“You don’t like it?”
“I do.”
“Good, because I don’t think I can stop. It just sort of comes out with you.”
“You’re so sweet to me.” I look over at him again, unable to stop myself. I'm always looking anywhere but at people, hoping they don't notice me, but not with him. I love when he sees me. A small blush hits his cheeks, and that makes me smile. I’ve been doing that all day with him. I can’t remember that last time I smiled this much. I bet my face will hurt tomorrow. He doesn’t look like someone you’d call sweet, but he is. Nor does he look like someone who would blush, for that matter.
“Another thing that seems to happen around you, too.”
“I know the feeling. I don’t care much to talk to people, and here I am. I barely know you and I’m in your car chatting away.”
“Keep going. I want to know more about you.”
I shrug. I don’t really want to talk about me. I’d rather talk about the moment, or maybe the future, but I know I’ll have to give him something. “It’s just my dad and me. I moved here from Brentwood.”
“Brentwood. That two hours south of here, right?”
“Yep.” I don’t tell him I was barely even there. That before Brentwood it was Greenville, Clinton, Franklin, and my hometown of Madison. I might have missed one. Who knows? It all blends together into a mess I really don’t want to try and clear up. I want to forget.
“Your mom?” He squeezes my hand when I give him a sad look. “You lost her when you got that scar?”
My whole body freezes, and I try to jerk my hand from his, but he doesn’t let me go. We pull into a parking lot and he shuts off the engine.
“I’m sorry. You don’t have to tell me.” He doesn’t say yet, but it’s implied. I don’t want to talk about it. I want to pretend it never happened. I want it all to disappear. I unclip my seat belt, lean forward, and press my lips to his. Like every time we kiss, everything else melts away and I’m back in my safe place as his mouth moves against mine.
He slides his hand into my hair as he deepens the kiss. I push back, wanting more as our tongues touch softly.
“Babe, you have to stop.”
I moan and keep going. God, this feels so good. Better than anything I’ve ever felt in my life. I move my hips, and that’s when I realize I’ve somehow crawled into his lap.
“Lily.” Ren says my name, and it almost sounds painful. I open my eyes and look into his. He’s breathing heavily and his face is hard, like he’s angry. I try to recoil—I don’t like the hardness on his face—but there’s nowhere to go. I’m pinned between him and the steering wheel, and I’m pretty sure I’m the one who got us in this position to begin with.
“I’m sorry,” I blurt out. I don’t know what came over me. I wanted to be as close to him as I could get. I was desperate to forget about the past and only think about him, back in our little bubble he makes for us.
“Don’t ever be sorry for kissing me, Lily.”
“You look mad,” I tell him.
“Not mad, babe.” He takes a deep breath, trying to get his breathing under control. “Trust me. I’m anything but mad. I’m trying to get myself under control, and that’s hard with you wiggling on top of me.”
My eyes widen as my mouth falls open a little. I feel his hardness against my ass, and I blush even harder. I can tell from what I’m sitting on that he must like it when we kiss, but for some reason he wants me to stop. I don’t want to stop. I want to go back to him saying my name in that gruff voice of his.
“I’d love nothing more than to lie back and let you move on me as long as you want, but not in a parking lot for everyone to see.”
My mouth forms a little O, because I forgot where we are. I glance around and see we are in the parking lot of Hendricks Hardware, and that’s when I see an older couple standing by the entrance. The two of them are staring at us.
I look at a man who looks just like Ren, only a little smaller in build.
“Oh my God.” I drop my face into his neck, wishing the ground would swallow me. I just made out with Ren right in front of his parents.
14
Ren
“Mom, Dad, this is my Lily.”
I squeeze her hand, letting her know it’s okay. I’m surprised when she takes a deep breath but looks them in the eye and extends her free hand.
“It’s nice to meet you Mr. and Mrs. Hendricks.”
My mom looks like she could burst into a pile of confetti, but shakes her hand and beams at Lily. “Please call me Janet. And you can call him Rick.” She nods over to my dad.