“I promise,” I say. “What about you, though? Are you going to be okay? I hate leaving you like this.”
“I’m not thinking about my problems tonight, Kay. I can’t.” She shrugs. “Derek says he wants to stay together after he leaves for college, but I don’t know . . . I just want to enjoy the night, and you should too.”
I gather her in another hug. “Okay. Have a blast. I’ll call you tomorrow.”
She opens the passenger door of Derek’s car and yells in mock excitement, “We’re going to go pick up Avery!” She gives me an exaggerated thumbs-up, and I can’t help laughing. It’s such a relief to have my best friend back.
Tommy’s eyes meet mine from the back seat just as Elijah’s arm slips around my waist, and he quickly turns away. I don’t look too pathetic now, do I buddy? It’s not my intention to torment him, but part of me finds it quite satisfying—even though I know it’s wrong.
“Well, it was nice meeting you, Elijah,” says my mom, reaching out to shake his hand.
“The pleasure is all mine, Sharon,” he replies smoothly.
Even my mom seems a little smitten with him as she watches him open the passenger door of the Tahoe and assist me in. After he climbs into the driver’s seat, she goes back into the house. If she was captivated by Tommy’s charm, I know she won’t be able to resist Elijah’s.
“Your mom’s really nice,” he says, turning the key in the ignition. “I wasn’t sure what to expect showing up like this.” He grabs my hand, lifting it up to his lips as he drives down the road. He kisses each finger before resting our interlocked hands on the console. “Thank you for coming with me tonight. I didn’t know if you’d accept.”
“I honestly didn’t expect to ever see you again,” I reply.
“Me neither, Kay,” he says, his voice tight.
“I can’t believe you did this,” I say. “I don’t know what you’re thinking. You could be in a lot of trouble now, right?”
He swerves the Tahoe to the side of the road and slams it into park, startling me. He unbuckles his seatbelt and leans over the console, locking me in an urgent kiss. His mouth feverishly searches mine, and I grip his hair, returning his vigor.
Oh, how I’ve missed this.
He releases me, pulling back just enough to look into my eyes. “Kaley, I just experienced the worst two weeks of my life. I thought for sure this was over, that we were doing the right thing . . . that I was doing the right thing.” His voice reveals the anguish that he’s been shielding from me. “But nothing about it was right. I can’t believe I almost let you slip away.” The intensity of his eyes sear into me as he brushes my cheek, running his fingers through the side of my hair. “I’m in love with you, Kaley.”
A quiver ripples down my spine as his words weave through my chest like thread, slowly stitching up my wound. He’s in love with me? He wraps his lips around mine, his gentle kiss attempting to heal my bleeding heart. He slowly breaks away to return to his seat, but I tighten my grip on him and lean over the console, our faces nearly touching.
“I’m in love with you, too,” I say. “But you do know you’re crazy, right?”
He grins as if the weight of the world has been lifted off his shoulders, and he rushes to my lips. After paralyzing me with another kiss, he leans back in his seat and refastens his seat belt. “Just crazy for you, Kaley-baby.”
“Hey,” I say after he pulls back on the road. “I hope you know I’m not trying to make you parade me around and get fired. Honestly. I’m all for a little subtlety.”
He chuckles, grabbing my hand again. “I’m not trying to be completely stupid, Kay. But I’ll be damned if I’m going to lose the best thing that has ever happened to me.”
His words instantly resurrect the butterflies in my stomach into a full flutter.
“I’m taking you to a movie in downtown Phoenix,” he says. “I hope that’s fair enough.”
“That’s perfect,” I say. “Then maybe we can grab some dinner and go back to your place?”
“Anything you want, baby.”
As I relax into my seat, holding onto his warm, strong hand, I gaze out the window.
Anything I want?
I’m going to hold him to that.
CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO
WE PULL INTO THE PARKING lot of the movie theater, and Elijah slides into an empty space and kills the engine.
“Wait here,” he says just as I’m about to open my door.
Confused, I watch him walk around the back of the Tahoe, then open my door.
I arch a playful brow at him. “Chivalry isn’t dead, I see.”
When my feet hit the ground, he envelops me in his arms, exhaling into my hair.
“Damn, this feels good,” he whispers.
With his hand cradling the base of my neck, he teases his lips against mine, pulling away slowly each time I lean in.
“Slate,” I groan.
He chuckles, then presses his body against mine, backing me against the passenger door, kissing me without restraint. When he breaks away, I struggle to recover my equilibrium.
“Come on, baby,” he says, taking my hand and leading me to the box office.
I feel like the luckiest girl in the universe with our fingers entwined for the world to see. After purchasing our tickets, he leads me to the concession stand.
“Watermelon Wedges?” he asks.
I grin. “Absolutely.”
He never lets go of my hand as he pays for our candy, and I can’t take my eyes off him. Somewhere in the irrational part of my brain, I fear he’ll disappear if I do.
Most of the seats are empty when we arrive in the dimly lit theater, and he guides me up the stairs to the very back row, stopping just before the center seats.
“This is more like it,” he says, sitting down with a relaxed sigh. I’ve never seen him so unfettered before. Though we aren’t exactly in the clear yet, the air feels lighter around us. It’s thrilling to see him so unrestrained, so . . . carefree.
“Okay, I know what I want for my graduation present,” I say.
He cocks an eyebrow.
“Not that this isn’t enough,” I add.
“Please, Kaley. Taking you to the movies and having you wear this dress is a graduation present for me.”
“Can I take a picture of us?” I cringe, waiting for his rejection.
Much to my relief, he smiles. “Why the hell not.”
He pushes the adjoining armrest up and slides his arm around me, pulling me closer. I hold my phone out at arm’s length as we press our cheeks together and smile as I snap the picture.
“Okay, one more,” I request.
He turns his head, kissing me on the cheek, as I beam into the lens and take another one.
“Ooh, that one’s wallpaper-worthy, Slate,” I say, grinning. “Thank you.”
He snatches my phone from my hands and for a second I’m worried he’s going to delete the photo. Instead, he enters my contacts list and scrolls down to “Garrett” and taps on the screen. I feel my eyes widen as he deletes the name and replaces it with “Elijah Slate.”
He returns my phone, and suddenly it’s as if helium has replaced every burden in my body, and I feel like I could float away.
“Thank you,” I say, my voice barely above a whisper. “This is seriously the best graduation gift I’ve gotten.”
“No, thank you,” he says. “For coming with me tonight.” His eyes slide brazenly down my body. “I love you in this dress. You have no idea how badly your legs were killing me that night.” He rubs my thigh, leaving a trail of goose bumps behind.
“You didn’t bring a jacket for me this time,” I tease.
He shrugs. “I figured if we got cold, we could warm each other up.”
An excited flutter tickles my lower stomach, and I cross my legs toward him, scooting closer.
“Wanna open these?” He nods to the bag of candy on his lap. “Sorry, I could do it, but I don’t feel like freeing my hands right now.” He traces his fingers up and down the back of my thigh, igniting a fire in the center of my body.
I open up the bag, taking out a Wedge, and place the candy between my lips and mumble, “Want one?”
His smile slowly vanishes, and he pulls my mouth urgently to his. He grabs the candy with his teeth, and his tongue meets mine as the sweet-and-sour candy dances between us. He slides his hand higher up the back of my thigh, slipping it underneath my dress, and kisses me with a passion that makes me want to skip the movie altogether. Breathless, he breaks away, taking the candy with him.
“Sorry,” he whispers.
I notice the theater filling up and blush.
“I wanted to do this the last time you were sitting next to me in a theater,” he says, sliding his hand farther up my dress, cupping my backside. His fingers play at the side of my satin thong, and my breath pulls in slightly. A group of guys enter our row, and he swiftly pulls his hand out, tugging my dress back down.
He kisses me softly once more as the previews begin. He keeps one arm around me and his other hand on my leg. Throughout the two hours, he intermittently strokes my thigh, sending fiery chills up and down my body. In turn, I feed him pieces of candy between my lips, and he slowly takes each piece with his mouth, brushing his tongue against mine.