He hands the keys in my direction but when I wrap my hand around them he doesn’t let go. He uses them to pull me in and gets into my face. “I don’t usually let other people drive my truck, Dacen. Don’t make me regret it.”
I yank the keys from his hand and step back. Have a little faith, man.
We’re about two minutes from my house when it hits me. The sunlight streaming through the front window starts to make my eyes water and my nose starts twitching. Oh no, not now, please. I glance to the side to try to clear my eyes but accidentally end up staring at the driver-side mirror, which is reflecting wicked bright sunlight back at me. I take my foot off the gas as my eyes close and I sneeze twice.
“Jesus H. Christ! Watch what you’re doing!” Ryne shouts as the truck veers over to the side gravel area of the road.
“Sorry! Sorry! My bad. It’s all good.” I make the mistake of looking over at Ryne and wince. It’s not all good. He glares at me as we come to a stop at the side of the road.
“What just happened?” he bites out.
I scrunch my nose up and grimace. “I’m a sun sneezer.”
“It looks like you’re a bad driver. I can’t believe I let you drive my truck. We’re switching places. Now. And what the actual fuck is a sun sneezer?”
He actually makes us switch positions. I glare at him as I scoot over him to the passenger seat and he slides beneath me to the driver seat. “Bright light sometimes makes me sneeze. It’s a legit thing. You can look it up.”
He just looks at me like I’m crazy while we buckle up, and then checks his mirrors and pulls back onto the road. I glower silently the remaining two minutes home. My scowl deepens when I glance over at him and he smirks at me. I cross my arms and let out a huff as he pulls up in front of my house.
“You need to slap a warning label on yourself, Dacen.”
I roll my eyes but can’t help the smile that forms when I look at him. He doesn’t look upset, just amused, which is why the next question pops out of my mouth. “Do you wanna come in?”
Ryne bites his lip and looks from me to my house, and back to me. “Yeah.”
When we’re about ten feet away from the front door it opens and Mom steps into the doorway. “Oh great,” I mutter under my breath. “Sorry in advance.” Ryne glances at me as Mom steps aside and we enter the foyer.
“Hi, baby,” Mom greets me and I cringe as she kisses my cheek. Ryne looks like he’s half horrified on my behalf and half trying to hold back a laugh. It takes all of my maturity not to flip him off. Mom would have my head on a platter for being rude to a guest.
I wipe my cheek off and gesture toward Ryne. “Mom, this is Ryne Sutton. Ryne, this is my Mom.”
“Also known as Quinn Becker.” Mom smiles.
“It’s nice to meet you, Mrs. Becker.” Ryne reaches out a hand but Mom bypasses it and wraps her arms around his shoulders, pulling him in for a hug. He looks over at me with wide eyes, his arms hanging limp.
“Mom, jeez, could you not do that?”
She releases him and steps back. “What? I like to hug.” She looks at Ryne. “I like to hug. Sorry if I made you uncomfortable, dear.”
Amazingly, he smiles at her. “It’s fine. My aunt’s the same way. I should be used to it by now.”
Mom’s face spreads into a wide grin. “Aren’t you just adorable? You should smile more often, sweetie. It’s a good look on you.” I snicker and try to cover it with a cough. Ryne shoots a mock-glare my way, making Mom laugh. “All right you two, I’ve gotta run. I left some dessert on the counter. If you need something sweet, help yourselves.”
She grabs her purse and keys, makes her way to the garage, and in another sixty seconds, there’s nothing but silence in the kitchen where we now stand. That is, until Robin Stark comes barreling around the corner, skids to a stop just barely avoiding a crash into a table leg, and then sits prettily in front of Ryne. He kneels down and pets her while I wash up.
“Do you want something to eat or drink?” I ask over my shoulder as I soap up my hands.
“Sure.” He stands up, scratches Robin Stark under the chin once more, and then steps beside me at the sink. Butterflies take flight in my stomach again when he reaches across me to the soap, his arm brushing against mine. He gets his hands all sudsy and then rinses them in the warm water.
“Hey, you’re rinsing all your grime onto my hands now.”
He snorts and my heart threatens to beat out of my chest when he gets more soap and uses it to wash both my hands and his at the same time. His wet fingers sliding between mine and over my palms feel so freaking amazing. We rinse under the water together, taking a few seconds longer than absolutely necessary, and dry off. I can finally breathe again when he steps away. I let out a quiet exhale and adjust myself while his back is to me.
“Uhh, you don’t wanna eat any of that, trust me,” I tell him quickly when he reaches toward the dessert Mom made.
He lifts the foil and takes a peek inside. It’s some kind of cake concoction. “It looks fine to me.”
“All right. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.”
