AllFreeNovel
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Me: Yeah?
He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named: Thanks for texting me tonight.
Me: You started it. ;) Thanks for being patient with me. Can we just…take it slow?
He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named: Whatever you want, Say. I promise.
Me: Okay. Night.
He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named: Goodnight, sweetheart.
17
Owen
“She’s here!” Grady yells from the front room, his head bobbing between the curtains. He’s been watching for almost thirty minutes. With Turner beside him, you’d think they were waiting for a celebrity to join us instead of their teacher.
Chuckling, I grab the kitchen towel before swatting them away from the front hallway.
“Give me some space. I gotta open the front door.”
The hinges squeak softly as I pull it open. A black hood covers Saylor’s wavy brown hair while the snow continues to fall freely from the sky.
“Hey, sorry I’m a little late,” she apologizes. “The traffic was crazy. You’d think people would know how to drive in the snow, but there’s always one that goes five miles per hour and ruins the road for the rest of us, ya know?”
I bite my cheek to keep from grinning at her. She’s adorable when she’s flustered.
“No worries. Come on in.”
“Hi!” Grady waves his hand back and forth from a few feet behind me. “We’ll get snacks.” Then he and Turner dart off toward the kitchen, leaving Saylor and me alone with a giant-ass elephant in the room.
“Can I, uh, take your coat?” I offer.
“Oh. Yeah. Thank you.” She slides it off her shoulders, then hands it to me.
After hanging it up in the coat closet, I turn back to her. “Don’t mention it.”
She nods and lets out a deep breath. I nod in return as an awkward silence settles over us.
“So….” Her voice trails off as she rocks back on her heels.
“So…,” I repeat.
Pursing her lips, she tucks her hands into the back pockets of her jeans while I cross my arms over my chest and watch her squirm.
“This is awkward,” she blurts out.
I laugh. “Sorry. I just…the ball’s in your court.”
“And if it weren’t?”
“Then I would’ve gotten a sitter and would be kissing the shit out of you as soon as you walked in the door.”
Her button nose scrunches as a blush spreads across her cheeks. “You did not just say that.”
“You know I’m not one to mince words,” I counter. “But since the ball is in your court, and I’m not 100% sure what you’re looking for by coming over today….”
“I’m looking for….” Her shoulders almost touch her ears as she shrugs. “Normal. Easy.”
