Page 54 of Secrets in Love
“Yep. Are you still going to come with me?”
His grip on my hand tightened. “Yep.”
“And do you promise to be a good boy who obeys, sits quietly, and waits while the grownups talk?”
He began clenching, pulsing his hand in mine. “Call me a good boy again, Evie, and I’ll do whatever the fuck you like.”
He swallowed hard, and I slipped further into lust, becoming hypnotized by the rise and fall of his Adam’s apple. “Promise?”
“Fuck, Evie.” Before I could blink, Nate dropped my hand and captured my face, roughly clutching my jaw. His thumb swept back and forth, every brush burning against my flushed skin. When he laid his forehead to mine, we shared a shaking, panting breath. “I’m not sure we’re picturing the same scenario here, but yes, yes, I promise. Tell me what to do, and I’ll do it.”
I stepped back enough to see the dangerous heat in his eyes but not enough to cause his hands to shift. “What scenarios are you picturing?”
I’d have given anything to capture his expression. Dumbstruck. Awe. Lust. Pride. Did I say lust? “Evie Austen, are you flirting with me?” Smiling like the devil, he pulled me closer and caressed the tiny sliver of flesh between my shirt and jeans. I couldn’t speak. I could only think of his fingers on my skin, and he knew it. “You like that?” he whispered. “You like my hands on your body?” I nodded. “Tell me what to do, Evie. Tell me where you want me to touch you.”
“Everywhere—”
“Excuse me, would you take our photo, please?”
“Are you freaking kidding me?!” I pushed off Nate’s body and spun on the balls of my feet. Without even looking, I reached out to the intruder. “Camera. Give me the camera.”
“Oh, it’s just my phone, not a camera—”
“I don’t care what it is. Just give it to me so I can take the bloody thing.” Nate’s laughter rattled in my ears as I took several shots of the admittedly sweet and possibly terrified group of friends who excitedly shared that they were on vacation from Canada. “There,” I said, handing the phone back. “Sorry for snapping.”
The phone’s cute blonde owner’s eyes perused Nate, then looked at me. “No, I’m sorry,” she whispered. “Really, really sorry.” She gave me a wink and trotted off down the street.
Nate sighed and rubbed the back of his neck. “Canadian cockblockers strike again.”
“Oh, this isn’t your first time?”
“Nope, a particularly intrusive bitch from Blow Me Down got me just last week.”
I whacked him in the chest as he laughed. “Blow Me Down? There’s no such place. You lie, liar.”
“No lies. I swear it’s real. Dad sold macadamias to a tourist shop at the national park there for years. Come to think of it, Blow Me Down isn’t too far from a place you’d love called Dildo.”
“You’re an idiot.” I slid my phone from my pocket, determined to have Google prove him wrong. “I know you’re joking. As if there would be a place called Dil—holy shit, there is a place called Dildo!”
“Told ya.”
“Who the hell names a place Dildo?”
“I don’t know. But it’s beautiful. Maybe we can slide up in there for a night on our honeymoon.”
“Idiot.”
“That’s twelve idiots, Gidge,” he said, marking it down in the notepad tucked safely away in his jeans. “That record is as good as yours, babe.”
Nate
Still laughing about Dildo, we made it to VAADS, Village All Abilities Dance Studio. For the few blocks we’d walked, we came dangerously close to handholding. Pinkie finger teased pinkie finger as they twisted and twirled in and out of each other’s grip. It was ridiculously hot.
Knowing all too well it would be easier for Evie to leave if it was a shithole, I wanted to hate this place. I wanted nothing but bad vibes and cobwebs hanging from the rafters. I was sadly disappointed. “Damn it,” I mumbled under my breath. The place was a goddamn delight. It looked like Mary Poppins and Katy Perry had been hired as the interior designers and was so warm, fuzzy, and sunny that I wanted to throw a bloody tutu on myself. Music and laughter filled the air from the second we walked through the doors, and every kid that saw Evie waved and did a little two-step of excitement. Several even ran and clung to her legs.
I hated it, alright, but not in the way I’d hoped. It was bloody perfect for her.
“It’s amazing, eh? Do you see now why I love it?”
