Page 27 of Sloane

“I have one online and one on Mondays and Wednesdays.”

“Wednesday? Did you skip class yesterday?”

“Well… yes, but it’s the first one I’ve missed. And Monday is Veteran’s Day, so no school.”

“You shouldn’t have skipped school, sweetness.”

I winked at him. “I like being a rebel every now and then.”

He grinned as he studied me without saying a word.

I felt self-conscious under his scrutiny, so I laid my head on his chest. The sound of his heartbeat in my ear was soothing. “What time do you need to leave?”

“Depends on how long the rideshare wait is, but I’d say no later than eleven thirty.”

I rolled off him and rested my head on my hands while I looked at him. God, he was gorgeous.

“You don’t have to get a rideshare; I can take you.”

“Aw, angel, that’s really thoughtful. But I don’t want to inconvenience you.”

I shrugged. “It’s not an inconvenience. I get to spend more time with you.”

He reached out and pulled me against him, kissing my hair as he murmured, “You’re too good to be true.”

“Hardly.”

“Okay, I’ll take you up on the ride there, but I’ll try to get a lift back from someone on base, and if I can’t find one, then I’ll take an Uber.”

“Are you sure? I don’t mind going back.”

“No,” he said emphatically. “That’s far too much time for you to be stuck in traffic.”

“You’re worth it.”

Ew. Even I knew that sounded cheesy.

“Nah,” he said with a grin. “I want you well rested for when I get back tonight.” His grin fell and he let out a sigh. “I should’ve just gotten my Jeep out of storage, but when Ryan asked me about doing that, it felt like more trouble than it’s worth.”

Because I still wasn’t convinced he really liked me as much as I liked him, I wanted to give him an out.

“Are you going to stop at Ryan’s first?”

He jerked his head back then slowly said, “I mean, I do want to spend time with Tank and my buddy, but I thought...” He trailed off as he shook his head. “Yeah, I’ll do that.”

I cocked my head. “You thought what?”

“Do you not want to go?” As soon as he said it, he closed his blue eyes tight for a second. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to phrase it like that and put you on the spot. I understand if you have things you need to do today. Or even if you don’t and would just rather just not go with me, I totally get it—my friends can be a little much.”

“Your friends are lovely.”

“Is it my dog then? He can be pretty high maintenance.”

“I love Tank.”

“So, why don’t you want to go? Do you have plans tonight?”

“No, I made sure to clear my schedule so I’d be available when you are. But I don’t want to be the third wheel when you’re with your friends.”

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