Page 64 of Stumped

Before the cop can see where my other hand is, I roll down the window and blow into the candy striped straw attached to the breathalyser. I keep my head down so they don’t recognise me. He hands me the straw and gestures for us to drive on.

“They always make this so dramatic,” she says once I’ve rolled up my window and merge with the rest of the traffic.

“It’s an intimidation tactic. Bash and I got pulled over once. The cop recognised us and got so flustered, he dropped all the straws and caused the most epic pile-up.”

She laughs. “Is that why you’ve got your cap low tonight, so he wouldn’t recognise you?”

When I reach for her hand again, she envelopes mine between both of hers. I smile, despite the turmoil in my head.

“Partly. I just want to be a regular guy out with his girl.”

“Swoooooon.” Her voice is all breathy and I chuckle.

“You’re not supposed tosaythe word.”

“Well, I didn’t want to distract you with my very good performance of a swoon.”

I shake my head and turn into a side street, looking for a spot where I can park. Her hands tense around mine, but as much as driving around is fun, I don’t think I could multitask right now. Pulling up below a tree, I leave the AC on and turn off the engine. The silence is deafening and I have questions on the tip of my tongue, but I’m not sure how to even say all the words.

“Were you thinking about it during the match today?” she asks softly.

I grit my teeth and nod. “I know this wasn’t supposed to happen. But something changed. Right?”

“It did. Everything changed.” She exhales loudly and says, “I’ve had really bad experiences with relationships. Two pretty bad heartbreaks has made me a little wary of trying again. And yeah, I know people react to relationships differently, but I was too jaded by what happened to trust again.”

I meet her watery gaze and nod slowly. “I get it, I think. I mean, I get that heartbreak can really shatter your confidence and trust in people. But I’m not them.”

She laughs and sniffles. “When we first met, youwerethem. Handsome, charming, funny, said you liked me a little wild. The sex, however, that’s different.Better. I convinced myself I could fuck you and it would be fine. Clearly not.”

“Do you regret it?”

“That’s not what I meant. I do not regretus. Fuck,” she groans and releases my hand to wipe under her eyes. “I’m terrified.”

“Of me?”

“Of my feelings for you. I don’t know how to put it into words or express them properly, but we are so much more than friends, Elias. You and me, we fit. We…we make sense.”

“We do fitandmake sense,” I agree and smile when our gazes meet.

“Please be patient with me.”

I’ll fucking wait until the ends of the earth for you. “Of course.”

She releases a shaky breath and stares out the window. “I thought I was a good girlfriend, but my past will tell you I’m not. I work too much, my priorities are all wonky, I’m too mouthy, crass and my wildness is only appreciatedsometimes. So I…my track record shows I’m not good enough.”

“Vera, that’s…fuck whoever told you that. You’ve spent the last few weeks reminding me I’m more than enough, so let me return the favour. You’re fucking perfect. I like how mouthy you are, I like the crass things you say. And baby, Iloveyou wild. I like how passionate you get about your job and the people you work with. I am constantly impressed by you and I promise, you’re a pretty incredible girlfriend.”

She stares at me unblinking and I nod, because even though she called me herfriendand we’ve been dancing around our relationship for weeks; she’s the perfect girlfriend.

“Does that make you my boyfriend?”

“I’ll be anything you want me to be, peaches.”

“Mine?”

My heart jumps and I nod. “Yours.”

Then she’s pulling me across the centre console and kissing me. I smile against her mouth as she grips my shirt in one hand and my hair in the other. It’s a whole new kind of kiss— gentle and soft, but also very desperate and I love how Vera pours herself into it. Moaning, her tongue slides over my bottom lip and I cup her jaw, opening up for her. Our tongues make contact and a shiver runs up my spine, because holy fuck, I will never tire of kissing her. Someone whizzes past us and the car shakes,breaking our kiss and I blink through the haze and darkness to admire her.

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