“Do you want to hold hands?” Raffe asks as we’re sitting side by side, our backs leaning against the side of my garage.
He tosses a rock into the alley. We’re waiting for my mama to get home so I can ask her if we can go for a ride on his bike.
“Sure,” I say. I shrug my shoulders like it’s no big deal, but inside my head I’m stomping my feet and sca-ream-ing!
He holds his hand out, and I wrap my fingers around his palm.
“I’m not your dad,” he teases, pulling his hand away from mine.
“I’m sorry,” I say, covering my face. “I’m so awkward.”
“That’s what I like most about you,” he says, pulling my hands from my face. “Here, let me show you. Like this.” He carefully intertwines our fingers and then gives my hand a squeeze.
My heart beats wildly at the warmth of his palm pressed against mine. It’s so much bigger, and his grip is strong. I like that. He smiles as if he can read my mind.
“Have you done this before?” I ask.
“I’ve never even wanted to hang out with a girl before meeting you, so no. This is how my mom and dad hold hands with each other. Don’t yours?”
It makes me giddy to know I’m the only girl he’s ever done this with. “I’ve never seen my parents hold hands. Aren’t you going to ask if I’ve ever done this before?”
He chuckles. “I think that’s pretty obvious.”
I shove him in the shoulder. “You’re terrible.”
“Would you want it any other way?”
Raffe laughs as I pull up my skirt and straddle his waist. I push him back against the mattress, pinning his hands beside his face. “Pinned ya.”
He grins wide. “Nala and Simba, together again.”
I let him up but then push him back down. “Pinned ya again.”
He stares at me. “That’s it. That’s what we should do for our first date. We should watchThe Lion King.”
I fall beside him, laughing.
“I’ll pick you up next Friday. I won’t have the dirt bike, so my Harley will have to do,” he teases.
I prop myself up on an elbow. “Will you take me for ice cream afterward?”
“You know it.”
“It’s a date then.”
We stare at each other for a few minutes.
“I have missed you, Raffe.”
“I’ve missed you too.”
No matter how many times I say it, it will never be enough to express just how much I actually missed him. There are no words for that.
Chapter Forty-Two
Raffe
Jenny sits by my side as the club moves around us. She helped Jesse make supper earlier, and she immediately fell in love with the kitchen. Rightfully so; Jess has set it up as efficiently as a five-star restaurant. But now that the evening is wearing on, she’s gotten quiet.
