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“Who knew plunging into cold water was an aphrodisiac?” I laugh.
He digs into the duffel bag, handing me my clothes. “I hate that we have to get dressed and go.”
“We can go home, order some takeout, and do it all over again,” I say, and he turns his head and looks at me. “What?”
He captures my bottom lip with his teeth, pulling me closer before he kisses me thoroughly. “Nothing. Sounds perfect.”
We both get dressed and climb into the front seat. Well, I climb. He gets out and back in. We wait a few minutes for the steam to disappear from the windows, then we make the trip back to Lake Starlight, hand in hand.
My stomach flips every time I think about being with him. And although Sawyer did slip into my mind momentarily, I wasn’t overcome with grief or guilt. I have no idea how to describe the feeling inside me, but it’s almost freeing, as if I dropped a backpack full of bricks I’ve been carrying for years.
We got home and took a shower, then dressed in our pajamas—me with no underwear and him in pajama pants with no shirt and no underwear. We got Wok For U and ate out of the cartons, watching a little of The Mindy Project, but our hands were too busy roaming each other’s bodies to pay attention to what was going on.
Now I have my sketchbook and I’m sitting across the room on the chair while Van lies on the couch naked, trying to look as though he’s not trying to be sexy. He’s failing miserably.
“You said you’d model, so sit still.” I use my pencil to fix one of my lines.
“No one will ever see this, correct?” This is the tenth time he’s asked.
“It’s a very complimentary drawing.”
“I do not want a naked picture of me out there.”
“It’s a drawing. Now relax. I have to get your abs right.”
He finally quiets down and lies still for me. The only sound for a while is my pencil on the sketchpad, and it’s calming to me.
“Have you drawn anything since I got it for you?” he asks.
I nod, my eyes not leaving the paper. “I have.”
“What?”
I shrug. “Some flowers, some shapes, objects. No faces or anything.”
“Does sketching make you happy?”
“Yes.” I smile and look up at him.
He shoots me a smile back. “Ever thought of tattooing like your dad?”
I shake my head, eyes wide. “No way. The idea of being the one to put something permanent on someone’s skin is terrifying. They mean a lot to some people. I mean, my mom and her siblings all have this one tattoo that my dad drew to honor their parents. My dad said it was when he first knew he had a chance with my mom—when she came to him for a tattoo that meant so much to her. Although they still didn’t get together for years. But I mean, like, your tattoos, how did you trust the person?”
He glances at his arms. “Usually you’ve seen their work or you hear about them from a friend. Your dad has a great reputation. A few of my friends have come here just to get him to work on them.”
“Really?” I guess I never thought of my dad as having a fan base. I mean, everyone in Lake Starlight loves him because he’s Liam Kelly and does anything for anyone. “That’s kind of cool.”
“I think so. Maybe I’ll get him to do something for me before I leave.”
I cough and cover my mouth. “Maybe wait on that just a bit.”
It’s not that my dad doesn’t like Van, he doesn’t really know him, but he worries that Van isn’t the type of person for me. Mostly because he thinks I should be with someone like Sawyer.
Dad thought Sawyer was great. Reliable, steady, and stable were his words for him. That was after they got over the fact I was marrying so young. Dad looked at me before he walked me down the aisle, while I was a ball of nerves thinking everyone was right and maybe we were making a mistake. My dad said, “I’ll never have to worry about you. He’s a good one. I couldn’t have picked better myself.”
“I should talk to him,” Van says. “It’s not right that I’m sleeping with his daughter, and he barely knows me.”
“It’s not like we’re dating. You’re leaving soon, and after that, it won’t matter.”
