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“How’s it… um, going?” I asked. I went over to sit on my bed, where Isa was taking a nap. I sat beside her and stroked her head.
“We weren’t doing anything bad, if that’s what you’re asking,” Grant said as he pulled a t-shirt over his head.
“Sure you weren’t,” I teased.
“We’re all adults here. But you know, just in case…” Lucas conjured a condom and tossed it at Grant.
He caught it, and his face fell when he realized what it was. “We weren’t—I wasn’t—”
“You guys can fool around whenever you want. Just maybe give us some warning,” I suggested.
“The last thing I want to see is your naked ass,” Lucas cracked.
“You mean you don’t want to see this?” Grant shook his butt in Lucas’s direction, and Lucas shoved him away. He fell onto the bed.
“Jokes aside, you two have nothing to be ashamed of,” I said. “And no pressure, either. Just use protection, okay?”
“Believe me, the condom box will see its fair share of use before we graduate.” Talia gestured to the jewelry box on her dresser. We’d been keeping condoms in there since our first semester.
“They don’t need to know how often we use it,” Grant hissed, but it was more a joke than anything. Either way, he seemed eager to change the subject. “You guys wouldn’t happen to have dinner plans, would you?”
Lucas shook his head. “No, why?”
“Talia and I are planning a date tonight. We were going to get dinner on The Hearse, then see a show at Starlight, but the show would start before we finished dinner. I don’t want the tickets to go to waste. Do you want them?”
Grant held out two tickets for The Hearse, the traveling diner set inside a limousine.
I shrugged. “It sounds like fun. I have dialysis tonight, but I should be finished in time for dinner.”
“If you call them, you can schedule a pickup time,” Talia said.
Lucas took the tickets from Grant. “Thanks, guys. This sounds great. How much do I owe you?”
Grant waved his hand. “Don’t worry about it. Just have fun.”
That night, Lucas met up with me outside the hospital after dialysis. He was alone, as we’d left Oliver and Isa back at school. He was dressed in a button-down shirt and nice slacks, and he’d combed his hair back in this really sexy way. He eyed me up and down when he saw me. The desire in his eyes made me blush under his gaze. I wore a modest black dress with warm tights, nice boots, and a leather jacket over top.
“You look hot,” he told me, holding his elbow out to me.
I hooked my arm through his. “Thank you. You’re looking pretty fine yourself.”
His gaze darted down to my lips. He lowered his voice and whispered, “Maybe later I can get that dress off you.”
“I’ll be disappointed if you don’t,” I teased, before leaning over to kiss him.
As I drew away, I heard the sound of a vehicle approaching. The Hearse pulled up in front of us, and a man emerged from the limo to hold the door for us. Lucas handed him our reservation tickets, and we climbed inside.
The Hearse was the size of a train on the inside, big enough to fit at least a hundred people. It was Friday night, so the restaurant was packed. Soft, warm lighting illuminated the red tablecloths. Water trickled down the windows, like a beautiful waterfall. Overhead, we could look out through the moonroof at the twinkling stars. It all felt very romantic.
We passed by a group of students crowded around a large table. I didn’t know most of them, but I recognized Mira. She was Leroy’s younger sister, the girl who’d confronted me outside my dorm on our first day back. She caught sight of me passing by and whispered something to her friend. They both burst out laughing.
My mood soured, but I ignored them and followed the host to a small table near the back. He seated us near a platform, where a woman sat playing piano. I recognized her as Monica, a woman who ran a music shop downtown. Talia had brought me to Hallowed Harmonica a few times to shop the collection of antiques.
Monica’s beautiful tune filled the car, and I instantly relaxed at the calm music. I remembered Talia had told me Monica’s Mentalist powers could influence a person’s emotion through music. She was really good at it, because I hadn’t felt this relaxed in a long time.
“How was your day?” Lucas asked once we’d ordered our drinks.
“It was good.” I could see the town passing by as a blur of color behind the waterfall windows, but the ride was so smooth it barely felt like we were moving. “I visited the nursing home before dialysis. Rose and I finished our puzzle.”
