Page 31 of Dotted Lines (Runaway 5)

“Me too.” I dragged in a long breath of his shirt. He smelled of soap and earth and Karson. My Karson. My arms snaked around his waist, and I hugged him. A real hug, with his cheek resting on my hair.

Until he loosened his hold and tipped my chin up to his face. “I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be.”

“I shouldn’t have brought it up. We should have just played cards and had fun.”

“We can still do that. If you want.” I hooked a thumb toward the tent. “Your beer is growing on me.”

“Only you could make me smile right now.” He chuckled and put an arm around my shoulders, then he steered me for the tent.

We played gin and pretended we weren’t living in a junkyard. We drank beers like other teenaged kids did to break the rules and push the boundaries.

“My lips are numb.” I dabbed my lower lip, flicking it with my index finger.

Karson laughed. “I don’t feel anything yet.”

“Really?” Was I slurring? “I feel . . . good. Aria is going to be mad that we left her out.”

“She can have the rest of mine.” He shrugged and surged to his feet. But he’d forgotten that he couldn’t stand in the center of the tent and he wacked his head on the roof. “Ow.”

I burst out laughing. “I thought you weren’t feeling anything.”

“I guess I am now.” He swayed on his feet. While I’d only had a beer and a half, Karson had nearly gone through the other four.

“She’s probably asleep.” I got to my feet, extending my arms like an airplane to find my balance. When one of my hands landed on Karson’s hot skin, I clung to his forearm, not shy about touching him. Not tonight.

What did they call alcohol? Liquid courage? I got that reference now.

My smile pinched my cheeks as I tugged Karson out of the tent. The air outside was still warm, even as the sun dipped below the horizon. The stars were just beginning to show in the royal blue sky.

“Want to watch for shooting stars?” I asked, walking toward the Cadillac. “We can make a game out of it. First one to three wins.”

“What about Aria?”

No light was coming from inside the truck. She’d always been an early riser and tended to go to bed before dark. That or she was hunkered under a blanket, consuming her book by flashlight. “She’s probably asleep.”

“’Kay. Stargazing it is.” Karson climbed onto the Cadillac’s wide hood, leaning so his back was against the windshield. Then he raised his arms and placed them beneath his head.

I scrambled to his side, settling against the metal. My jeans and shirt were going to be filthy, but in my happily beer-buzzed state, I didn’t care. These were short-term clothes anyway.

“I can’t believe you suck so much at gin and poker.” I barely got the sentence out before I broke into a fit of giggles.

“You should be saying thank you.”

“For what?”

“For letting you win.”

I scoffed. “You did not let me win.”

He stayed quiet, his gaze on the sky.

“Did you let me win?”

Still, no response.

I shifted, pushing up on an arm to look down at him. “Karson.”