“But?”
“But now it’s not quite enough,” I murmur under my breath, a slow smile settling in as I tilt my head slightly, like I’m testing how far I can push her.
My fingers press to the bridge of my nose, eyes still closed as I push through it—“Can I come?”
Please say yes.
Silence. Too long. I knew it. Too much.
“I’m sorry,” I start, already pulling back—
“No, come.”
I freeze. There’s something in her voice—she’s smiling. I can hear it.
Fuck.
I get up and realize I’m still just in a towel.
“I’ll be there in ten.”
“Okay,” she whispers and hangs up.
I quickly get into some clothes and grab my keys, taking two stairs at a time, stumbling into the garage.
Music blasts in my car just to burn off the restless energy building under my skin.
No idea what I’m about to do. Didn’t think this through at all. Doesn’t matter.
Me: I’m here.
I get out of the car slower than I expected, like my body needs a second to catch up with what I’m doing. The night air is still warm, quiet wrapping around the house as I walk along the side of it, stopping at the low hedge fence that apparently has a personal issue with her.
This is a little intrusive. Probably more than a little.
She’s going to have to get used to it.
The garden door opens and she rushes out, freezing the second she sees me. I don’t even think about it, I just step over the hedge to close the distance between us.
It’s higher than it looked.
“What are you doing?” she whispers, eyes wide, something between surprise and actual fear flickering in them.
Okay. Maybe showing up at her house wasn’t my most reasonable idea.
“I was thinking I could save you from a crash this time,” I whisper back and try to look as innocent as possible while she’s wearing some funny shorts and an oversized hoodie again.
It’s fucking irresistible.
She just stands there, staring at me like she hasn’t decided yet whether to run or laugh.
I move before I can think about it too much, one arm sliding under her knees, the other around her back, lifting her and throwing her on the other side of the hedge.
For a second, I almost don’t let go. But I do, because this is as far as I can play it off like it’s nothing.
As I step back to follow her, the hedge catches me off guard. My jeans snag on a twig and I stumble forward, catching myself on my hands before I fully eat the ground.
Not graceful.
