed schedule. Whenevs.”
“Can I get your number?”
My gut rocked more than the boat and I took a steadying breath. He could have probably gotten my number, after all he’d found my address easily enough, but there was something heavy about giving him a direct line into my life. “Yes.” I cleared my throat and then rattled off the numbers, and he carefully typed on his phone. With a flourish, he tapped his screen. My phone buzzed in my pocket, and I tugged it free to check that the message was from him and snickered at his winky face. He was standing right here, but I sent back one blowing a kiss.
He lifted an eyebrow at me when his phone lit up.
“Flirting?”
“I’m better at a distance.”
He stepped forward, and I almost swallowed my tongue when he leaned down. He only brushed a kiss on my cheek but electricity buzzed all over my skin and kept me trapped in place. The cold wind flapped his coat around me, and we stood there for too long without moving, his breath an amazing gust of warmth against my skin.
“We’ll have to agree to disagree. Let’s get you to the ER and fixed up,” he murmured and used his arm at my back to nudge me forward as he turned to lead the way.
“How did you know?”
“What?” he asked as we walked. His shoes echoed on the metal dock, and mine were soft and silent, almost as if I was his shadow. I pretended for a second that I was the small part of Casey he couldn’t shake off. It was a strangely satisfying idea. “Angel, how did I know what?”
“Oh!” I startled and glanced up at him. “That I wanted you to… something.” I touched my cheek.
“I didn’t. I hoped.” He guided me closer and sheltered me from the wind. It was really fucking nice. Together we walked on toward the bright lights of the club. I’d nearly forgotten I wasn’t going to be riding the bus home when he took me around the front of the Yacht Club, past the glitzy front windows and overdone entrance to the parking lot. He led me along with confidence in his stride, and I could tell right away which car we were making our way toward. It seemed bigger than the others height wise, and I supposed that made sense. He’d need a car with more room. I didn’t know anything about the car’s make, except it was flashy like a Mustang, and cost way more than I could afford. The paint job gleamed gunmetal gray in the lights from the lot and the windows were tinted. The sleek doors curved outward and back. He fished the fob out of his pocket and the headlights blinked an eerie ghost blue.
“If you don’t want to do this, I can take the bus.”
“No more,” he said firmly. “I’m driving you.”
Awkwardness crawled along my skin as we closed in on his car. He was taking me to the hospital? He cared? I wanted to ask a thousand questions, the biggest one beingwhy are you helping me? Did he want to fuck me? That had to be it. I needed to pin down his motivation. I was still a little scared of him. Maybe… that was part of the appeal. I glanced up at his face. He was handsome but seemed slightly angry without any expression shifting around his strong jaw and mouth. Maybe he didn’t want to fuck me. Maybe….
“Do you still feel guilty?” I asked as we reached his car.
