by Amity Hope
I had meticulously written a message on the chocolaty balls, using green icing. Twelve truffles, twelve characters, three neat rows in the box to ask:
PROM
WITH
ME??
“I know guys typically ask girls,” I said, “but you may have noticed I’m working on doing things that take me out of my comfort zone.”
I didn’t have to see the flyers plastered all over the school to know that prom was approaching. It had been on my mind for awhile. Like all year. Until I’d started dating Leo, I had figured it would be like any other night.
Me. A book. A date with my bedroom.
Despite how frustrating she could be, I really did need to thank Allie. She’d given me the mental shove I’d needed. Because of her, I was making the most of my last year of high school. I’d possibly had more fun the last few months than I had the last few years combined.
He tapped the box, his expression unreadable. “Very creative. Now I almost don’t want to eat them.”
“You have to,” I said. “They’ll go bad if you don’t.”
He flipped the lid of the box shut. I looked at him expectantly but he was gazing out the windshield.
Was he avoiding the question?
Could he possibly be hesitating?
Or did he assume I knew the answer?
Were boys just, traditionally, not nearly as excited about prom, therefore, not ready to give it any thought?
“I know it’s more than a month away. But your answer would be…?” I prodded when I couldn’t take it anymore.
He turned to me, his face scrunched in apology. My heart catapulted into my stomach. Was he going to say no? I was hit with a wave of confusion and disappointment. How could he possibly say no?
“Kylie, here’s the thing,” he started in a tone that warned me I wasn’t going to like what he had to say, “I don’t know about prom. I need to tell you—”
I slapped my hand over his mouth. “Don’t say it,” I begged. “Don’t say you don’t want to go, or that it’s a waste of time, or whatever you were going to say. I know prom is a cliché. And I know you’d rather wear torn jeans than a tux. I’m sure you think fancy dresses are a waste, but I really want to go.” I let my hand slide away but I kept talking. “This is important to me. I want to go, and I want to go with you. I put a lot of thought into trying to come up with a creative way to invite you. Please don’t ruin this.”
It was a low blow, and I instantly felt some regret, but not enough to take it back. If Leo liked me as much as I thought he did, surely he could suffer through one night of shiny shoes and a silly cummerbund.
He hesitated a moment before pushing a smile onto his face. “I don’t want to ruin anything for you. Of course I’ll go.”
“Okay.” I breathed out a sigh of relief. “We’ll have fun. I promise.”
He smiled, but I wasn’t so sure he believed me.
Chapter Sixteen
Leo
“That’s not a bad size check,” Darwin said. “Not bad at all, considering tourist season won’t be picking up for several more months.”
“Great.” I folded the envelope in half and stuffed it into my back pocket. “I really appreciate that you took a chance on me.”
“I assume you brought some new stuff?” he asked.
“I did.” I glanced at Kylie. She was walking the aisles of the antique store, letting me take care of business in private.
As if she felt me watching her, she looked my way.
“I’m going outside with Darwin.” My voice easily carried through the cluttered store. “We’ll be right back.”
She nodded and smiled. “I won’t be going anywhere.” She returned to her wandering. I figured she was probably looking for the display of my work. She’d find it if she kept moving toward the back of the store.
Darwin had been nice enough to allow me a back corner all to myself.
He didn’t do it out of kindness, though he was a pretty great guy; he did it because my work brought in a fair amount of money for him. Lucky for me, upcycled artwork was a big seller right now.
Countless tourists cruised up and down the coast each year. A lot of them were looking for souvenirs for themselves and gifts for family and friends back home. Something handmade and local held a lot more appeal than something chintzy imported from another country. Still, Darwin was the only store owner who’d been willing to take a chance on me. I appreciated it and only brought him my best pieces.
In return, he saved me his best junk. What more could I ask for?
Darwin and I stepped outside, leaving Kylie in the shop with Sharon, his wife. We sorted through the items in the back end of my truck quickly enough. I’d been selling in his shop for a year now, so I had a good feel for what he was looking for. At first he turned down a good chunk of my work. Now I had a better idea of what to bring him.
Once we carried everything in through the back entrance, I loaded up the odds and ends he’d set aside for me.
By the time we went back in, Sharon had Kylie cornered. The woman could talk for hours. I would know—I’d been cornered by her a few times myself. Luckily, she was interesting to listen to. I was relieved that Kylie seemed as invested in the conversation as Sharon.
“Your boyfriend is extremely talented.”
Kylie beamed at her. “I know.”
As I walked up behind her, my heart flipped at hearing myself referred to as her boyfriend. I mean, I had hoped, had kind of assumed, but we hadn’t actually laid it out there like that.
Maybe her prom invite should’ve clued me in. I was still trying to wrap my head around the fact that she’d asked me. How awesome was that? I knew I had to tell her about Mike. I had to. And I had tried to, right there in her car with her prom invite in my hands. But when she asked me not to ruin the moment, how could I bring him up? I couldn’t. Not then. She’d gone to too much trouble trying to make the invite perfect.
I pushed the thought away, deciding to save it for another time. Prom wasn’t for another month. I’d find a way to tell her before then. I’d tell her soon, when the timing was better. Just not today. I had something else planned, and I didn’t want any seriousness ruining the fun.
“Are you ready?” I asked as I reached her side.
Smiling, she twisted around to face me, then turned back to Sharon.
“Go,” Sharon said, “enjoy your day.”
“It was nice meeting you,” Kylie replied.
“You, too,” Sharon said. “I hope to see you the next time Leo drops in.”
We were halfway to the door when Darwin cut us off.
“Hold on a minute,” he ordered.
“What’s up?” I asked.
He crossed his sturdy arms over his broad chest. His furry eyebrows scrunched together in what I hoped was only mock consternation. “Old Buster Jones from down the road has been checking out my store lately.” Darwin’s eyes twinkled. I’d met Buster. He owned one of the other antique stores in town and had politely sent me packing when I first approached him last year. “He spotted your display. He asked me to send you his way.”
I started to shake my head, but Darwin gave me a hard smack on the back. “Go talk with him.”
“You gave me a chance when no one else would,” I said.
“You’ve got a lot of talent. It would be a shame to contain it to one place. Just make sure you save all your best stuff for me.” His tone was firm with a teasing edge to it. “Deal?”
I laughed. “Definitely a deal.”
“All right.” He gave me a nod. “You two get out of here now.”
We stepped out onto the sidewalk. Kylie bumped her shoulder into mine. “Those two really like your work. It’s too bad your parents can’t hear the way Darwin and Sharon talk you up.”
I entwined her fingers with mine as we moved down the block. “It wouldn’t matter. Mom knows I sell my stuff here. She equates antiques with junk. It wouldn’t matter what Darwin had to say, she’s never go
ing to change her mind.”
“I guess that’s her problem, then,” Kylie said lightly. “Because it sounds like you have a fan in Buster, too. Who is this guy?”
“He owns an antique store on the other side of town.”
Kylie tugged my hand, pulling us to a stop. “As long as we’re here, we should go see him.”
I tugged her hand to get us going again. “I can do that another day. I have something else planned.”
“Walking on the beach?”
“I’ve got another idea,” I said.
The sun was shining and the light breeze brought in the salty smell of the ocean. Though the day was beautiful, and perfect for walking on the beach, what I had in mind would take us out of town again.
She eyed me with suspicion. “What’s your idea?”
There was only one item on Kylie’s original list that she hadn’t been able to cross off yet. I was afraid that if I let her know what I had planned, she might chicken out. I thought it would be best to be spontaneous.
“Do you trust me?” I asked.
She gave my hand a squeeze. “Of course.”
“Then you’ll have to wait and see.”
…
“It’s beautiful out here,” Kylie said as she took in Adam’s campsite.
We weren’t exactly in the middle of nowhere, but it sure felt like it. Adam’s dad owned this piece of land. They kept a camper set up, a pair of picnic tables, and a fire pit, but other than that, the place was rustic.
We had to take a rutted trail into the woods to reach this clearing. The land was posted as private property. No one would bother us out here. It was perfect because I wanted complete privacy for what we were about to do.
“It’s relaxing. I could spend weeks at a time out here,” I admitted. “Several times a year Adam has us out to go camping.”
“Sounds like fun,” Kylie said.
“It is. Maybe one day you’ll add that to your list.”
“Speaking of the list…?” she started.
“Right. Ready to get one more item crossed off?”
She laughed but it sounded forced, clueing me in that she was a bit nervous. She’d figured out what I was up to. She also knew that while there were still a few blanks on the page, skinny-dipping was the only item left to cross off.
“We really don’t have to do this,” I said. I was not going to pressure her. Besides, this time of year, the water would be freezing. I wasn’t exactly dying to jump in.
But I’d do it if she wanted to go through with it.
“I have to,” she said.
She turned to me, her nervousness seeming to have faded. Her eyes held a determined glint.
“Skinny-dipping, it has to be the most daring thing on the list. If I can do this…” She paused. “Then I will feel like I can do anything.”
I grabbed the towels I’d tossed into the back seat. Bundling them under an arm, we hopped out of the truck. I took Kylie’s hand as I led her toward the trail that led through the woods.
It was well worn, but no one had been out here for a while. Twigs and branches snapped at us as we traversed the path to the river.
The path spilled out into another clearing. We could hear the river before it came into view. The water sloshed along, over rocks and against the riverbank as it slowly flowed downstream. Together we walked up to the river’s edge. The embankment wasn’t high, maybe only a foot or so above water level.
It was deep enough that we couldn’t see the bottom, but from experience I knew that it wasn’t deep enough to be dangerous. Over the years, my friends and I had spent a lot of time cooling off in this river.
“How deep is it?” she asked.
“This time of year, it’s probably somewhere between chest and neck deep.” I’d been swimming in the river more times than I could remember. “No diving, obviously. But it might be best if we jump right in. Are you a good swimmer?” I didn’t think we’d have any problems, but figured I should ask.
“I get by. The current doesn’t look strong. If anything, the water looks peaceful. I’m not worried about drowning, if that’s what you’re asking.” She studied the water with trepidation. “I’m more concerned about freezing to death. It looks really cold.”
She was not wrong.
I didn’t even want to try to guess the river’s temp. If I thought about it too long, I might be the one to back down. The sun was shining, not a cloud in the sky, but here, in the heart of the woods, the air still held the chill of early spring. It would be another few months before the water warmed to a tolerable level.
We moved away from the river. She made a twirling motion with her fingers and shot out a command. “Turn around.”
I did as asked.
A moment later the very distinct sound of a zipper being lowered cut through the quiet. I wasn’t looking her way, but I could almost feel Kylie wiggling out of her jeans. I was dying to take a peek, but I was determined to be a gentleman.
Kylie deserved nothing less.
“Get moving. I don’t hear you undressing yet.” She sounded a little breathless. I wasn’t sure if it was from anticipation, fear of the cold, or the fact that the two of us were about to become unclothed. “I’m not doing this alone, so get a move on, mister.”
She didn’t have to ask me twice. Honestly, I could hardly believe she was already stripping down. I thought for sure I’d have to coax her into going through with this. Then again, we weren’t in the water yet.
“One question,” I said as I tugged off my shirt and dropped it on the ground. “When you wrote skinny-dipping ‘sort of,’ you meant…?” I tugged at my zipper.
“I’m leaving on my, um, undergarments,” she clarified. “You can do whatever you want.”
I liked that plan. This cold air wasn’t doing me any favors.
I was in the process of kicking off my jeans when I got distracted. In a blur of skin and a minimum amount of purple fabric, Kylie darted past me, bolting straight for the water. I probably wasn’t supposed to watch her, but she didn’t warn me, and the sudden movement had grabbed my attention. I didn’t see much, just enough to get my imagination spinning into overdrive.
She broke the surface with a splash, followed by a blood-curdling screech.
Yeah. The water was definitely that cold.
I tugged my foot free, then sprinted toward the river. I cannon-balled in right next to Kylie. For a moment my body felt numb, then a razor-edged chill bit into my flesh. I came up sputtering to find Kylie doing the same.
I grit my teeth to seal in my own unmanly shriek. My body responded with a bone-rattling shudder.
“Oh-my-gosh, oh-my-gosh, oh-my-gosh,” she chanted. She was bouncing on her toes, her arms tightly wrapped around her chest, as if that might help to keep some of her body heat in.
“I’m freezing my ass off.” I shuddered. “And other, far more important parts of my anatomy.”
She started to laugh. It was cut short by a yelp as she lunged at me.
Her arms flew around my neck as she crawled my body like a tree. I was so startled by her behavior it took a few seconds for the situation to sink in. Kylie—wet, slippery, nearly naked—had plastered herself against me. I gripped her thighs as her legs wrapped around my waist.
“Something grabbed my foot,” she gasped.
We were standing ankle deep in mud with water up to our chests. It was hard to say what was lurking below the surface.
“It was probably a piece of debris,” I assured her. “Or a weed. Maybe a fish.”
“A fish?” she cried. “Like a big fish?” Her grip on me intensified.
“It’s a river,” I said calmly. “There are going to be fish.”
“Snakes?” she asked.
I hesitated a moment too long. I didn’t think so. But I was hardly an expert on river ecology, so what did I know?
Her legs tightened around me, and she squeezed her eyes shut. “I don’t think I like this,” she whimpered. “It was a bad idea. A v
ery bad idea.” She shivered violently and nestled against me, as if seeking my warmth.
I wasn’t sure I had any more to give, but I’d sure try.
I ran my hands over her thighs, trying to create some friction. My fingers glided over her skin with ease.
“It’s not all bad,” I said.
She sucked in a breath, and I could tell thoughts of weeds, snakes, fish…were quickly slipping away.
Her eyelids fluttered open, and her gaze locked with mine.
For the first time she seemed to be aware of how close we were. The purple fabric of her bra heaved against my chest as she sucked in a breath. My eyes dropped to her lips when her hand slid into my hair.
“You’re right,” she agreed. “It’s not all bad.”
When she kissed me, I felt a flash of heat. It flowed through me, intensifying in all the places our bare skin touched. Kylie readjusted, pressing her body even more firmly against mine. We may have been standing in water barely warmer than ice, but I couldn’t imagine ever having a hotter kiss in my life.
Eventually she pulled away and let her arms slip free.
“L-Leo.” She shivered.
I groaned because as her lips slid away, the only thing distracting me from the situation was gone. Reality crashed into me like an iceberg.
Her body coasted against mine as she landed on her feet. I gave her a questioning look.
“I think we n-need to get out of here. That was s-so worth it, but I think I’m g-getting hypothermia.”
I knew she was making light of the situation, but she was right. If we didn’t get out of here soon, hypothermia might be an actual concern.
“Your lips are b-blue.” I nudged her toward the shore. We managed to clamber up the riverbank where large, fluffy beach towels were waiting. We scrubbed off quickly and wrestled our still damp bodies into our clothes. Our toes were so numb it was a struggle to get our shoes on.
We were both shivering, too cold to say a word as we hustled down the trail to my truck.
Thanks to the modern miracle of remote start, and the foresight I’d had to turn the heat to full blast before I got out of the truck, it was toasty when I opened the door for Kylie, allowing her to scramble inside.
I hurried around to the driver’s door. A blast of heat hit my face as I got myself settled. I leaned back in my seat, allowing myself a few moments to soak it in.