Dex’s expression tightened briefly, but he smiled. “Thanks, Mr. Riley.”
After he left, Dex was quieter. We finished our ice cream in silence, watching the evening unfold around us.
“You okay?” I finally asked.
“Yeah. Just... everyone keeps mentioning my grandfather. About what he’d think. What he’d want.” He turned to me. “Sometimes I feel like I’m living his life, not mine.”
“What would your life look like? If it was just yours?”
He was quiet for a long moment. “I don’t know. I’ve never let myself think about it.”
“Maybe you should.”
We walked back to his truck slowly, neither of us in a hurry for the night to end. When we reached it, Dex didn’t immediately open my door. Instead, he pulled me close, resting his forehead against mine.
“Thank you for tonight,” he said softly.
“For what? You planned everything.”
“For being with me. For walking through town holding my hand. For letting everyone see us together.” He kissed me, soft and sweet. “For making this real.”
“It was always real, Dex. We were just hiding it.”
“Not anymore.”
“Not anymore,” I agreed.
He drove me back to Jasper’s house, and we sat in the driveway for another twenty minutes, talking and laughing and stealing kisses like teenagers.
Finally, reluctantly, I pulled away. “I should go in. Mom’s probably watching from the window.”
“She definitely is. I can see the curtain moving.”
I laughed. “Then I should really go give her something to gossip about.”
I kissed him one more time, deeper, more intense. A promise of more to come.
“Goodnight, Dex.”
“Goodnight, Leigh.”
I walked to the door, and he waited until I was inside before driving away. Through the window, I watched his taillights disappear down the street.
Mom appeared beside me, a knowing smile on her face.
“So,” she said. “How was your date?”
“Perfect,” I admitted. “It was absolutely perfect.”
“Good. You deserve perfect.”
I did. We both did.
And for three more weeks, I was going to let myself have it.
Chapter 25
DEX
