Page 67 of Perfectly Us
“It’s for Ruben! I promise,” Alex says, wide-eyed. “He didn’t have time to stop and get some before he and Mel went to the lake, and since I’m an amazing friend, I said I’d pick them up for him.”
I stare at the boxes, seeing one advertisingribbed for pleasureand another having a warming sensation. There are so many different kinds. How do you know which one’s best?
“Do you have any?” I ask, feeling the tops of my ears tingle as heat spreads to them.
Alex cocks his head at me. “Yeah. I don’t expect to use them, but I like to be prepared just in case. Why?”
“No reason.” I can’t look at him as I say it. I’m sure the reason is written all over my face.
My head’s a jumbled mess, and I’m more than a little confused because I’ve never felt like this before about anyone. But I, maybe, want to try things with Alex. See what happens.
Alex stares at me a moment, but he doesn’t press the matter. He grabs a box of condoms, and we head to the nearest check out. I divide the basket and pay for half. It’s only fair. Then, we load up my car and get back on the road.
The weather is nice, so we roll down the windows. It’s been so hot lately, but it’s not too bad today. Hot, but not unbearably so. Alex sings to the pop song on the radio, and I smile as I listen to him.
“Right here?” I ask as we near a campground packed with cars and RVs. People set up tents by the lake.
“Nope. Keep going. Ru and I found an awesome place that’s kinda out of the way of everything else. More private. Turn right up here, then follow the dirt road.”
I do as he says. The road takes us around to the other side of the lake, away from the crowds of people I saw earlier. Spotting Ruben’s car up ahead, I pull off the road and park beside it.
“Just a short walk through the woods, and then we’re in paradise.”
“Paradise?”
Alex sticks his tongue between his teeth, and he’s so damn adorable I can’t stand it. I grab him by the strap of his tank top and tug him to me, planting a kiss on his surprised lips. Another automatic response to him. He sighs against my mouth, and the sound is so soft.
“I’m not used to you taking what you want,” Alex says, his eyes darkening as they fall to my lips. “I like it.”
My cheeks heat, and I get out of the car. I don’t know what’s come over me lately. The things I used to have trouble with come so naturally to me now, like holding his hand or initiating a kiss.
I pop the trunk, and we grab the groceries, along with our bags. Screw making two trips. It’s a lot, but we manage to grab it all and head into the woods. The sun shines through the branches above us, and if not for my arms about to die from all the crap I’m carrying, it would be a peaceful walk.
“The party has arrived,” Alex says as we leave the barrier of trees and come out onto a grassy area near the water.
“Hell yeah.” Ruben comes over and grabs the cases of soda to help. “Carlos hooked us up with the booze. Prepare to get shitfaced tonight.”
The lake’s so big that I can barely see all the way across it. I place the groceries on a pop-up table Ruben brought, then go over to the water’s edge. Alex comes to stand beside me.
“Pretty, right?”
“Yeah.” I turn to him and cup the side of his neck. “Thanks for inviting me.”
When my friends took off to Cancún in May, they didn’t even ask if I wanted to go with them. It stung a little, but I was used to it. When we were in school, we hung out, but it got to a point where they started meeting up without me, going out to eat or to the arcade.
“We just thought you’d say no anyway. You know, with all your anxiety and stuff. No hard feelings, okay?”
I think my mental health weighed them down. Like I’m too much of a burden. After the incident when I went to the hospital, they didn’t know how to act around me. Conversation died when I came around, and everything felt awkward and tense. They stopped seeingme.
But not Alex. He sees all the imperfect parts of me and wants me anyway.
“Thanks for agreeing to come,” Alex says. “It would’ve been boring without you.”
He looks like he means that too.
“I don’t know about you losers,” Ruben says, pulling off his shirt, “but I’m goin’ swimming.”
“You didnotjust call me a loser.” Melody runs up behind Ruben and pushes him into the water.
