The gravel shifted under my boots and he turned.
"Sorry," I said. "I didn't mean to—" I gestured at the cigarette.
He looked down at it like he'd forgotten it was there. "It's fine."
I leaned against the wall a few feet away. He didn't tell me to go back inside. I didn't offer to. The jukebox bled through the wall and out on the road a truck downshifted and we just stood there, which felt surprisingly easy. It always felt easy, being near Wyatt. That was most of the problem.
He took a long drag. Exhaled slow. Watched the smoke go.
"You're missing your birthday," he said.
I felt my cheeks go hot. “You know it's my birthday?”
He shrugged. “Millie mentioned it. Said you were going out.”
Had he known he might see me tonight? Was he…no.No, he couldn't have?—
“I didn't know you smoke,” I said quickly.
He shook his head. Took another drag.
“I don't,” he said.
I waited for further explanation. He didn't offer one. It tipped me off that something was going on…something bad. I didn’t think he wanted me to ask.
I couldn’t help it.
“You okay?” I asked.
He dropped the cigarette with most of it left, then stamped it out with his workboot.
“You get what you wanted?” he asked, ignoring my question completely. “For your birthday, I mean.”
I chewed on my lip, crossing my arms. “Well…no. No, not yet.”
He looked at me. Furrowed his brow. His eyes were so blue, even in the dark, that it made my heart ache.
He was sad…I was a little drunk. This was a bad combination, but it was my birthday, and I knew what I wanted.
“And what would that be?” he asked.
I licked my lips. His eyes flicked down to my tongue.
“A kiss,” I said quietly.
The parking lot was empty. The voices inside were loud. The only people who knew I was out here were Amber and Everly, and they’d known me for years…they would never judge.
Wyatt frowned. “Haven?—”
“You don’t have to,” I said. “But?—”
“I’ve known you since you were fifteen,” he said, but he wasn’t sayingno. Not outright. He was just offering excuses, and his eyes kept going back to my lips. He wanted to kiss me. He wanted to kiss me, and my heart was pounding…
“I know how old you are,” I said. “And I’m not—I just—I know you’re a good person. I trust you.”
“A man who would kiss a girl half his age—hisemployee—isn’t a man you should trust.”
“But I’m asking.”
