Page 90

As my stomach fills, my mind clears. The movie plays on. The sound from Archer’s phone is accompanied by the crickets chirping in the fields surrounding us. It’s pitch black, aside from the stars sparkling above.

I used to be scared of the dark. I had recurring nightmares of Dad dying along with Mom when I was little. But Dad always helped me feel better.

Right now, I’m not afraid of anything. I feel comforted, protected, and safe. And it’s because of Archer.

“You like baked beans?” he asks, extending his container toward me.

I nod, taking a forkful while trying not to think of his own fork—essentially his own mouth and lips—having touched the same food. Not because I don’t want to. Believe me, I do. But that’s not what a person should do on a business dinner with a business associate.

“Want some of my potato salad and fries?” I offer.

He nods, swallowing another bite before reaching over his plate with his left hand to reach my food. His shoulder leans into mine, and my arm weakens so when he sticks his fork into the potato, the container dips toward my lap.

Instinctively, he sets his own food aside and uses his right hand to secure my food from below...Only his hand splays beneath mine instead of the container. My breath catches, and my skin tingles like a thousand drops of sunshine sparkling across the surface.

He picks at a potato, but it falls from his fork, so he moves for another piece of the salad deliberately slower. I swallow, my senses screaming on high alert from Archer’s callused touch as I look up at him, his face only a few inches away.

He finally secures a forkful of potato salad, then his eyes gradually meet mine. The air shimmers between us as his stare and hand remain, then his focus drops to my lips.

The movement passes in slow motion. The world no longer exists. The movie fades to the background, and the food disappears. It’s just the two of us now. Hands touching, eyes connected, a thousand emotions and feelings between us begging to be explored.

A loud blast from the movie still playing on his phone echoes into the darkness, and I jump, looking toward the screen and breaking the moment into pieces.

His fingers slowly slide from mine, and he sits back, though he’s closer than before, his shoulder remaining near.

“That’s good salad,” he mumbles.

His husky voice fills me with more pleasure than it should.

“You’re welcome to more,” I say.

What a stupid thing to say. I’m basically begging for that moment to happen again.

When he does reach for more, he keeps his hand to himself this time, which is probably for the best but disappointing all the same.

We eat in silence, and I focus on the movie as I finish up the last of my food, chasing it down with a few swigs of root beer before I set both aside.

As I do, the movie becomes my center of focus, and my heart twinges as a memory flashes in my mind like a flare gun.

After Tom Walker let me watch all the scary movies I wanted, I needed a detox, so every Halloween after that, Hotel Transylvania became a go-to with Dad.

We always connected with the story. A father protecting his daughter after the death of his wife. A daughter wanting freedom while still loving her father.

We used to have it playing in the background while we carved pumpkins and drank apple cider by the gallon, but Dad would always pause to quote Dracula to me.

“I promised your mommy I would protect you forever.”

Things were so simple back then. We had time for each other. We had shared everything with each other. We had only each other.

But now, watching this movie, seeing the themes of protection, growing up, and letting go, I see the truth.

Everything is changing. In my life, in Dad’s—and between us. That version of my life where it was just me and him can never come back. Will that abyss grow deeper when he goes public about his dating life? Will an uncrossable chasm form if I start dating Archer?

I’ve already lost a mother. I can’t handle losing Dad...but I already feel like I am.

“You okay?” Archer asks gently, bumping me playfully with his shoulder.

He’s set his food aside, too, his attention focused fully on me. He’s so much taller, I feel petite in his shadow, but not inferior. Never inferior.