Page 46 of Let the Light Shine Through

“Just two now.”

“Real—”

I tug Gia to me and press my lips to hers, except this time, I’m the one pulling away when she tries to deepen it. Her eyebrows draw together over her still closed eyes.

“Thank you.”

She finally looks up at me, grinning, and asks, “For what?”

“Listening.”

Roz

Gia wouldn’t let me walk her to the front door, but she did leave another kiss on my truck’s passenger side window, so…there’s that. I never got around to washing the first one off, so now there are two of Gia’s lip marks to tease the fuck out of me each and every time I drive somewhere.

I’m reversing out of her driveway when I notice her phone still on the passenger seat and I weigh my options for all of three seconds before shifting into Drive to pull forward again. Luckily, it’s the same model as mine, so with one swipe, I turn on her Bluetooth, then AirDrop her my number. There. Now she can get ahold of me…if she wants to.

At the front door, it gets a little more complicated. I obviously can’t call her, but I also don’t want to leave her phone on the doorstep. I don’t want to risk waking her dad up either. He seems like an asshole.

Hoping she’s still nearby, I knock, wincing at the loud interruption to the peaceful morning. Almost instantly the door flies open, but not with Gia on the other side.

Gia’s dad—I’m guessing—greets me with a confused sort of frown. He’s wearing a polo shirt with the collar popped and a kitchen towel thrown across his shoulder.

Now I’m the one confused. I thought he’d be sleeping.

“Oh, uh—” I stammer, trying to think of a lie for why I’m here. If only I could recite a Bible verse under the guise of pushing some religion, but fuck, I can’t even remember a full one to spout.

Why do I have to lie? We’re both consenting adults.

“Gia forgot this.” I jiggle the phone between us but keep my eyes on his. If he flinches…I don’t know. What could I even do? I’m not fucking running, that I do know, but can I actually beat up Gia’s dad?

Why am I considering beating him up at all? Do I need to beat him up?

“Why the hell are you knocking then?”

“It’s—”

His face relaxes into the same secretive smile his daughter wears, then he turns around, saying, “Just come in,” before disappearing down the hallway. From somewhere farther inside, he says, “It’s for you.”

Gia’s head pops into the hall. “Don’t just stand there. Come in already.”

Um, what? So, her dad’s not upset I’m here? And they’re both okay with dudes just walking in their front door?

Gia takes her phone from my hand before settling herself on one of the stools at the kitchen peninsula, and without lifting her eyes from it, she pats the stool next to her.

Only when I’m seated does she finally look at me, shaking her head and tsking, “Tricky.”

My eyebrows jump and she gestures to my number still displayed on her screen.

“Maybe if you would’ve let me walk you to the door, I could’ve given it to you normally,” I say through unmoving lips.

“What’s that? What happened?” Gia’s dad asks.

Gia keeps her eyes on mine but speaks to him, saying, “Roz is mad I didn’t invite him in.”

The back of my neck heats. Jesus Christ.

When I glance up, her dad’s looking at me expectantly.