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My mouth goes dry as his fingers skim my leg and my heart thuds in my ears. For years I would have given my left arm to have this kind of gentle attention from Hiro, instead of his usual scowl, sarcasm, or worse, complete obliviousness to the fact that I’m in the room. I shift in my seat as he delicately presses around my abrased knee, my skirt riding up my thighs. I tense, desperately wishing he’d slide his hand higher to where my panties are suddenly soaking wet. He stills, lifting his head and meets my eyes. The car is silent and my heart pounds, the ambient neighborhood light casting his face into beautiful relief. His caress is clinical, checking me for injuries and almost as light as a brush of air over my knee, but it lights up my nerve endings like the Fourth of July and for a minute I panic that I moaned out loud.
A muscle jumps in his jaw when I wince. “I’m sorry it hurts.”
“It’s not your fault,” I whisper, squeezing my legs together to stem the ache.
Hiro sits back, thumping his head against the leather head rest. “You shouldn’t have so much as broken a nail with me.”
“Is that what my brother said?”
He closes his eyes for a second and doesn’t acknowledge my question. There’s a low buzzing and he pulls out his phone.
“Hey, how come you can use your phone?” I ask.
Holding up a hand he shoots me a dark look of annoyance. Now we’re back on familiar ground at least.
“Abbott, here.”
I can’t hear the person on the other end, but Hiro curses. “How is that even possible?” he asks, his tone frosty.
He issues a few directions that make no sense to me and then slides the phone into a slot built into the dash. He puts his arm up on the seat, twisting to look out the back and reverses out the driveway. I’m tense, responding to his body cues as he scans the road in front of him, steadily gaining speed as we approach the highway.
Wait. The highway?
“Hiro, I can’t go to your cabin, I don’t have any clothes, or any of my stuff. Let me call Henry.”
“Keep your phone off, Katie.” He spares me a glance as he smoothly maneuvers around traffic.
“But it’s almost Christmas. Is your whole family going to be there for the holiday?” Considering the amount of time Henry and Hiro spend together, I don’t actually know much about Hiro’s family. I know his mom is Japanese because I asked about his name once, but I don’t know if he has any brothers or sisters or if he had a goldfish growing up. I don’t even know his relationship status.
“My family is going to Whistler for the holiday.”
“Oh. Is your girlfriend staying with you for Christmas?”
A muscle jumps in his jaw. “I’m currently single, Katie.” He sighs. “I go to my cabin to decompress and be alone for a bit. That’s it. Your brother asked me to take care of you until he could get home so that’s what I’m doing.”
I hold up my hand, ticking off my fingers one by one. “I have no clothes, no essentials, no winter jacket or boots, I can’t use my phone and there’s just over a week left before Christmas.” I fold my arms. “This feels like a kidnapping.”
“Still so dramatic, Katie?”
What is it about Hiro that always makes me feel like a stupid little girl? “I’m just highlighting the realities.”
“Well, the reality is that your brother asked me to take care of you. Otherwise, I’d already be at my cabin with nothing but silence and a good book.”
“Just drop me at the side of the road, then. I don’t want to invade your private, quiet time.”
Hiro sighs and I hold up my hands before he can speak. “I know, I know. My brother, blah, blah, blah.” When Henry says jump, everyone does it. “I don’t know why he thinks I’m still a little girl who can’t take care of herself for a few days.”
“Has he interfered while you’ve been away at college?” Hiro asks.
I think about it. There have been a few overprotective moments, but generally, he tried to give me the independence I crave. I wrinkle my brow. “Why now? What’s happening?”
“You met that guy Tom for the first time tonight, right?”
“Yes. Karli met him a couple of months ago.”
“Isn’t she your best friend? How come you only met him tonight?”
“He doesn’t go to school with us, and I’ve been really busy trying to get things tied up with my courses.” Plus, I thought Karli was super mad at me about Owen, so when she started seeing someone, I didn’t press her about it. Owen and I are just friends, even though he might be interested in something more. I know Karli liked him and they hooked up a few times, so I thought for sure they’d end up together. He thought they were very unattached, and when he asked her if she’d talk to me about giving him a chance, she was pretty angry. Rightfully so, in my opinion, but then she said she didn’t care. I’m not really interested in being more than friends with him, and I thought I made that clear, but he’s still hanging around.
