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When his lips left mine and he drew back, his expression was conflicted, and for a moment he looked like he was considering doing it again. I sucked in a breath, silently wishing he would, but instead he simply stared at me as if I were a puzzle he couldn’t solve.
Like I’d done the first time he’d kissed me, I lifted my fingers and pressed them to my lips.
“What was that?” I whispered.
“I kissed you goodnight. It’s not a big deal.”
Except it felt like a big deal, and I was beginning to wonder if he didn’t understand what that phrase meant.
“Goodnight,” he added, and his gaze turned forward to stare out the windshield as he waited for me to head inside. He was tense and all out of sorts, and I got the feeling our kiss had unsettled him as much as our first one had.
Only this time, it made my heart race in a different way. How many more times could he kiss me like that and walk away unscathed?
“Goodnight,” I answered and pushed open the car door.
My dad was sitting in the living room when I came in, and it took a single glance to know he’d been waiting up for me. His arms were folded across his chest, a displeased look was fixed on his face, and his tone was brusque. “Were you out with him?”
I feigned ignorance, shifting the box so I could tuck it under an arm. “With who?”
“Preston Lowe.”
I gave him a bright smile to combat his sour mood. “Oh. Yeah.”
“Well, your mother and I have discussed it, and we’ve decided it’d be best if you don’t see him anymore.”
I stood utterly still and stared at him, and the harder I looked, the more I saw the fear hiding in his eyes. He was scared about losing control of me the same way he’d done with Colin.
My lack of response unnerved him. “Did you hear me?”
“No,” I said.
“No, you didn’t hear me, or no—”
“No,” I repeated, putting all the force behind it as I would a slap in the face.
The conversation was over as far as I was concerned, and since there was nothing left to discuss, I walked into the kitchen, leaving him looking like I’d turned his world upside down. I dropped my box off and then made my way upstairs, and it wasn’t until I shut the door to my bedroom that I realized why.
It was the first time I’d ever told him no.
From the moment I slipped behind the wheel of my father’s Audi, nervous energy began to twist my stomach. Even though I’d gotten my dad’s permission to borrow his car, I’d done it under a lie.
I drove to the movie theater on the far side of town, parked in a spot, and then waited anxiously with my phone in my hand. It was only a few minutes before his text came through, but it felt like hours.
Preston: I’m here. Are you inside already?
I lifted my gaze to the entrance of the theater and saw him making his way toward it, so I pushed open my door and got out.
“Preston,” I yelled across the rooftops of the cars separating us.
His gaze scanned the parking lot, and when it landed on me, I gave him a wave, signaling for him to come over. Confusion crossed his face. Was he wondering why I was standing beside my car and not moving for the doors? He turned and headed my direction.
“Hey.” He pulled to a stop a few feet away, and I had the strange feeling he’d done it to avoid getting too close. As if to prevent me from enticing him into giving me a kiss hello. “What’s going on?”
I’d been kind of cryptic when I’d texted him this morning, asked him to meet me here, and said I had a surprise. My voice was tight with nerves, even as I tried to make it sound relaxed. “Hop in.”
He glanced at the movie posters and showtimes that lined the front of the theater, and even more confusion filled his face. “We’re not seeing a movie?”
“No.” I swallowed a breath. “I have something else planned.”
