All the words piece together in my head.
After you left yesterday, I touched myself.
My head rears backward as she rubs her lips together, cheeks red and breath labored.
“June, you can’t say that to me.” I rake my fingers through my hair. “I don’t know what to do with that … that …information.” I shake my head. “Cuz I just want to rip off your clothes and screw you right here at the top of these stairs. But I know that’s not right. And I don’t know what I’m doing, which means I’ll probably mess it all up.”
Her idleness slays me. How is she so calm? Nothing more than a hint of tension along her forehead and the twitch of a grin at the corner of her mouth.
Finally, she shrugs. “It’s just flirting. Making out. Playful banter with sexy undertones. It’s foreplay. Stolen moments. Building tension. Longing glances. Unbearable anticipation.” She giggles, shaking her head. “It’s dating, Flynn. We’re dating.”
“Dating,” I echo, slowly nodding. “It feels like torture.”
She coughs a laugh. “Torture?Youstarted this. The reason I touched myself after you left yesterday is because you teased me to the point of feeling like I wanted to scream.”
Again, what should I do with that bit of information?
“What’s the surprise?” She holds out her hand.
I stare at it way too long before taking it and leading her down to the street level. After a quick look in both directions, I pull her across the street.
“Ta-da,” I say, nodding to the red MINI Cooper.
“You got a new car?”
“I bought it for you.” I pull her from the front of the car to the sidewalk as cars get closer to us. “You need a car. It must get tiring having to order rideshares for everything, especiallywhen you get groceries like today. It’s a 2008, and it has almost 170,000 miles on it. And it has a salvaged title. But it’s had one owner. The inside is really good. No funky odor. No rips in the leather or sticky shit on the seats. I looked over the engine myself and took it for a test-drive. They were asking three grand, but I talked them down to twenty-five hundred.”
With a slack jaw and slow blinks, she ping-pongs her gaze between me and the car. “You, uh … you bought me a car?”
“I got paid from the Rawlings, yesterday. It was more than I anticipated, so yeah, I bought you a car. Oh, and I bought caulk too, so I can finish fixing the leak.”
“Flynn.” She shakes her head. “I don’t want you spending your money on me. Not like this.”
“It’s fine. Believe it or not, this car only took half of my paycheck. I still have plenty of money.”
Not gonna lie. I was expecting a little more excitement from her. But maybe she’s more like me than I thought. I have trouble accepting anything that feels like charity.
“Here.” I pull the key out of my pocket and dangle it in front of her. “Let’s take it for a spin.”
“I, uh …” June takes the key and bows her head, staring at it while fiddling with the ring. “I don’t … well, I don’t have a valid driver’s license.”
“Oh. So what. No big deal. Just don’t speed. We don’t have to get on the freeway or anything. This week you can get your license updated.”
She nibbles on her lower lip while squinting against the sun to inspect traffic. “Maybe I should wait until it’s not so busy.”
“It’s not busy. This is nothing compared to rush hour.”
“Yeah, but I bet it’s less busy at like two in the morning.”
I laugh. “Two in the morning?”
“Also, parking is extra for my apartment.”
“How much? I can pay the extra for you as long as I keep my job.”
With a slow exhale, she gives me a sad smile and steps closer, leaning in the last few inches until her forehead hits the top of my chest. “This is the nicest thing anyone has ever done for me.”
“I have a hard time believing that. Do you have parents who love you?”
