“Now that you two have deigned to grace us with your presence,” Penny says, reaching for her fiancé. “We’ll see you kids around.”
“Text me later,” Arden says, and a jolt of happiness strikes my chest. They’re friends. Real friends now. I knew it would happen the moment they met each other.
“Obviously!” Penny shouts over her shoulder.
“Ready to go?” I ask, ignoring Declan’s goodbye.
“Where?” Arden asks, angling her head. “It’s your night.”
Oh, really?
She looks at me expectantly, and my brain goes a bit mushy. It feels like she’s giving me a chance here, giving me the opportunity to ask for more than I typically do. I could take her home, as per our normal routine when there are no other public plans, but she’s offering me more than just a hockey game. I could take it and fucking run with it, but if she shoots me down, I’m fucked. My ego will never recover.
No impulse control, remember?
“Want to come to my place, order some food, and watch a movie?”
She reaches forward, fingers toying with the strap across my chest. I hear her thoughts as clearly as I see them all over her face.
“Strictly PG?”
“PG-13?” I counter.
She laughs, eyes flickering back up to mine. “PG.”
“Ugh, fine. Strictly platonic,” I say in defeat. She shrugs in agreement, and I search her face, certain I’m misinterpreting that response. There is no way she’s actually willing to spend some one-on-one time with me for no other reason than me asking for it. “Really?”
“It’s part of the deal. Why not?”
Because we’ll be alone together. In close proximity. Knowing I want to kiss the shit out of her, but I shouldn’t. Knowing that rule four-point-five is hanging over my head, desperate to be scratched offthe list.
Because there will be nobody around to convince, which is the whole point of this.
“You starting to like me, Red?” I ask, sliding my hands to the middle of her waist and hoisting her off my car.
She glares at me. My favourite look on that face, if I’m honest.
“Tolerate is a better word for it.”
“Mhm,” I murmur, smirking down at her. She rolls her eyes, so I roll her over in my hands, bringing her back flat to my chest. I wrap my arms around her collarbone from behind and guide her to her door, helping her in.
I glance at the crowd of people waiting on the other end of the fence and raise my hand, waving, as I climb in next to Mrs. Faux Forkerro.
She pulls all her red hair to one side, relaxing back into the seat.
“What kind of food tonight?”
“Chinese?” she suggests instantly. I snap my head in her direction, but she doesn’t notice. I’m shocked that she actually gave me an answer, that she didn’t act so indifferent toward the question. She nods to herself, pushing those cherry lips forward in consideration. “Yeah, I’m feeling Chinese.”
A win is a win, and this is a huge one. She’s getting comfortable with me. I no longer have to pry to figure out what she really wants. Each day spent with her, I think she’s slowly putting down her defenses to let me get to know the real Arden. It’s a blessing and a curse, because I’m really liking the girl that’s on the inside.
“Chinese it is then, Bub.”
When I pull out of my spot, her hand finds my forearm. I look over at her as security slowly opens the gate for us, convinced she forgot something, horrified that shemight have changed her mind, but her eyes are glued to the circus we’re about to drive through.
“Can you stop for them tonight?” she asks.
I cock a brow. I typically don’t like to do the whole fan club thing when I have a girl in the car. Not just my fake girlfriends. Not just girls I’m sleeping with. Not even Ari or my mother. There’s an intensity to it. It makes my palms itch. There’s always a moment when the flashes are blinding and the voices are so loud that they turn into one, ear-splitting, buzzing noise in my head.
