As we step towards Sadie, he takes my hand and laces our fingers together. I glance up at him in surprise.
“Just go with it, Devon.”
Another laugh leaves me as a rush of air from my nose. “Cocky,” I say again.
This time, he grins, but doesn’t argue.
CHAPTER 04: AARON
Sadie turns to us with an assessing gaze. “It goes without saying, but I’m going to say it, anyway. I had an idea. If you aren’t comfortable with it, please tell me.”
Devon and I have completely opposite reactions, and the difference is comical. Where he’s cautious, I’m extremely fucking excited. What sort of scheme has she come up with that might make us—him,specifically—uncomfortable?
“Uh, what kind of idea?” Devon flexes his fingers, then seems to remember we’re holding hands. He pulls away with a glance in my direction that’s either nervous or annoyed.
Likely both.
I breathe a quiet laugh. Kitten’s claws are out again.
Sadie walks over and lifts her camera. In the picture she shows us, my fingers are tucked under Devon’s chin as he looks up at me. I’m so focused on the subtle part of his lips that it takes me a moment to notice the way she’s framed his car in the background.
“The car fits the theme so well,” she explains, then turns around and focuses on Devon. “How would you feel about using it in some pictures?”
He fidgets with his skirt, and I fight the urge to reach over and pull it from between his fingers. “How so?”
She flashes a reassuring smile to counter his wariness. “I’ve got so many ideas. Outside the car, maybe sitting on the hood?” She lifts the end of the words, turning them into a question as she gauges Devon’s reaction. “And some that could be inside, especially with the top down.”
Devon continues to gnaw on his lip while glancing at his car. The paint job shimmers from a recent wash in the evening sun. Even without knowing its significance, he obviously takes meticulous care of it.
I rest my hand on his lower back, and he tilts his face in my direction. “Tell you what,” I say as I lean in, “if we scuff it, I’ll help you buff it out.”
“Oh?” he counters, though he’s slowly losing his sass. “How do you plan on doing that? It’ll be dark when we leave here.”
“You’ll just have to give me your number so I can make good on it.”
He rolls his eyes, but a pleased pink tints the apples of his cheeks.
“I’ll consider it,” he says, and I try not to let my optimism show on my face. I’m nothing if not stubborn, and I’ll be damned if he’s going to leave me without a way to contact him.
“If you don’t give it to me, I’ll have to park at that stop sign and wait for you to go barreling through again.”
“Oh my god,” he groans with a laugh. “If you get it, it’s only because it would do me good to have a mobile car wash at my beck and call.”
“That it would.” I wiggle my brows. “Shirtless car wash, on demand. Think of the benefits.”
“What are the benefits besides a clean car and a shirtless hottie?”
“Those aren’t enough?!” I demand.
He rolls his eyes again, fighting a smile as he turns to Sadie. “Yeah, we can use it.”
“You’re sure?” she asks, and he nods more confidently this time.
Sadie claps her hands with another of those excited squeals, and we head over to the car. She returns to her creative process, kneeling and holding the camera up as she tries to find the best angles for the shot.
“Alright, Devon,” she says from behind the lens. “I’m going to have you sit on this corner, right over the headlight.”
He lifts himself up, careful not to risk the paint job by moving too much. When he settles, his spread knees flash more of that pale skin on the inside of his thighs.
