Page 99 of Text Me Baby One More Time

Shepard:Maybe.

Denver:32.

Shepard:Now who’s in love?

Denver:Me.

Twenty-Two

Shepard

The soundof my favorite Sinatra songI’ve Got YouUnder My Skinfills the cab as we cruise down the highway, and I can’t help but grin because this song is just so fitting for us.

“What are you smiling about?” Denny asks.

I shake my head and lie, “Just that I can’t believe you still have that dog crate.”

“I mean, you’re welcome.”

“Did you even have a dog over the last five years?”

She shakes her head, running her hand over the pug curled in her lap. “Nope. I was saving it for Steve.”

“And what did you do with it in the meantime?”

“Threw a piece of plywood on top, covered it with a blanket, and called it a shelf.”

I give her an incredulous look.

“What?” she says. “I was a broke-ass college student! I mean, Ihadjust picked up my entire life and moved two thousand miles away from home for some boy I love.”

I stop breathing.

Love?

“Loved…w-with a D—past tense,” she says, trying to play it cool but failing miserably as she stammers the words out.

Huh.

“What was that? You want my D?”

“Don’t make me vomit, Shep.”

“Can you really say that given how many orgasms you’ve had from my tongue alone?”

She brushes an invisible hair away from her face, shifting in her seat. “I…suppose that’s a fair point.”

“That’s what I thought. You’re welcome.” I glance over at her. “I don’t know how you think we’re going to sneak him into the hotel.”

“I brought my movie theater purse.”

“Movie theater purse?”

“You know, the bag you take to the movies so you can shove all your snacks in there, like a burger and fries.”

“You take a burger and fries into the theater?”

“Once.” She shrugs like this is the most normal thing in the world. “Sometimes you’re just extra hungry and trying to catch that cheap movie night and you’re running out of time, so you improvise. It happens.”

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