Page 98 of In Your Wildest Dreams
Me
What if he made other plans or just wants to be alone? Or what if he brings another girl home?
Everly
I would kill him for cheating on you, but he would never.
Me
We’re not together so it’s not cheating. Appreciate the loyalty though.
Everly
Always.
* * *
Nerves have me fidgeting while I wait parked in front of Ash’s house. The entire street is dark and quiet. I feel like a total lurker. Dropping my head to the steering wheel, I contemplate leaving for all of two seconds before I talk myself out of it. No. I should have showed up for him at the game and I didn’t. Even if he doesn’t want to hang out, I want to see him long enough to tell him how much I regret not being there.
Lights flash through the windshield and I glance up, squinting to identify the vehicle. Ash’s truck slows and turns into the driveway in front of me. I can’t see through the tinted windows, but my heart races, knowing that he’s in there and there’s no turning back.
I swallow down my nerves and get out of the car. Ash is already walking around behind his truck when I shut my door.
“Hey.” I give him a wobbly smile. “Surprise!”
He’s in joggers and a sweatshirt, with a black Wildcat hat pulled low over his eyes, making it hard to read his expression. His long legs eat up the space between us before I can decipher if he’s happy to see me or freaked out.
When I finally do get a glimpse of his face, my chest tightens at the serious and focused glint.
Shit. Not cool, Bridget. So not cool. What guy wants you to show up unannounced after he just had a crappy day at work?
“I’m so sorry—”
His mouth crashes down on mine before I can get the full apology out. His giant hands frame my face and he tilts my head to deepen the kiss. His tongue strokes mine, needy and frantic.
I’m breathless when he pulls back, and his chest rises and falls in the same rhythm.
“I guess it’s okay I showed up without warning then?”
“I think my heart catapulted out of my body when I realized it was your car. It’s really you?”
“In the flesh.”
His gaze dips to my bare legs. I hadn’t planned on standing outside in a skirt, but the look he gives me makes it well worth braving the freezing temperature out here. Ash reaches down and scoops me up into his arms.
I let out a little squeal as he swats my ass. He starts for the house, bypassing his truck.
Laughing, I try to wiggle out of his hold. “Ash. Wait. You left the door open.”
“Left all my stuff in there too. Don’t care.”
“What if someone steals it?”
“Ah, shit. I need my keys.” He backtracks and carries me to the truck instead. He sets me on the driver’s seat. The cab of the truck is still warm. “I missed you.”
“It’s only been a few hours,” I say, but his words make me giddy inside.
“I stand by my words.” His palms glide down my thighs to my knees and then back. “Did you have a good day?”
