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Preston jumped off his stage and looked at me. “Do we need to go to the bank tonight?”
I took the money tin from him and shook my head. “I won’t put my purse down tonight. I’ll run by there in the morning. I already texted Tish.”
“All right. Are you ready for our not a date?”
“No.”
He laughed, and the sound sent a shiver down my spine in a weirdly delicious way. “There’ll be food.”
I paused. “I’m a little more ready in that case.”
Together, we walked to the end of the tent. Preston pulled the heavy curtain aside and made a sweeping motion with his arm that said I should go first.
I couldn’t help the way my lips curled at the sight of it. I ducked out of the tent, pausing halfway to give him a mock curtsey that made him laugh, and stepped out into the heat from outside.
It was still uncomfortably warm even though the sun was no longer beating down incessantly on us. That said, it was practically freakin’ glacial after being in the tent all day with nothing more than a few electric fans that were so useless I was pretty sure they were making me even hotter.
“So. What do you want to eat?” Preston fell into step next to me.
I glanced over. His white t-shirt hugged his lean, muscular frame perfectly, and the navy-blue chino shorts he wore were loose enough that they left just enough to the imagination.
I didn’t know if I was mad about that or not.
“I really don’t mind. I’m sure any of it is better than what I can make at home.”
“Ah, I forgot you can’t cook. What did you eat last night?”
“Noodles,” I muttered. “Just noodles.”
“I’m surprised you didn’t burn them.”
“Bite me, Preston.”
“That can be arranged.”
Oh, my God.
“I didn’t mean literally,” I said. “It’s a figure of speech.”
“I know. But I was saying that, should you want it to be literal, it can be arranged.” He gave me a wolfish smile. “There’s no shame in a little nibble, Halley.” He punctuated that with a wink.
Why was my mouth dry? What was happening?
“I think sexual preferences are a little heavy for this not a date, don’t you think?”
“Depends on what your preferences are. Some light spanking and a neck nibble? Entirely appropriate. Threesomes and swinging? That’s a little too much.”
I laughed, quickly covering my mouth with my hand to hide it. “I can confirm I have zero interest in threesomes or swinging. You can add gangbangs, public fornication, dogging, and anal to that list.”
“No anal?”
“If you’d like to compare notes, let’s hop behind that milk bottle stall, and I’ll shove a cucumber up your ass so you can tell me how you like it.”
He licked his lips. “I prefer my cucumbers in a salad.”
“And I prefer dick anywhere but my ass. At least we agree on something.”
Preston pulled me against his side and squeezed. “One minute, you’re all quiet and studious, and the next, you’re using the word ‘dick’ like it’s a friendly neighborhood greeting.”
I peered up at him. “You haven’t met my neighbors.”
“I was under the impression they were two-foot-tall, fluffy, and ate your trash.”
“Oh, they’re the neighbors I like. It’s the others I don’t get along with.”
He released me, once again putting a little distance between us.
I mean, I got it.
This was not a date.
I’d said that a thousand times.
But it was a little nice having his arm around me.
Just a little.
Like cake on your period kinda nice.
“You want barbecue?” Preston asked as the Ferris’ barbecue stall came into view.
My stomach rumbled, answering the question for me. “A pulled pork sandwich sounds good.”
“With coleslaw and fries?”
“Keep the fries, leave the coleslaw.”
“You don’t like coleslaw?”
I shook my head. “You can have mine.”
“This is getting better by the minute.” He laughed and, after steering me toward an empty picnic table, deposited me on the bench. “I’ll get this. Sit here while there’s a free table.”
“All right, but I’m totally winning you a stuffed animal later.”
“I’m not sure stuffed animals are my style.”
“So I’ll win you one, then you feel so bad that you give it to me. How’s that?”
“Done. Let me line up before this gets any crazier.” Preston gave me a half-smile, the kind that was tentative yet reached his eyes, making them brighter than usual.
My stomach flipped as he took his place at the end of the line. There were several people in front of him, but it didn’t take them long to get through the waiting customers. Polystyrene containers filled with food were handed out to customer after customer, and even though I hadn’t intended on Preston buying my food, it’d turned out to be a good idea.
By the time he reached the front of the line, all the tables were crammed full. We were on a small one so there was no worry that strangers would join us, but I had to be honest, I was more worried about people I knew hijacking this.
