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Just as I opened my mouth to tell him so, he jerked his eyes toward the exit and swung his hand across him. “Alright, get out of here, Bennett.” He bounced his finger at me. “But I’m following you to make sure you get there alright, though. So, don’t get all panicky when you see someone creeping behind you.”
My mind was blown, and I just stood there trying to regain my senses as I pretended to straighten his shirt while I waited for my knees to quit shaking. “Okay. But we’re going to meet up tomorrow, right?”
Dragging his fingers along my jawline until they came together and pinched my chin, he winked as he backed into the darkness. “Girl, I’m going to be all up in your face every day from now on. Count on that.”
I was so wired I could have stayed up talking with him all night. Honestly, I was half afraid I’d wake up and find out I was only dreaming this whole thing up. But when the message notification on my phone went off the next day, I opened my eyes just in time to see his message fading away. ‘Good morning, baby.’
27
Every Chance I Get
Faith
When I walked into the kitchen, a cup of coffee was already waiting by the pot. The newspaper page turned, and Dad jostled it just a little to flatten it out again. “Where did you say this house was?”
Peeking out the window to the street below the hill, I shrugged at him in the reflection. “Not sure. He only said he thought it was the one for me.”
Clearing his throat, he folded the newspaper and slid it away from him. “So, how did things go with Dom?”
Letting the mug hover at my lips to wake me up, I replayed the whole thing to myself. “Like we never missed a beat.” My chin brushed my shoulder so I could look at him. “So don’t have a heart attack if you run into him in the hallway in the middle of the night.”
Leaning back in his chair, he laughed gently from his nose and nodded as he clasped his hands across his belly. “I’m glad to hear that. I always did like that boy.”
A gray van zoomed up the driveway, and I took one more sip before I dumped the coffee into the sink. “Alright. Got to run.” I grabbed my pocketbook from the countertop and bent down to kiss the top of his head. “Love you.”
When I closed the back door behind me, Carolyn was still cleaning stuff off the passenger seat. I opened the passenger door, and she sighed at herself as she frantically smacked away crumbs from my seat. “Sorry about this. I want to say it isn’t such a mess, but” — she tossed a paper bag of fast food behind her seat — “that would be a damn lie.”
I slid across the seat and pulled the door shut. “Don’t worry about it. I don’t even have kids, and my car doesn’t look any better after the drive here.”
She tore open a strawberry-scented tree air freshener with her teeth and wafted it around us before she hung it from the rearview mirror. “That’s a little better.”
What should have been a three-point turn out of Dad’s driveway ended up a ten that took out at least one of his hostas. “Shit. Tell him I’ll buy him a new one.” Waiting for the next car to pass at the edge of the road, she glanced over at me. “How did everything go last night when I left?”
Shrugging back at her, I did a blind sweep of the bottom of my purse with my fingers. “Okay, I guess.”
Right on queue, she smacked my arm with the back of her hand when I didn’t give her enough gossip. “You know what I mean. Spill it.”
A piece of grape bubble gum popped into my mouth, and I handed her the last one from the pack. “Nothing. He kissed me goodnight and followed me home before he drove off.” My lip balm wiggled loose from the little pocket I kept it in. “I think we might get together for dinner.”
“Awe.” She crisscrossed her wrists over the steering wheel while we passed the schoolyard. “I’m so happy for you guys.”
Slathering the gloss between my lips, I slid around on my hip to face her. “What I’m dying to find out is what happened between you and Jason while we wandered off.”
It’s funny the things she thought were so mediocre about the boy were the same things that made her smile like that this time. “He’s so sweet and funny and normal. You know?” The wheel slid through her hands as she made the next left turn to the nicest street in town. “Plus, when he asked if I wanted to bring the kids over to use the pool sometime, I nearly climbed up on his lap and jammed my tongue down his throat.”
A finger left the steering wheel and swung back and forth. “A dozen men have asked me out since I got divorced, but not one of them has ever mentioned wanting to meet my boys before.” Blowing a wisp of hair from her face, she flipped up both hands toward the road. “I don’t want to get my hopes up, though. He’s a really successful real estate whatever, and I’m sure he has tons of women interested in him.”
The big white house with columns like a Greek estate that haunted me for the last two decades came up on the right, and I scooched down a bit to see if Dom’s truck was there. “He’s a decent guy. So, if you like him, go for it.”
Across the interstate where the apple orchards started, she made another turn onto a long gravel driveway. “Whoa.” I bent down to see the massive traditional mega-home with double glass doors through the trees. “Jason lives here?”
“Mmm-hmm.” Turning down the stereo as she slowed to keep from stirring up dust, she joined me in gawking at what kids like us would call a brick mansion. “I told you he was super successful.”
It took so long to take in the complete picture that I didn’t notice Dom’s truck until we pulled up to the garage. “You didn’t say Dom was coming along.” The visor mirror flipped down, and I rushed to straighten my hair before she took the keys from the ignition. “I barely put on any makeup at all.”
The door opened, and she hopped down from the driver’s seat. “I had no idea.” She wiggled her legs to work her shorts back in place. “Stop worrying. You never needed makeup anyway, you lucky bitch.”
Just as I shut the door behind me, Jason stepped out of the garage and waved us inside. “Come on. Let me give you the tour.”
