I laughed, but she kept going, quieter now.
“I think the worst part is they’ve never once made me feel like a disappointment.” She shoved her hands into the back pockets of her shorts. “Which somehow makes me feel like one anyway.”
For a moment the only sound between us was the distant buzz of traffic from Aurora.
Emily blinked like she’d just realized how long she’d been talking.
“…Anyway.”
She snapped her gum once, sharply, and pointed at a red Jeep a few spots ahead.
“Enough therapy for the day. What about this one?” she said briskly, snapping her bright smile right back into place like the mask had never slipped at all. “You look like a Jeep guy. Rugged. Outdoorsy. I bet you like to hike. I bet you would also get off on doing that whole weirdduckingthing they do.”
“Why do I feel like there’s something sexual in that question that I’m missing?”
“It’s a very innocent tradition between Jeep owners, you pervert.” She smirked, tapping her nails up my arm. “But anytime you want to talk about sex, just say the word. Or we could skip the whole talking bit and get straight to action.”
I wet my lips on a half-smile, shaking my head. My fingers moved to her hips, feeling the warmth beneath my hands. She froze for a split second, her eyes widening in surprise, and I took a slow, almost imperceptible breath, cataloging the curve of her waist, the way her weight shifted slightly against me.
Before either of us could dwell on it, I lifted her with ease, holding her just long enough to feel the slight tremor of tension running through her. She didn’t resist, but her hands hovered near mine, brushing lightly against my forearms.
I set her down gently, stepping back only slightly, my thumb tracing an invisible line across her hipbone before letting go. Her gaze stayed locked on me, a mixture of mischief and something softer that made my chest tighten.
We started walking along the row of cars together, close enough that I could feel the warmth radiating from her, and I couldn’t help the brief, guilty thrill of just how much I wanted to close that small distance again.
“You’ll be the death of me,” I said.
“At least it’ll be a pleasurable way to go.”
Emily
Four-and-a-half hours into our car shopping day, Braden was conflicted.
At least, heshouldhave been conflicted — but really, it was just me trying to make a conundrum when he’d already made up his mind.
“You’re making a mistake,” I sang.
“And you’re making me regret letting you come today,” Braden sang in return. He had quite a nice singing voice, actually. I added that to the list of things that made him attractive, which was a mile long at this rate.
The fact that he’d asked about my family, listened so intently to me, hadn’t judged, and also had let me drop it when I was ready to was currently at the top of the list.
How hot he looked in the black cap he wore was right beneath that. I particularly loved the way his hair curled out from under the edge of it. I wondered if it was messy underneath that cover, if that usual wave was more disheveled today.
Almost two hours had passed since the conversation about my parents, and I was still a little shocked that it had happenedat all. I supposed I shouldn’t have been. It’s not like what I shared was groundbreaking or top secret. But I was always quick to change the subject when someone asked me about my parents.
Then again, most people were quick to let me.
The truth is not everyone wants to know you at the soul-deep level. A lot of friends want the shallow edges of you, the bright and brilliant parts that reflect light onto them and make them feel good. It’s rare to find someone who wants to sit in the darkness with you, who wants to hold space for the emotions you carry that aren’t always easy to sit with.
Braden had been that person for me today.
He’d caught me in a rare moment when I actually did want to talk about it, where I did want to share the burden of my feelings with someone who might give a shit. And maybe that was the biggest part of what made me open up to him — he legitimately seemed like he cared.
Or maybe I was a dumbass and blinded by his hotness, mistaking his question and insistence that I answer it for something more than it was.
Whatever the case, I felt a little lighter after sharing with him. The pain wasn’t gone. I’d never be free of the weight I carried when it came to my parents’ expectations, or lack thereof. But Braden had picked up one corner of that heavy ass dresser stuffed full of history and baggage and carried it with me for a moment — and it had been nice.
Now, however, I wanted to throttle the sexy sonofabitch because he was being supremely stupid.