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“I don’t want Sav to see this mess.” Whitney dabbed her face with her sleeve.
“She won’t. Let’s clean up and you can tell me about your amazing plans for my birthday.” I walked to her small Ikea bookshelf, reshelving the books that had been carelessly thrown to the floor. Whitney mirrored my movements, folding her clothes and placing them gently into her dresser.
“First, we were going to go to dinner at Creek Side,” she said with a hint of excitement creeping into her voice. “I already talked to the restaurant about a two-course menu with your favorites.” She turned back to me to give me a shy smile.
“Clam chowder and mac and cheese?” I guessed.
Her eyes lit up. “Mayyybbee.”
I threw my head back and laughed. A small smirk made a quick appearance on her face as she continued to clean up.
“What would we do next?” I asked, curiosity getting the better of me.
“Well, after dinner we’d go miniature golfing, and I was going to let you win.” She winked.
My heart stopped for a second. A cold sweat broke out across my skin at my uncertainty of how to respond. We’d teased each other before, but we’d never winked at each other.
Was this flirting?
Weneverflirted or came close to it. I knew because I held back at times. We never crossed that invisible boundary between us.
I cleared my throat. “What about dessert?”
Whitney put her hand to her chest and laughed. “As if you even have to ask.”
We stared at each other for a second. “Barb’s!” we said at the same time.
Whitney walked backwards until the edge of the bed forced her to sit.
“That was the plan at least.” She clutched her hands together and set them on her lap while searching my face. “I’m going to assume that telling you about my amazing plan is just as great as actually doing everything on the amazing plan.” Whitney laughed again, but this time it held no mirth.
“Who says we aren’t going to do all those things?” I reached my hands out, pulling Whitney to her feet.
A confused frown crossed her face. “Do you have amnesia? Do I need to be worried?” She put her hand on my forehead as if checking for a temperature. “My money has been stolen. That means your birthday is canceled. No money, no birthday adventure.”
I gently steered Whitney out of her room, making sure she kept her feet moving in a forward direction. Detours were bad and would lead her to thinking more, which would only spell trouble for us both.
“We might not have the birthday money from you for this little adventure, but fortunately my parents didn’t know what to get me for my birthday, so they just gave me cash to spend on whatever I wanted. And I want to make this happen.”
Whitney pinched her eyes shut. “Jack.”
“Don’t. I want to do this. I promise.”
When we exited the house, I let Whitney lock the door, before sliding my hand around her elbow and navigating her to the car. She seemed a little stunned, and her face was grave. “I don’t want you to have to spend your own money on this.”
“Why not? You have this amazing excursion planned and I have no idea what I’d spend that money on otherwise.”
Whitney grimaced. A hundred dollars would be a huge help to her and her sister. But that’s why her wanting to spend her hard-earned money on me made it all that more special. The money from my parents was a drop in the bucket for them, they wouldn’t miss it.
“I can work some extra shifts this month and take you out in a few weeks,” Whitney tried to argue.
“Nope, you already saved money once for this. I’m not going to let you do it again.” Her shoulders dropped slightly in relief, as we stood in front of my car. We both knew Whitney couldn’t afford to save twice to splurge on my birthday.
“Let’s get in.” I opened the door for her, looking away as she climbed into my truck, her bare legs on full display. I averted my gaze as quickly as possible and held back my groan. I slammed the car door shut after hearing the resounding click of her seat belt and thought about football.
Chapter 17
Jack
