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“Milady.” He extended his hand for me to take.
I placed mine in his and he helped me out.
We headed over to the sign and I held up my camera to snap a picture of him. He extended his arms, smiling goofily. I knew it would probably end up being one of my favorite pictures.
I switched places with him so he could take my picture and I wanted one of us together.
Dean held the camera out since his arms were longer and I stood as close to him as I could so we’d both end up in the picture—not that being close to Dean was a hardship or anything.
Before he could take the picture, I whispered his name.
He turned to look at me and I used the opportunity to my advantage, closing the distance between us and kissing him. Idly, I heard the snap of the camera.
Sinking back to the ground from where I’d been on my tiptoes I smiled up at him.
With his free hand he cupped my cheek, smoothing his thumb along my skin. I relaxed into his touch as my body hummed pleasantly.
No words were exchanged. They didn’t need to be.
When you were connected the way we were all it took was a glance or a furtive touch to convey a message.
Back in the car, Dean told me to give him random directions like I had when we arrived in Palatka.
“Straight, left, right, right, left, keep going,” I rattled. “And stop.”
“Well,” Dean chuckled, “I don’t think there’s a cupcake shop.”
It seemed we’d ended up in a mostly barren part of the town, and we were parked in front of an abandoned factory. The brick was old and dirty, and you could see the faint paint lines where the business name had once been painted but was now too blurry to read.
“And now I want a cupcake.”
“I guess you’ll have to settle for a lollipop.” He dug in the bag that sat between our seats and held a strawberry one out to me.
I grinned and took the lollipop, my fingers lingering against his.
I undid the wrapper and stuck it in my mouth.
“I think we should have a picnic,” Dean announced.
I raised a brow and pulled the lollipop from my mouth. “Don’t you kind of have to have food for that?”
He chuckled. “Yeah. I figured we could pick up some food and make a date here.”
“A date?” My eyes widened.
“Isn’t that what couples do? We haven’t had an official date yet, so…” He trailed off.
“Oh…okay.” I so wasn’t good at this whole boyfriend/girlfriend thing. It was obvious why I’d never dated much. Well, that and my dad scared most people away, which was hilarious considering he had more hedgehogs than he had kids, and knitted, but most people didn’t know that part of him. He was a drummer in a famous band and that in itself was enough to scare guys away.
Dean swallowed thickly and turned in his seat to look at me fully. “You’re okay with this, right?” He ducked his head, hiding his sadness. “I don’t want to push you into a relationship you don’t want because you feel obligated.”
“Obligated?” I lingered on the one word, completely disgusted.
“Yeah, since we’re friends. I don’t want you to think you’ll hurt my feelings if you say you don’t want this.” He waggled a finger between the two of us. “I mean, I will be hurt, but I’d be more hurt if you’re going along with this because—”
I grabbed him and kissed him to shut him up.
Letting go, I sat back and crossed my arms over my chest. “Does that seem like I’m okay with this?” I was a bit miffed with him that he’d ever think I’d be in a relationship with him because I felt bad and didn’t want to say no to my friend. He knew me, and I never held back. If I didn’t want something I made it known, and if I did, well I made that known too.
