“River,” I chided, though we both knew I was teasing. “You’ll pay for that.” I picked up some shaving cream, but he took off running across the yard.
“Come back here!” I yelled, chasing after him.
He giggled and giggled, running faster until he was back on the deck. He grabbed a handful of shaving cream, and then he came after me.Oh no!I turned around and ran the other way, but he was faster than me. And I felt a soft slap on the butt.
I turned quickly and put some on his shirt. He laughed, and then we both raced back to the porch for more. There were two cans of shaving cream, and we each grabbed one, squaring off.
“I’m gonna get you,” he cried.
“Not if I get you first!”
By this point, Mom was laughing and shielding herself with the mirror. Finally, when all the shaving cream was gone, we collapsed on the deck. We were both sweaty and smelled clean, though we were far from it.
“Oh boy,” Mom said, smiling. “I got some good pictures of you two.”
I laughed, removing some shaving cream from my hair. “Will you please send them to me?”
“Of course. Do you want to shower before you go home?”
“We’re going to need to do something,” I said, though I didn’t have any clothes at my parents’ house. And there was no way I could fit into any of my mom’s. She had to be at least three sizes smaller than me.
“Can we use the hose?Please?”River asked.
I shrugged. At this point, who cared? “Why not? If you get us some towels, Mom, we’ll just hose off and then go through the gate.”
“Sure.” She stood and disappeared into the house.
I went to grab the hose, knowing we’d need to wash off the mirror and deck as well. The water was chilly, but it was better than riding home covered in shaving cream. River laughed and squealed as we took turns washing each other off with the cold water.
On the way home, River was still buzzing from our shaving cream fight. “That was so much fun, Mommy,” he said from the back seat.
“Yeah. It was.” I grinned at him in the rearview mirror. “But now I’m all wet.” My mom had given me a towel to protect the seat, but my clothes were still drenched. I was starting to get cold, but it had been worth it to see River’s delight.
“What are we doing for dinner?” he asked. “I’m hungry.”
“Do you want a fruit bar? I have one of those apple-mango ones you love.”
“Yes!”
I handed it back to him with a smile. “As for dinner,” I said, driving through town. “I’m not sure. We’ll have to see what’s in the fridge when we get home.”
“Can we eat with Bennett?” he asked.
“If he’s home and wants to join us, sure.”
“You know what would’ve made our shaving cream fight even better?” he asked.
“What’s that?”
“Bennett. I wish he could’ve been there.”
I nodded, though I worried how attached River was becoming to our houseguest. River was getting used to having Bennett around, to just assuming we’d eat dinner or hang out with him. And so was I. It was nice to have someone to talk with in the evenings, watch TV with. I supposed I might as well enjoy it while it lasted.
As soon as I opened River’s door, he hopped out of the car and ran toward the house. I grabbed his backpack and my stuff, trying not to get it wet as I headed inside. Immediately, I was hit with the aroma of butter and garlic, and it smelled amazing.
Bennett glanced up at me with a smile, but then blinked a few times. “What…” He swallowed. Hard. “Why are you all wet?”
I glanced down at my body, cringing. My blush-colored shirt clung to my chest and not in a sexy, wet T-shirt sort of way. With the way Bennett was looking at me, I couldn’t tell if he was mad or upset or what.
