“Greer.”
“Yeah?”
“For the record, I’d be okay if you liked him back.”
I don’t get much time to dwell on his words before Simon is in front of me. He peeks inside, and then his gaze lands on me. He lets it linger a little too long before he says anything.
That must be the look Grey was talking about.
“How was your day?” he finally asks.
“Good. Nothing too exciting. Work. Camp. Clean. Cook.”
He makes a humming noise then sits next to me.
“What were you two laughing about?”
“Oh, nothing. What was your favorite thing to write today?” I ask.
His gaze slides to mine. Slowly, he takes me in from head to toe, and by the time he’s looking into my eyes again, I swear my breathing has picked up.
“Do you really want to know?”
I swallow, nodding, but before he can tell me, I change the subject.
“Grey has a crush on one of his friend’s sisters. Honestly, I don’t think I should have just told you that, but he was so cute.” I slap a hand to Simon’s thigh and wiggle it as I let out the tiniest of squeals. “You should have seen his eyes when he mentioned her. It was adorable.”
His first crush. Heartbreak sucks, but there’s just something about those first moments that can’t ever be taken away. When your palms sweat or your heart races or your mouth goes dry. The nervousness and excitement that come with the thought of starting something new just can’t be beat.
I lean back, ready to wait for Simon to respond. I’m taking his silence as he doesn’t think this is as exciting as I do, but as my body moves back, my hand slides up his thigh, and I don’t miss the deep inhale he makes right before I remove my hand.
“I’m sorry,” I say quickly. “I didn’t notice I did that.”
His head bobs a moment.
“It’s fine.”
His chest rises with each breath. I’m not so sure he’s as fine as he says he is.
“Are you sure? I think I made you uncomfortable, and I’m truly sorry.”
He stands abruptly. “I’m fine, Greer. Trust me.”
“Okay,” I say without question. I might not believe him, but if I push it, I’ll just make it awkward, and I don’t want more of that.
I push to stand as well.
“I’ll just get my things.”
I disappear into the house, leaving him alone on the porch. My bags were already packed from earlier. I’ve been bringing my purse and a tote each day so that I can work while I wait for Grey at his camps.
With both bags over my left shoulder, I push the front door open only to stumble because it’s the same moment Simon chooses to open it.
His hands fall to my hips to steady me. It helps in the fact that I don’t fall on my face, but I still manage to smash into him. My chest to his and my cheek flush to his.
“Sorry,” I say and push off only for my bag to slip from my shoulder, pulling my shirt with it and half exposing my black lace bra.
The moment I spot my bra showing, my gaze flashes to Simon to see if he caught it too. Sure enough, he’s not looking anywhere else.
