Page 8 of Dash to Me
She runs to the back and grabs some. “Here you go. Check out is at 11 a.m.”
“We’ll be out before then.”
I take the blanket and pillow and Eva takes the key. She looks like she is inside her head. Makes sense. She has always been the person to overthink things. Her OCD has never been a flaw to me. In fact, I love how much she has to make everything perfect.
The room is spacious for the price. Honestly, I half expected it to be pretty outdated, but the owners have kept it up. I set the extra pillow and blanket on the little table in the corner and put my hands in my pockets. Maybe she’s right. Things are different. When I look at her, I don’t see my best friend’s sister anymore. I see my future.
“Listen, I know things between us are going to be different, but the most important thing to me is keeping you as a friend. Your brother too. You guys are my one constant, and without that, I’m not sure I’d be where I am now.”
She sits down on the bed. “Friends first, always. Although, I’m not sure how my brother is going to feel if we decide to move forward. He’s always told me to wait for the right guy. Sometimes, I feel like he just never wants me to date, but maybe there is more to it.”
Ryan has always been somewhat protective of Eva, but not as much as I have. She can never know about me meddling in her life. Back then, I did whatever I could to keep guys away fromher. Stupid, I know, but I was young and dumb. Her brother can never be as bad as me.
My stomach growls. Besides ice cream, we haven’t eaten all day and all that walking has my starving. “How about dinner? Saw a place down the street.”
She smiles and slips a piece of hair behind her ear. “You read my mind.”
We walk over to the diner down the block. It’s definitely a family-owned restaurant, and I love supporting small businesses. Especially since my father’s company started out small and blew up. I still don’t know if I’m going to take him up on his offer. There is so much to consider.
I hold the door open, and she walks inside and chooses a booth in the back against the big windows. Do I sit next to her? Across from her? What is the rule?
“I’m gonna text my brother and let him know we will be back in the morning. He’ll get a kick out of this.”
My jaw ticks. How am I going to approach him with this? Being in love with his freaking sister? Will he freak out? It’s a tricky thing, wanting to voice your feelings, but at the same time, being scared at losing your best friend.
“You aren’t going to say anything about us, right?” I tap my fingers on the table. “I’d like to be the one to bring it up when you feel it’s the right time.”
She laughs. “We aren’t dating or anything. There’s no rush.”
EVA
It’ssweet of him to wait to talk to my brother about us, but does he plan to rush into something? Of course, he’s handsome, kind, and it’s something that’s always been in the back of my mind… but why rush? My brother has enough on his plate right now.
“So, does that mean you don’t want to date me?”
His eyes roam over mine. “I do. Can we wait until after the wedding? We need to make sure this is something real before upturning our lives. What if we don’t work out? What if we aren’t compatible?”
The doubts creep into my mind, not sure what to do. Looking at him, I can imagine his lips on mine. The way his body will feel pressed up against mine. It’s almost too good to be true.
His hand comes across the table and takes mine, but I don’t look at him. He doesn’t like that, so he takes his thumb and puts it under my chin, tilting my head up to where my eyes are looking at his. “Believe me, we are compatible. The only person I know better than you is your brother. I have been keeping this quiet for years, and I don’t want to waste my chance, Ev.”
He might know me, but what about my insecurities? The little things that cross the back of my mind like him having somuch more experience than me. It’s terrifying that I might not meet his expectations that have been going through his head all these years. Does he expect me to be kinky? Sensual? Slutty?
“You are disassociating again, love. Talk to me. About anything. I can’t reassure you if I don’t know what’s keeping you from giving me a chance?”
Atlas has always been a good guy. He has never been a womanizer, or something who sleeps around just to do it. Hell, as long as I can remember, he has always been the one to not rush into things. So why now? Why with me?
“What can I get for you guys?” the waiter asks, pen to paper. “We have a daily special today. A jumbo cheeseburger, fries, and a drink for twelve bucks.”
Atlas didn’t take his eyes off of me. “We’ll have two specials. A Coke and a Dr. Pepper, please.”
The waiter looks between us and takes the menus. “Alright. I’ll put it in.”
My brother calls me, thankfully. Atlas and I will have to talk about this, but right now, the wedding is so close. We are literally stuck in a town we don’t know, staying in the same hotel room, and now I have to somehow figure out how to put everything I’m thinking into sentences for him to understand.
“You sure you don’t want us to come and get you? I’d hate for you to be stuck in a motel tonight. Especially after everything you’ve done for us.”
My brother doesn’t even remotely bring up the fact that I’m staying with his best friend. Interesting. “No, we’ll be fine. We are going to get up early, get the cake, and head back.”
