Page 143 of These Secret Years

“It’s a small, charming lake town. A huge hit with tourists. Have you not noticed?”

“Maybe I’m too much of a townie,” he says. “Seems really boring to me—especially for someone who travels as much as you guys do.”

I shrug. “I guess our house is pretty nice.”

He squeezes my knee between his. “A whole week, huh?”

I nod, watching him carefully.

“What happens if you get sick of me?”

“I won’t.”

His brows lift. “What if I get sick of you?”

“I don’t know. What does happen?”

His smile is sweet, almost sad. “I won’t either.”

And this is where I ache for him. If he hadn’t been so hurt—if he hadn’t been so goddamn traumatized—I would reach for him. I would start this one whole week off with a kiss and as many orgasms as we could wring out of each other. It’s how I know I love him—because I’ll take him like this, too. Forever, if that’s the way it has to be.

“We don’t have to stay in the whole time, you know,” I say. “We could go get drinks tonight, throw some darts.”

He laughs. “I am not playing darts with you.”

I put my hand over my heart like I’m wounded. “Why?”

“Because I have a shit arm, and you’re the MVP. It’s not happening. I never got to practice my dart game in the fun room freshman year.”

“You never asked. I would have been happy to let you come in. Even use the air fryer. I would have bumped you to the front of the line.”

“I have to admit, I was never interested in the air fryer. But Wii Sports? I used to be really good at golf once upon a time.”

“I can go grab it from the house if you want.”

His eyes sparkle. “Maybe.”

“Why didn’t you ever come around?” I ask.

“Because…” He looks out the window. “You guys were the football team, and I was just…some guy who’d blown you in the woods on a night when anything seemed possible.”

I tilt my head and ask, “What does the space of that night look like?”

The corner of his mouth twitches up as his gaze lifts toward the fluffy clouds in the bright blue sky. “Like a warm blanket shot through with stars. It’s perforated. It’s also shaped like falling leaves. A little bit.”

I snort.

“Look, if you can’t see it, it’s just because you’re a big, dumb jock.”

Our knees sway between us as we grin at each other. Fuck me, I want to kiss him so much, but I know better than to make the first move. I’m too fast, and I’m too big, and on the few occasions where I forgot myself and attempted it, the way he went stiff hurt like a blow to the chest. Not that he ever pushes me away, but only because he doesn’t have to. I can always tell when I’m being too much.

“All right, anyway. I have a question for you,” I say. “Yes or no. Do you trust me?”

“Yes,” he says.

“Then here’s what I wanna do this week. Main thing. Number one priority—you ready?”

He laughs. “Yes.”