Page 91 of Return To You

When we pull up my driveway, he stays on the bike. I have a little pinch in my stomach. But all good things must come to an end. “I had fun…” I start.

He pulls me against him. “Pick me up at the farm in an hour? I hear there’s a pub in town, the Lazy something, they make decent burgers.” He smiles against my mouth then strokes his tongue inside my lip. “I just need underwear,” he chuckles.

Butterflies flutter all the way down my toes and up to my scalp. “You wanna go to Lazy’s together?” Going to my favorite place with my favorite person? Things are getting dangerously perfect.

“Unless you want to go somewhere else? Whatever you want.” He cups my ass in his hand and growls slightly. “I better go.”

When I get to my bedroom, I notice his small backpack still on the floor. He didn’t take it back. I shower off the sand from the river, singing the whole time.

Half an hour later, I’m at the farm. Lynn and Craig are sitting on the front porch, sipping iced coffee. They both greet me with warm smiles as I come up the steps.

“Isn't nice not to have to sneak around anymore?” Craig cracks.

Lynn elbows him, and a drop of coffee lands on his shirt.

“What?” he says. “About time these kids know they don’t fool no one.”

Lynn pats the chair near her. “Come, sit.” There’s a third glass of coffee on the wicker table. Lynn fills it with ice cubes from an ice bucket and hands me the glass. “Here. This one’s for you.”

I take a sip in silence, awaiting an interrogation. Jokes. Some sort of expression of whatever mood they are in. Nothing comes. “It’s so quiet,” Lynn finally whispers. She leans her head on the back of her chair and closes her eyes. “Enjoy the quiet times, darling. Before you know it, you’ll be like me. A house full of shouting, fighting boys.” With a sweet smile contradicting what she says next, she adds, “If the universe is mean enough, you’ll have a girl, too, just to ensure you can never find your clothes or your makeup in the morning. And forget about ever having perfume. That thing’ll be gone just like that.” She snaps her fingers.

Ethan’s silhouette appears in the doorway. He leans on the frame, crosses one bare foot over the other, and looks at me tenderly. “I see you’re getting the King Family pregnancy protection talk.” His voice does funny things inside me. It’s the first time I can look at Ethan the way I always wanted to and not have to hide it. It’s the first time I’m at Ethan’s place and I’m in a… situation with him.

And it definitely is the first time he prowls toward me in front of his parents, lifts me, and sits me on his lap. “Are you drinking my coffee?” he says with a smile.

Lynn’s eyes are open and on both of us, wonder in her gaze. She reaches for Craig’s hand and pats it.

“Don’t get too ahead of yourself, honey,” Craig says. “Give the kids some space.”

She closes her eyes again. “Alright, alright.”

Ethan pulls my back snug against his front and hands me the coffee. We sip from the same glass, watching the cows grazing in the distance, the breeze playing in the maple trees, monarchs fluttering from milkweed to zinnias to coneflowers. Ethan’s hand plays in my hair, his breath tickling my neck. I turn my head to the side, where the swing sways slightly. How many times did I sit there, dreams in my head? Look at me now, I internally whisper to the little girl from the past. Look at me now.

She smiles back at me.

At Lazy’s, Ethan picks a booth in the back and slides in next to me. Haley comes to our table to take our order. One look at us, and she’s sitting across from us. “Finally. Fucking finally!” Leaning over the table, she grabs my face and loudly kisses my cheek. “Damn it.” Then, turning to Ethan, says, “What took you so long?”

Ethan blushes, suppresses a smile but doesn’t quite succeed, and looks down at the menu.

Haley reaches over and takes the menu from him. “Regulars don’t look at the menu. Either you know what you want or you ask Shane to pick for you.”

“Burger.”

“Burger,” I echo.

Haley frowns. “Huh. You never order the burger. What happened?”

I lift my eyebrows at my friend. “I’m hungry?”

Pink tints her cheeks. “Gotcha.” She stands and snaps the menu from Ethan. “Lemme get out of here before you overshare.”

“Don’t overask,” Ethan calls after her.

“Overask what?” Justin asks as he appears at our table, his girlfriend Chloe tucked under his arm.

I’ve never seen my friend this truly happy, and it sends happy vibes down to my toes. Chloe is beaming. Those two really deserve to be happy together.

“You guys coming tomorrow, right?” Justin asks, his hand playing with Chloe’s hair. She turns to him, a dreamy smile on her face. Ethan looks down at me, the same dreamy look in his gaze.

---