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“Fuck, that’s cold!” she said between squeaks and squeals as I unpacked my haul of floor pillows and Mexican blankets, tossing them in the bed before dropping the tailgate and climbing in after them. Her gaze wandered up to the ancient trees that hung over the river. Across the crystal-clear water, dotted with rocks. To the craggy bank across the way, back up to the slice of blue sky and pink clouds, colored by the setting sun.
“God, I love this place,” she said with a satisfied sigh. “I haven’t been here since high school.”
“I thought you’d appreciate it.”
She turned with a smile, her dress gathered in her hands, exposing her thighs without intent, just the simple truth of action. When she saw my setup, her smile turned to a smirk.
“Well, aren’t you sure of yourself.”
“Name one time this spot didn’t get me laid,” I teased.
“I can’t. Doesn’t exist,” she said on a laugh, stepping back into her flip flops so her feet didn’t get dirty.
When she reached the tailgate, I offered my hand and helped her up. Within half a minute, we were leaning against the cab, Presley under my arm, our ankles crossed in front of us, the river in our ears.
For a little while, that was all either of us needed.
“Are you okay? After all that?” she eventually asked. “With Cilla, I mean.”
I pulled her closer. “I knew what you meant. I don’t know how I am. Smitten, maybe? She’s something else. Takes after her mom.”
“So a mess.”
“The best kind of mess. But … I don’t know. There’s a … disconnect. Like my brain is trying to find the bridge between who she is, who I am, and what we are to each other. I don’t know how to be a dad,” I admitted.
“Nobody knows what they’re doing, if it’s any consolation.”
“It is. But if I’d been there from the start, I’d have a better idea on what to do now.”
She fell quiet.
“It’s okay, Pres. It’s okay that I wasn’t there.”
“I don’t know if that’s entirely true, but thank you.”
She sounded so tired. I wondered how it had been for her, doing all this alone. I wished I could have spared her that just as much as I wish I’d known Priscilla before today.
There was too much guilt for that here, now. So I changed the subject.
“What’d she say about me?”
A little laugh puffed out of her. “That you’re tall, that she’s glad you’re nice, and that you’re the Best Dad Ever, contingent on you learning how to sing Pete the Cat’s song correctly.”
“Best Dad Ever? That’s high praise for a noob.”
“Well, she’d already made you a mug, so there was really nothing to do but commit.”
“What have you told her about me? Like, when she asked about her father, I mean.”
“I made up something different all the time. That you were in the circus and got to feed all the monkeys. Or that you were a rocket scientist working on a warp engine. There were a lot of superhero references too.”
“So you set the bar low.”
“So low. Totally attainable. Zero pressure.”
“I should learn to juggle.”
“And maybe meet a monkey.”
“And probably figure out quantum physics.”
She laughed. “I missed you. I don’t know how many times I’ve daydreamed about coming to this spot with you, just like this.”
“You’re not the only one. Why do you think I brought you here first chance I got?”
“Because you’re a dog looking to score.”
“Hey, you’re the one who labeled it friends with benefits. I’m just playing the benefits card,” I joked, even though this wasn’t the label I’d have chosen.
“We should probably put together some boundaries,” she said with a lilt to her voice that told me she wasn’t serious. When she sat up and climbed into my lap, her smile backed the theory up. “Holding hands in public?”
My hands slid up her thighs. “I don’t see how I can be expected not to touch you when you’re near me whether we’re in public or not.”
“Then we’ll leave kissing and other PDA on the table too. What about dates?”
“This morning, I was promised enough time with you that I want to throttle you when the summer’s over.”
She laughed, looking down at me with the bluest eyes I’d ever seen. “It’s sounding less like friends with bennies and more like dating.”
“Call it what you will—I know what I want.” Her dress caught on my wrists as my hands moved to her hips, then her ass.
“I always liked that about you.” The sharpness in her voice was gone. Her hands slipped under my shirt.
“What else have you always liked about me?”
“You’re tall, nice, and the Best Crush Ever.” She tugged my shirt, and I sat up enough to reach behind me and pull it off.
“Best Crush Ever? High praise.” Her hands were warm against my chest. Mine found warmth elsewhere, stroking the valley between her thighs when she rose to her knees.
