Page 40 of Sneaking Around with the Player
“I did,” he says. “He and Holly wanted to drive around and see the Christmas lights. I decided to call it an early night.”
“Oh.” I nod. That’s the same thing Beau and I did a few nights ago. Except we only made it into one neighborhood beforewe were more interested in talking and kissing than looking at lights. I guess I understand why Felix wasn’t into that.
“Where are you headed?” he asks. His tone and the hard set of his jaw tell me he already knows.
“Just out for a little bit.” I adjust the strap of my purse on my shoulder. “I’ll see you in the morning.”
With that, I start down the stairs.
“Stella,” Felix calls.
I take two more steps before I stop and look over my shoulder.
“Be careful,” he says. “Call me if you need anything.”
“Yeah.” I swallow around a lump in my throat. “I will.”
I jog toward the curb, pulling on the beanie Beau gave me last night, as he comes to a stop in front of the house.
“Hi.” I climb in quickly and lean over the console to kiss him.
“Hey,” he murmurs against my lips. His gaze flickers to the house and then back to me. He grins at my hat. “You look nice. I can almost picture you sitting on the sidelines cheering me on.”
“Thanks. So do you.” He has on jeans and a white T-shirt with a black leather jacket. Plain and casual, but so damn handsome. His dark hair is styled neatly and he’s wearing the gold glasses I like so much.
“Where are we going?” I ask as he drives away from the house.
“It’s a surprise.” He lifts both brows in a playful waggle. His right hand leaves the steering wheel and rests on my knee.
I don’t pay a lot of attention as he drives and neither of us says much. He turns up the music, and I enjoy the feel of his fingers brushing over my bare thigh and the way he bobs his head to the beat, occasionally glancing over to hit me with a smile. We’ve spent so much of our relationship talking, it’s nice to be together and just soak it up.
Beau pulls off onto a gravel road. It winds about a half mile until we come to a scenic pull-off spot. It’s dark, so we can’t really see anything, but it has a serene feel and there are dots of color in the horizon from all the holiday lights in the distant neighborhoods.
He backs into a small clearing, gets out and rounds the front of the car, then opens my door.
“Where are we going?” I ask. I borrowed a pair of Holly’s shoes, which make my legs look amazing but aren’t great for hiking.
“Not far,” he says. He pulls me to the back of the SUV and lifts the back. My jaw drops when I see the blankets and pillows spread out in the space.
One hand is in his front jeans pocket and the other rubs at his jaw. “Too cheesy? I just saw this for a second time how you must be seeing it. I just thought we could hang out and talk. This isn’t me bringing you to a secluded spot to have sex. We could go out to eat or to a movie if you’d rather.”
Laughing, I press my lips to his. “I love this, and if you don’t try to feel me up in this dress, then I will be very disappointed.”
I get in and sit, legs stretched out in front of me, looking out the back of the vehicle into the dark night sky.
He grins and climbs in beside me.
“Does your dad know you turned his vehicle into a shagging wagon?”
“The blankets were already back here.” He pauses as if his words are slowly sinking in. “Oh man.”
I burst out laughing. “I’m sure it’s for picnics and such.”
“Yeah,” he grumbles. “Let’s go with that.”
He reaches for a thermos and two mugs, handing me one, and then filling both with hot chocolate.
“Marshmallows?” he asks, holding up a bag of the mini ones.
