Page 97 of The Confidant
“Oh cool,” I said.
“But I might take a ride back.”
“Sounds good.”
He left. I quickly changed into a dark-green T-shirt, jeans, and running shoes. If we were rock climbing today, I’d bring my climbing shoes as well since they were way better at gripping the rock. But because the whole group was coming today, we’d decided to stick with rappelling only, so my Altras would do just fine.
Scarlett and I drove to the Hastings’s estate together. There were only a few hours before sunset, so we immediately went to the backyard where they had about a dozen ATVs parked in a big garage.
The cliff we’d be rappelling down was near the waterfall our town was named after. The quickest way to get there from their house was through the trails they had on their thousand-acre property.
“I think I want to ride in the side-by-side with Carter and Ava,” Scarlett said as everyone started picking the four-wheelers they’d be riding on this afternoon. “Want to ride in the back with me?”
“Sure,” I said. We’d spent so much time apart this month that I was all about staying close to her all afternoon.
I put my climbing backpack with my rope, helmet, and harness in the back of the ATV and was just about to climb in the seat next to Scarlett when Nash hopped into the back.
Scarlett looked at Nash and then at me, like she wasn’t sure what to do.
“I’ll just grab a four-wheeler,” I said, not about to ask Nash to give up his seat when the vehicle belonged to his family.
“No, don’t,” Scarlett said. She bit her lip and seemed to think things over for a second before saying, “We can all fit if I sit on your lap.” Then seeming to realize that it might be an odd suggestion, she quickly added, “Unless you think that’s weird.”
“No, that’s…um…” I swallowed and looked around at everyone else, not sure exactly how I should respond. While having Scarlett so close sounded like heaven, I wasn’t sure what our friends would think of us riding like that.
But I shouldn’t care what everyone thinks, right?
I should just do what I wanted to do.
Even if my heart might regret it later.
So I cleared my throat and said, “I mean, that would be great.”
“Yeah?” Her shoulders sagged as if relieved I hadn’t turned her down.
I nodded. “Yeah.”
She stood from the spot she’d taken behind the driver’s seat, making room for me to climb in behind her. I slipped into the seat, and after I patted my legs, she sat down carefully and pulled the seatbelt around both of us.
“That okay?” she asked after buckling us in.
“Yes.” And in a voice that was lower than usual, I whispered in her ear, “It’s perfect.”
She shivered, like I’d surprised her. But then she leaned back into me more.
We sat still for a moment, getting used to being close after so long. But when Nash leaned forward to chat with Ava about something, I allowed my arms to go around Scarlett’s waist to pull her even closer to me.
“Is this okay?” I asked when she lightly gasped in surprise.
But after taking a second to breathe, she quietly said, “It is.”
“Good,” I whispered back.
When she turned her head sideways and lifted her eyes to mine, I was pretty sure I saw desire reflected in them.
Did that mean she still wanted to be close in the same way that I did? Could she also feel the electricity sizzling between us?
Because even though she was simply sitting on my lap—something platonic friends did with each other all the time—it was clear that the sparks between us hadn’t disappeared when she’d said we could only ever be friends.
