“Buy me one?”
Luke chuckled and dropped his chin as his cheeks flushed. He lifted his head with a grin spreading his gorgeous lips. “And what would you do if I showed up at your dorm with a gift like this?”
“Faint.” We both laughed. “I’m just playin’. But if you were serious, I’d like to drive this one.”
And that was exactly what happened.
Luke let me pull the car out of the warehouse. We waved at the smiling guard, obeyed every speed limit while in town, got a shit ton of double takes from everyone. But once on the interstate …
“Luke?” I asked. The smile had not left my face yet.
“Yeah?”
“Will you bail me out of jail if we get pulled over?”
He skimmed his fingertips along the inside of my wrist, then gripped my leg. “Of course. How can I say no to my little playboy?”
I winked at him. “Flirt.”
That afternoon, I found out what zero to sixty in under three seconds felt like, what the world looked like at a top speed of 205miles per hour, and how raw my throat got after screaming at the top of my lungs. I was pretty sure I’d never laughed so loud or made my heart race so hard.
When we got back to the industrial park, I made Luke put the car back in its spot, because I shook too badly to do it. I stood off to one side, watching and waiting, and when he came back to me, Luke knew something was up.
“Hey? You okay?” he asked as he rubbed my upper arms.
I nodded, not trusting my voice at first, but finally said, “Yeah. I’m good. I’m great.” I popped onto my toes and kissed him. “You’re amazing, Luke.”
“You mean the car.”
“No. I mean you.” I sniffled, overwhelmed. I didn’t know how to make him understand no one had ever done something like this for me. I loved my family, with all my heart, but with there being so many of us, sometimes I was lost in the mix.
Today was about me. Luke did all of this just for me, and I selfishly loved every second of it. He might not see it the same way, but I’d never forget.
He didn’t say more, and I gladly accepted the quiet drive back to Aunt Penny’s. My heart was full, and my mind was busy with dreams of how right this could be. How Luke and I could have fun like last night and todayeveryday.
Luke kept my hand in his the entire time, throwing me dreamy grins and kissing my fingers every few minutes. But before I was ready, Luke parked behind my Civic.
“Are you staying here until classes start again?”
I nodded absently, mind running in all directions, thinking how I could prolong this. “Wait, no. Just until Sunday. Momma wants me to go home once more before the new semester starts. Otherwise, I probably won’t see them until spring break.”
Luke stared at Aunt Penny’s house, then narrowed his eyes and pursed his mouth.
“This feels weird,” I said. “Like, being apart isn’t normal anymore.”
Luke turned to me. His expression relaxed as he reached for me, cupping my cheek with one hand and scratching into the hair at the back of my head with the other. “I was thinking the same. You weren’t there for long, but my place will be so empty without you.”
I turned into his palm, kissed it, then clutched it to my chest between both of my hands and bounced in my seat. “Okay, two things.”
He dropped his smile and made a serious face, with lips set in a line and brows lowered. “Hit me.”
“One, I’m gonna need to see a copy of your last checkup, like, showing you’re clear on STIs and shit. I’ll show you mine too. Condoms are meh.”
“I trust you haven’t lied about not being with anyone, but it’s the responsible thing to do.”
I wiggled in my seat. “Okay, whew, that was easy.”
“Go for the second thing.”
