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She gave him adon’t lie to melook.
He sighed. “Okay, fine. I do feel a little weird drinking in front of you. I don’t want you worrying about my immortal soul while we watch a movie.”
Their church didn’t prohibit alcohol, but she’d been taught by her grandparents that drinking was a gateway to sinful behavior, so she understood why he might think she’d judge him for it. But it made her realize that if she was going to hang out with Auden at all, she needed to be more open with him about what she was going through. She closed the fridge door.
“I think we need to talk.”
He leaned back against the counter and set the paper plates aside. “Okay.”
She took a breath. “I know how I must look to you.”
“How you look.” A wrinkle appeared between his brows.
“Yeah, like the naïve girl from your church who’s going to faint at the mere thought of breaking any rule,” she said.
He remained silent, neither confirming nor denying.
“I’m not going to lie,” she went on, mustering up the courage to have this conversation. “This is all very new for me. But I’m also not a child. I’m not at school with your sister because Iwantedto experience life outside that walled garden. I’m…feeling out where I stand on things. Investigating. Making my own decisions.”
“Where you stand on things,” he said, his gaze intent on her, like he was trying to figure out what shewasn’tsaying in between all things she was managing to say aloud.
“Yes, like right now, I’m not tempted to have one of those beers. But I also don’t care if you and Lennox drink. So my stance on beer is apparently—not for me at this moment but fine for those who want to.” She tilted her chin upward. “And my grandparents had a rule about not being alone with guys. I’ve clearly decided to break that one tonight.”
Auden gave her a look of warning. “Rules like that last one need to be on a case-by-case basis.”
She narrowed her eyes at his firm tone. “What do you mean?”
“Being alone with me is fine. You’re safe with me,” he said, pushing off the counter and coming a little closer. “But if some new dude you meet at school asks you to come over to hang out with just his guy friends like this, bring a friend with you.”
She shifted and crossed her arms, uncomfortable.
“Your grandparents assume every guy has bad intentions. They don’t. But they don’t all havegoodintentions either,” he said, expression serious. “You need to be smart about it and protect yourself. Usually, an extreme rule has a grain of truth worth paying attention to at the heart of it. At least that’s what I’ve found.”
“Like which ones?” she asked.
“Like drinking, for instance,” he said. “Drinking a little can be fun or relaxing. But too much and you make stupid decisions or get yourself in bad situations. So if you ever decide to drink, drink around people you trust, make sure someone sober is driving, and never leave your drink unattended because people can slip stuff into it.”
She rubbed her arms as goosebumps prickled. The information wasn’t news to her but was a stark reminder that some of the things her grandparents had warned her about had some scary truth to them.
“I’m not trying to freak you out,” he said gently. “But we came from a black-and-white world. This world is gray. In some ways, the extreme rules are easier because there’s no room for error. If you’re never allowed to drink or be around a guy, you never have to worry about someone slipping something into your drink. But it also means that you miss out on the good parts of having fun with friends, going out, dating, and all the stuff that goes along with that.” He shrugged. “The price for this kind of freedom is that there aren’t always clear answers, and you’ll make some mistakes along the way.” He smiled. “Ask me how I know drinking too much leads to stupid decisions.”
She smirked. “What happened?”
“It involves waking up freshman year on the soccer field wearing the head of the Bennette Bears mascot and nothing else.”
She put her hand over her mouth, snort-laughing. “Oh my God.”
His hazel eyes were sparkling with humor. “Wasn’t pretty. I think I traumatized the groundskeeper. Landed myself the nickname the Bare-Assed Bear for the remainder of freshman year.”
“Your sister would die if she heard that story,” she said, still laughing.
“Which is why you definitely won’t tell her,” he said with a cocked brow.
She sobered at that. “I wouldn’t. Seriously. What happens at Bennette, stays at Bennette.”
His dimple appeared, making her stomach flip-flop. “Good. And if that’s the case, grab me a beer and a water for Len.”
“No beer for him?” she asked, turning back to the fridge, thankful for a way to hide the heat in her face.
