On her feet was a pair of flats. Ones she changed into when she arrived.
He paid attention to all those things.
“You like when I do that,” he said.
She wiggled her ankle to get it out of his grasp.
“Wait until later,” she said primly. “Just like me. Is there anything else you need? Right now?”
“No,” he said, smiling. “Don’t suppose we can walk home together?”
“What, are we in high school?”
He laughed. “I like it when you show that side of you. The one I thought was always there that first night. You need to do more of it.”
She dipped her head. “It just comes naturally with you. Probably not a good thing. That’s how we’ll get in trouble.”
He didn’t think it was a bad thing, but best not to start that argument because he’d just end up kissing her to shut her up.
Then he’d want to mess her up.
Most knocked before they entered, all but his father. So yeah, knowing his dad was close by, it was best to end this now.
21
BETTER THAN THAT
“All set?” Ethan asked her the following Friday night.
It was seven, and he picked her up at her apartment. She threw a bag of clothing in the back seat as she hopped in.
“I am. I’m surprised you wanted to do this.”
“It’d be nice to get out of town for the weekend. Did you not want to?”
“Oh, I did. I do.” He didn’t have a baseball hat on his head like he normally did when they were walking around together. “Is it because you don’t want anyone to recognize you?”
He sighed. “That is a big part of it. The other is it’d be nice to have a quiet place to just relax. It’s on the water. A great view. It’s not big. One bedroom and bath. Somewhat modern.”
She laughed at the look on his face. As if he were almost embarrassed he couldn’t get a brand new home to rent for two nights.
To her it was about the time together and not where they stayed.
“Not going to be fancy enough for you?”
“I can handle it,” he said, laughing.
“I bet you’ve never roughed it. Like, have you ever gone camping before? In a tent, not some rented RV?”
“Wow,” he said. “You have such a low opinion of me. I’m hurt.”
She looked at the shorts and T-shirt he was wearing. A few hundred dollars that didn’t look any different from her shorts and T-shirt that she bought at the mall on sale.
His watch cost more than she would want to guess. Probably more than her yearly rent.
“You didn’t answer my question.”
“No,” he said, laughing even harder. “I’ve never been camping, not even in an RV. Have you?”
