Page 123 of Flirty Fall Fling

Half a second, maybe less, Blaire shakes her head. “I lost it recently.”

“Oh no,” the woman says.

“So, if you find a platinum band with a solitary diamond anywhere, it’s mine,” she tells the woman. Even I’m convinced. “But he promised he’d buy me a new one.”

She reaches for my hand, and I give it to her. The band starts up again and swallows the rest of our conversation.

She leans into me. “Want to get out of here?”

“Thought you’d never ask,” I say.

We leave, both smiling as we remove our masks. I kiss her before she slides into the Mustang.

We make our way down the mountain, and I make it eleven miles before my hand comes off the steering wheel and settles on her thigh. Every quarter of a mile, it inches up a little higher. She doesn’t stop me, just rests her hand on mine, letting me lead the way. Her legs slightly part, giving me all the permission I need. She rests her head against the seat and braces herself with the other hand on the door. I drive the pass one-handed while I take her apart at thirty miles per hour.

“Eyes on the road,” she moans, letting me feel how wet she is.

I take my time with her because there’s nowhere to be.

When she gets close, she grabs my forearm and rides it out. She comes apart before we climb the next ridge that leads to Pine Haven.

She’s breathless. “You’re a menace.”

“You needed it.”

“I did.”

When we pull into the driveway of the cabin, the moon is hanging high in the sky.

It’s full and glowing bright.

She’s out of the car, standing in the middle of the driveway with her head tipped back, and every inch of that yard has gone silver.

“Come here,” she says, laughing.

“It’s twenty degrees.”

“I know.” She shivers. She looks at me. “Howl with me.”

I chuckle, and she playfully smacks me. Then she grabs our masks. We put them over our heads, and then we holler at the moon.

Our voices echo off the trees, followed by our laughter. We do it a few more times until my throat aches. It’s returned by some coyotes in the distance.

“So, at midnight, do we transform back into humans?” I ask.

“Maybe you should follow me inside and find out.”

I do that very thing.

The cabin’s warm. Her mask comes off in the doorway. Mine hits the floor somewhere beside hers.

We don’t make it past the couch. She pushes me back onto the cushions and then drops to her knees between my legs. She works the buttons on my jacket, and I shift to take it off. My shirt is tossed behind the couch. That’s when my phone slides out of the pocket and goes straight down between the cushions. There’s a hole in the lining, and I can hear it land somewhere under the springs. I dig past the springs and come up with a guitar pick, then a dime, and the cap of a pen.

Then my fingers brush across metal. I pinch around it and pull out a silver ring with one small diamond.

Her eyes widen, and her mouth falls open. Neither of us moves for a second.

I take her hand from my knee, sliding the ring onto her finger. I rub my thumb once across her knuckle. The temperature in the room changes.