“I think you mean ‘thank you and you’re the best friend a girl could ask for.’”
“Do I?”
“You do. And you’re welcome.”
“Thank you,” I offered.
Silas waited to hear the rest. He smiled, knowing full well he was getting on my last nerves.
“And I’m the best friend you could ask for,” he finished for me.
“I know.”
I flicked his forehead before moving away to get him some water. It was time I actually try to help him start feeling better. That was the least I could do for someone who managed to distract me from the chaos currently going on in my head.
Chapter 32
“Thisisveryfarout,” Dakota noted from the passenger’s seat of my car. He glanced outside with an unsure look on his face. I smiled, slowing down for the last turn before our destination.
“You sound like you don’t trust me,” I mused.
“I got into your car and let you drive for an hour without question, Emmy.” He smiled at me as he rested his head against his seat. “If that’s not trusting, I don’t know what is.”
“True.” I nodded. “You still look scared, though.”
“I’m curious,” he corrected. “Youarekidnapping me.”
“You’re an adult, I can’t kidnap an adult. Besides, you could tackle me in a heartbeat if you were in actual danger.”
He chuckled. “Fine. Abducting me, then.”
“I wanted to give you a break.” I chewed on my lip before adding, “We both need one. A lot’s been going on.”
Dakota placed his hand on my thigh. My body responded to his grip almost instantly. Man, he had me good. He squeezed me gently, making the veins in his hand more prominent when he asked, “You talking about the doc interviews? You said you were almost done with editing.” His thumb rubbed back and forth, dangerously close to feeling my underwear line through my pants.
“Yeah, watching them again is hard.” I nodded, swallowing my other concerns. We’d take one thing at a time another day but today, I wanted to be about us. I owed him a date since I turned down his first invite to the museum a few months back.
“And there’s also the Amber U game,” he said in a careful voice. “You want to talk about that?”
“No. I’m not worried about it. I’m going to be fine.”
He waited for me to continue and when I didn’t elaborate, he said, “It’s okay if you’re not, Emmy. We’ll get through it.”
I glanced over at him and smiled. “I know we will.”
“Also, you don’t have to go.”
“I want to support you. It’ll be the first game where we’re a couple. I’m not missing out on the excuse to wear your jersey numbers.”
Dakota chuckled. “Only if you insist. I would love to see you in my number. But just know, I’m wouldn’t mind you skipping the slightest. I need you to be okay, which means you putting your mental health first.”
My heart swelled. I couldn’t even look at him, in fear my expression would expose how smitten his words made me. I cleared my throat. “Here we are.”
He directed his gaze away from me and out the window again. The smile on his face and the way his eyes went wide at our surroundings told me I made a perfect date choice.
Alana Farms was a family-owned dairy farm complete with a pumpkin patch and Christmas trees. They set up corn mazes and offered hayrides during Halloween - which I would be dragging Dakota and our friends to. It looked like the perfect place to spend a fall evening, especially since all the trees were now various shades of orange, red, and yellow.
The air smelled cold when we stepped out of the car. Dakota grabbed my hand when I hurried over to his side.
