“You got it. Now what about safe words?” he asked.
“What about them? We’re not… partaking in anything that adventurous.”
He gave me an amused look. “Regardless, better safe than sorry. If I do something like kiss you one too many times and you can’t tell me to back off because someone else is around?—”
“Again with the kissing. You’re really looking forward to that part, aren’t you?” I rested my elbow on the console and my chin in my palm as I smiled at him.
He chuckled. “Your projection’s your largest tell, you know that?”
“I learned from the best.”
“Uh huh.” David laughed again. I’m on a roll with these. My head grew larger at the sound of each one. There was no denying that David enjoyed my company now. Even when he looked disapproving, I could easily make him smile. And I’d long since released the idea of hating his presence. Annoyance still shoved its way in between us sometimes, like a toddler in need of attention. But I loved the interruptions. Love annoyance’s cute, constant presence, all soft and familiar and full of potential love.
Love. Not the romantic, head over heels, I can’t live without you love. Not now. Nowhere near now. But someday? One day. I wanted it one day.
Holy crap. We’vejustnow decided to hold hands.
I pushed away from the console, turning my gaze out the window.
“Yara?” David noted my change in energy.
“I’ll ask you to call Haven,” I said.
“That’s a phrase, not a word.”
“It’s less suspicious. And I assume the scenario won’t be heated. I’ll have plenty of time to get it out.”
He was silent for a second before finally saying, “Mine will be, call Weston, then.”
“Best friends to the rescue,” I murmured.
“I guess,” he agreed, quieter as he got lost in his own thoughts.
“Waitfor me to open the door.” David unbuckled his seat belt and turned off the car.
When we pulled into my family’s U-drive, there was already a large assortment of cars parked. Most of which were my siblings’ and their partners’. But I noticed a couple of cousins’, aunts’, and uncles’ vehicles, too. The majority of my family still lived in New Harbor, so simple dinners often became mini family reunions. And since my parents owned one of the largest homes in town, equipped with a basketball court and a pool, they rarely received declined invitations.
“No one’s…” I sighed when he shut the door and came around to my side.
“It took two seconds,” David noted flatly when he saw my disapproving stare.
“I counted ten,” I said. “And no one’s watching. Besides, you don’t have to lay it on thick. My family’s not going to grade...”
David brushed a twist behind my ear, his thumb lingeringon the lobe. Nothing about it should be sexual, and yet, it was as if he’d pinned me against the car door to kiss me breathless.
“Someone is watching,” he whispered, leaning closer. Our height difference was a non-factor most days. He wasn’t much taller than I was. But while cupping my jaw and keeping my gaze upward, I was keenly aware of how easily he could block the sun’s heat and keep me cool and protected from the elements.
“Ever since we pulled in.” David’s lips were by my ear, hand on the roof of the car, keeping me between him and the door. It should feel claustrophobic. Despite that, I want to reach out and grab his shirt. Suffocate myself in his familiar scent. That wouldn’t be a bad way to die. In fact, I thought it might be preferable. I also thought I was losing all common sense.
“Second-floor, third window on the right.” David pulled back just a little so I could meet his gaze. There was no sign of dismay in his eyes. No hitch in breath. No dilated pupils.
The best part about being at odds with David was that I was never alone. Together, we were stranded on an island, finding cover in a shoddy shelter from the ground up. Somewhere along the lines, I’d discovered a new stretch of land not too far off. I’d swum here on my own, and it was painfully lonely. I preferred disagreements over this. Jabs. Taunts. Anything not to be this lonely.
“That’s the third floor,” I whispered, keeping my voice steady as I glanced up to find the window he was talking about. “Probably one of my sisters. Rose’s room is up there. It’s the only one my mom didn’t convert into some house project.”
“She converted your room into something else?” David frowned. “Why? There’s like fifty of them.”
“Only eight.”
