I shake my head.
“Then I’ll do whatever it takes to remind you. Come on. Let’s go clean up.”
I squeal as Knox stands with me still in his arms. I quickly wrap my legs around his waist and hold on tight as he carries me to the bathroom in the hallway.
This night has taken a turn I never expected, but it’s one I needed more than I realized. I just had my first positive sexual interaction ever, and we didn’t even take our clothes off.
“Thank you, Knox,” I whisper to him when we’re back on the couch after cleaning up. He’s going commando now, and I spent a solid minute giggling at how annoyed he was that he came in his pants.
“What for, Princess?” His fingers haven’t stopped carding through my hair since we sat back down.
“For more than I could ever explain.”
He looks at me for a second to see if I’ll say more. When I don’t, he wraps his arm around my shoulders and pulls me into his chest.
Tears burn behind my eyes as he presses a kiss to the top of my head.
I don’t know what’s going to happen between the two of us, but for the first time in my entire life, I don’t feel so broken.
CHAPTER 26
Knox
“How come I can’t go dancing with you?” Finn pouts on my bed.
“Because you have to be a grown-up to get into the bar.”
Finn flops backward. “I can’t wait to be a grown-up.”
“What if I promised you a dance party tomorrow night?”
Finn bolts back up. “Really? With Farrah too?”
“We can ask her if she’s available.” I won’t object to seeing her two days in a row. I’ve found myself missing her since last weekend. We’ve texted a couple of times since I embarrassed myself on her couch, but I didn’t want to overwhelm her with my attention. The first couple of texts I sent were met with enthusiastic responses, but as my communications slowed, her responses got shorter. I have a feeling I took the wrong approach to this whole situation.
“I’ll ask Mimi if we can have a dance party at her house.”
“That’s a great idea, buddy. Come on, we need to get going if we’re going to pick up Farrah before we drop you off.”
Finn races down the stairs to get his shoes on and slides his backpack onto his shoulders. I send Farrah a text letting herknow we’re on our way. She sends me a thumbs-up emoji in response. What are the chances she isn’t pissed about me keeping my distance this week?
Minimal.
I internally wince at my stupidity. I made her come and then practically ghosted her. Who would want that?
A riot of color on the side of the road has me slamming on the brakes as I pull off the road.
“What’s going on?” Finn’s shaky voice makes me feel bad.
“Sorry, buddy. I wanted to do something for Farrah. Give me just a second.”
Jumping out of my truck, I head toward the ditch where a swath of wildflowers is growing. I pull out my pocketknife and cut a handful of stems. They look a bit bedraggled, but hopefully the sentiment is enough.
Back in the truck, I gently place the flowers in the passenger seat.
“Good idea, Dad. She’ll like those.”
“Glad you think so, bud. I think she might be mad at me.”
