Page 57 of Wild Card 13

Ty.

The truck rumbled to life beneath us.

A song played quietly through the speakers. Something classic and familiar. The kind of music that always seemed to live inside his truck.

He backed out of the parking spot one-handed.

I watched him for a second. The relaxed grin. The way he drummed his fingers against the steering wheel.

He caught me looking. "What?"

I looked away instantly. "Nothing."

"You're doing the thing."

I frowned. "What thing?"

"The staring thing."

Heat immediately rushed into my cheeks. "I was not staring."

"Uh-huh."

I grabbed the nearest note card and tossed it at him.

Ty batted it effortlessly as it floated to the floorboard before reaching him. "She likes me."

"Oh my God."

"She's impressed and she thinks I'm handsome."

I groaned into my hands. Out of the corner of his eye, Ty looked entirely too pleased with himself. When I finally peeked back up, he was smiling at me in that way that still made my stomach feel weird.

Ty reached for my hand, lacing our fingers together. His hand guided mine to his mouth as he kissed the back of it gently, never taking his eyes off the wet road.

“Fine, I was staring,” I admitted softly.

Ty looked completely vindicated.

"I've accepted that I have a problem." I laughed.

"Admitting it is the first step," he chuckled.

"I don't want help." My laugh echoed through the chilled truck as the heat failed to keep up with the melting weather. Ty immediately looked smug about being responsible for it.

The city lights blurred softly beyond the windshield as Betsy rumbled through the evening traffic.

For once, neither of us seemed particularly interested in getting anywhere. Every red light became another excuse to keep talking. Every turn became another reason not to say goodnight yet.

Ty drove with one hand on the wheel and the other wrapped loosely around mine across the center console. Every so often his thumb brushed against my skin absentmindedly. The simple contact had become so familiar over the last few months that I barely thought about it anymore.

Which was a lie. I thought about it every single time. I just pretended I didn't.

Outside, Northbend glowed beneath the last traces of daylight. Storefronts flickered to life along Main Street. Restaurant windows cast warm pools of light onto the sidewalks. Cars drifted past in the opposite direction while the radio hummed quietly beneath our conversation.

"This is weird."

Ty glanced over. "What is?"