Page 57 of Worth the Want
“I’ve never done anything like this.”
“Been in a canoe?”
I laugh. “That or been out on a lake like this. I’ve been swimming, but only in a pool. I mean, I’ve been in nature, but only at one of the nature centers in the city. Nothing like this.This?It’s like experiencing something for the first time, and you hadn’t even realized you were missing it or that you knew to want it. Does that make sense?”
“I think I’m following,” he says from behind me. I smile. “So tell me more about you, Indie. What was it like growing up in a big city?” My instinct is to redirect back to him. To not talk about me, but Knox is letting me into his life, I think it’s time I crack a window.
So I tell him. I tell him about the tiny apartment. The collections. The cuckoo clocks, the ceramic frogs, the shirts, the rocks. He laughs at my puns and sympathizes with me when I tell him that we had to return the cat Han and I stole. He doesn’t make me feel like I’m rambling. Just lets me tell him stories that make up who I am.
“I need to ask you a question,” I say after finishing the story of how my pants ripped in half in sixth grade when I tried to scale the fence at recess.
“Shoot.”
“I woke up without pants on this morning.”
“I assumed you would.” I turn to look at him. He’s staring at me, amusement spilling out of him.
“Well…I was wondering how I ended up like that, Mr. Holloway.”
“You don’t remember?”
“I wouldn’t ask you if I did.”
“You took them off before we made it inside the house last night. Then you did two really impressive ballerina turns. Where did you learn that, by the way? All while singing “Tiny Dancer.” I followed you into the bedroom to find you already in the bed. I just laid them over the chair and figured youmight want something else to wear this morning, so I ran over to your place early to get a few things. I didn’t snoop,” he promises.
I’m a little mortified at my behavior.
“I hope you know that I don’t go out and get drunk. That’s not really my thing. Last night was an exception. Well, not the ballerina turns, I do those every now and then to make sure I still can.”
He chuckles. “You’re young, Indie. You should be enjoying your nights.”
“I would rather be having a glass of wine by the fire after reading a book to Hazel,” I admit. It’s blatant now. That I like him. That I want to spend time with him.
“I would rather you be doing that too,” he says. I whip around to face him, wanting to make sure I heard him correctly.Does he feel what I do?Only when I do, he stands, getting ready to step onto the dock, and we tip. I try to overcorrect us, but end up making it worse.
My head is under the water before I have a chance to look up at him.
My head breaks the surface, and I look around for Indie. She’s barely treading water, laughing so hard she’s having trouble keeping her head above the water. I swim over to help her, bringing us closer to shore. She’s laughing still, her strong legs folding around me. I can just stand in this spot, my shoulders out of the water. I hold her to me, and she wraps her legs around me tighter.
“Can you touch the bottom here?” she asks me, amused at the possibility.
“I can,” I tell her, slightly distracted by having her in my arms.
“You’re like the Jolly Green Giant.” She laughs at her own joke.
“Is that what you’re into, Indie?” Her eyes warm at the question.
“It would appear that I’m into all sorts of things if they involve you, Knox.”
Her laughter slows as she stares at me, slowly placing her arms around my neck, the wet sleeves of her shirt cold on myskin. I move a hand up her back to the base of her neck, supporting her with one arm now. Gripping her hair in my hand, her eyes blink slowly, her mouth falling open in a small gasp. Heat bursts in my veins at the feel of her against me.
“I-I’ll be honest with you, Knox. I’m not exactly sure what’s going on here. I spend a lot of time with you, with Hazel, and I’m starting to get used to it—starting to look forward to it.” She swallows, looking up at the sky. “If we’re friends…I can do that, right? If that’s what you want. I can be your friend.” Her fingers deftly comb through my hair as she speaks. There are so many things I want when it comes to Indie, but being her friend might kill me.
“I don’t want to be your friend, Honey.”
“Then what do you want?” she whispers, staring at my mouth. Leaning forward, I ghost my lips over the side of her neck, murmuring against the tender skin.
“I’m not a subtle man, Indie. If you don’t want me to kiss you, you need to tell me now.” She grinds herself against me in answer. I groan, feeling her heat through our clothes. She does it again, and I snap. I take one last look into her clever, soulful, deep-brown eyes, ones that pulled me in the first night I met her, searching them for any hesitation before pulling her mouth to mine in a kiss that sends shockwaves through my body and across the damn lake.
