Theo
You sure you aren’t the serial killer?
Sienna
Highly unlikely. Only one in six serial killers are presumably women.
Theo
Idk. You don’t seem like the type of woman who’d let a statistic define what she’s capable of.
Three days until the lake house.
Theo
Do you have any allergies? Leo wants to know. He usually does most of the cooking.
Sienna
No allergies but Beth cannot stomach fish.
Theo
Leo will hate that lol.
Alex will be happy he doesn’t have to eat fish this year, though.
Zero days until the lake house.
Theo
Here. I’m in the Mustang out front.
Theo and I have been texting for the past couple of weeks leading up to our departure for the lake house.You’d think it would have done something to ease my nerves, but my stomach churns as I read his text.
“You ready?” Beth asks as we stand in the entryway of our apartment. I nod, gripping my suitcase handle tighter than necessary before we head out the door.
Stepping out into the parking lot, I see Theo leaning against the side of a dark blue Mustang with one of those double white racing stripes down the center. As if my stomach wasn’t wrecked enough already, the sensation of butterflies fluttering around overwhelms me when I lay eyes on him.
He’s dressed casually, in a loose-fitting T-shirt, linen shorts that hit just above the knee, crew socks, and sneakers. Nothing too noteworthy other than the fact that Theo makes the outfit look remarkable. His chest muscles flex beneath the shirt, the loose fit doing nothing to hide them. The hemline of his shorts shows off the definition of his thighs, and his shirt is a shade of green that makes his eyes glow in the sunlight.
The logical part of me screams to turn around, go back upstairs, and start applying for every job I see. The other part of me, the one I’m hell-bent on ignoring, wonders what his abs look like and prays the wind picks up his shirt so I can catch a glimpse.
“You like what you see?”
My eyes snap to Theo’s when he asks the question. I’m immediately embarrassed that I’ve clearly been staring at his body for way too long.
When I don’t respond, Theo clarifies with a chuckle. “The car.” He motions to the Mustang he’s leaningagainst. “It’s a 2009 Mustang GT. Just got this baby. What do you think?”
A sigh of relief escapes my lips. “It’s nice, but will we all fit?”
Theo glances down at our bags. I have a respectable, medium-sized suitcase, and Beth stands next to me with the same, along with her backpack and gym bag. She doesn’t plan to go to the gym. She’s only bringing the bag because she ran out of room for all her shoes.
Moving to grab our bags, Theo says, “We’ll be fine. As long as one of you doesn’t mind taking the back seat.”
“I don’t mind,” Beth says before I can volunteer, “as long as you have AC.”
“Oh, for sure.” Theo smiles at Beth, closing the trunk after just barely fitting our bags in next to his. As Theo helps Beth into the back seat, I silently scold myself for the way my teeth clench when he smiles at her.
