She let her attention glide back up the long trunk of the tree.
The branches were staggered out, starting low and climbing toward the night sky. She supposed they made a pretty decent ladder, like Cash had exemplified when he scaled right up it like he was walking on even ground, not even breaking a sweat.
Suffice to say, Daisy was sweating.
Soft laughter floated down.
“That’s because you were going too fast. You just have to take this nice and slow.”
Vacillating, she bit at the inside of her cheek.
A piece of golden-brown hair flopped over Cash’s forehead as he stared down at her. His hazel eyes glinted green in the strike of the moon. “You can do it, Daisy. I have faith in you.”
He didn’t even know her. Not really. Sure, they’d been hanging out nonstop for the last two weeks, something she still couldn’t wrap her head around, but he had no idea the number of ER visits she’d taken because she tripped over her own feet.
“And look what I have when you get up here.” He waved a pack of Red Vines at her.
Was he trying to kill her?
“Are you afraid?” His voice changed with that. There was no teasing or mocking to it.
It was knitted in worry.
Embarrassment heated her cheeks, and she itched on her feet. Before she could figure out what to say, he was out the window and scaling back down. Moving so fast he was a blur in the night. One second climbing out the window and the next standing in front of her.
“Hey, you don’t need to worry. I’m right here, and I’m not gonna let anything happen to you.”
Her heart felt like it was going to crack. Break wide open and heal at the same time.
Then he grinned, turned around, and leaned down as he hooked a thumb toward his back. “Hop on, and I’ll show you how easy it is.”
Was he serious? He wanted her to jump on, and he was going to carry her up? Like, wrap her legs around his waist and her arms around his neck? Her boobs pressed into his back?
Nuh-uh. No way.
“Oh….um…I don’t think that’s a good idea.” She started to back away, deciding all of this was a terrible idea. Letting this boy drag her out of her comfort zone. She would fare much better hidden in her room where she belonged. Or maybe if she was feeling extra social, curled up on the bed next to her big sister while they watched a movie.
Not sneaking out with the popular boy who had no shortage of friends.
Though she doubted Hadley would be home. Where Daisy wanted to hide in her grief, Hadley seemed not to be able to sit still in it. Every moment out.
At least she’d taken the time to give Daisy the lowdown on the Cunningham brothers. The two star football players who were the golden boys of their town.
Players in every sense of the word.
Hadley had been all too eager to share the shreds of gossip she gleaned after she started hanging out with another girl who lived down the street.
Her sister ribbing her that Daisy would be next in the long line of girls who fell at Cash’s feet.
She’d fallen, all right. Crashed and burned in the most mortifying display. And still, he insisted they were going to be friends.
She totally didn’t get it.
Why her?
It was all bad news because this boy had heartbreaker written all over him.
She kept backing away.
