Page 60 of The Darkest Parts of Me

“No. I’m actually . . .” I pause, and Renn glances over to me with a mischievous look on his face, trying to hide a smile. Stop that, I mouth to him. “I’m at Renn’s place, actually.”

There’s dead silence on the other end for a few beats.

“You’re staying at Renn’s? All night?” I roll my eyes as Renn leans against the mantle, watching me.

“Yes, Mom. I’m staying here all night,” I say the last part slowly, giving Renn a look like, don’t even, but he ignores me.

“Probably tomorrow night too!” he yells.

I gawk at him and cover the phone speaker. “Would you shut up!?” I say, trying to whisper, but I laugh instead. He puts a hand on his chest as he laughs. “Ignore him, Mom.”

“Oh! Well then . . . That’s great.” Her voice is edged with worry, but maybe also a hint of relief.

“Yeah, it is great,” I say, giving him another look.

“Well . . . I’m glad you’re okay.”

“Yep, we’re all great here,” I say, quickly trying to end the call before Renn jumps in with something else to tease me with.

“Okay, good. Well . . .” She pauses. “Have a good night.”

“Okay. Goodnight, Mom. I love you, bye,” I say as fast I can and tap the end button aggressively. “You’re ridiculous,” I say, laughing as Renn walks back over to me.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about. I thought that was pretty great.” He smirks, taking my hand and pulling me toward the couch. My heart rate intensely accelerates again, but just before we sit down, Renn’s phone buzzes. He lets out an angry groan, dropping my hand.

“That’s it. I’m throwing these damn phones outside, and I don’t care that it’s raining.” I cover my mouth to keep from laughing too loud. He looks down at the screen. “It’s Valery. It could be an emergency.”

“It’s fine. No worries.” He smiles at me for a second or two before answering.

“Hey, Val.” He looks at me and winks. I can hear Val’s muffled voice but can’t make out exactly what she says. “Not much, What’s up?” There’s another muffled response from her end, and Renn nods along to whatever she’s telling him.

“I can be there in twenty minutes . . . Uh-uh. Of course. Yep. Okay, see you soon.” He slides the phone back into his pocket. “There’s some flooding on Main Street, and they need help getting some barriers set up to direct the water from the structures.” He genuinely looks disappointed, and so am I.

“Sounds like they need you.”

He takes my hands in his, and I’m pleased with how easy and quick it is, that he doesn't hesitate to touch me. “Hopefully I won’t be too long. Are you okay being here by yourself?”

“Yeah. I’ve got Shy. I’ll be good.”

He squeezes my hand. “Okay, good. I’ll try to hurry.” He lets go of my hand, moving toward the front door to grab his raincoat. I watch as he shrugs it on. “We can talk about this when I get back, okay? I’m sure you have some thoughts,” he says, winking. I walk over to hit him on the arm.

“Whatever. But yeah, I do.” He bites his lip, trying not to look too pleased with himself. “Like what happens next, for starters,” I add.

He takes my face in his hands again. “I don’t know about you, but I hope more of this.” He doesn’t wait for my response as he kisses me again, practically taking my breath away. But this time, I push against his chest, and I can tell he wasn’t expecting it as I keep pushing him to walk backward until his back hits the door.

I pull away. “I hope so too,” I whisper against his lips and see his throat bob. I did that, I think to myself.

I step away, and he grabs the door handle to walk into the storm, but before he goes, he grabs my hand again, pulling me to him, kissing me quickly before saying, “I’ll be home soon.” Then rushes out the door before I can even kiss him back or say a word.

“Not fair,” I say, smiling to myself. I walk back to the couch in a dizzy haze of euphoria and plop down next to Shy. She lifts her head to study me, cocking her head to the side.

“I know. I can’t believe that just happened either.” She blinks a couple of times and then rests her head back down on her paws.

I gather up some of the blankets that Renn must have placed next to the couch earlier. I don’t mean to fall asleep, but I do, wrapped up in blankets that smell like him and are as soft and comforting as his kiss.

CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

Renn

---