Page 45 of Unforgettable

Pulling into Amanda’s apartment complex, the last thing I expected to see was her ass in the air as she dug around in the back seat of her little white sedan. I parked in a spot a few over from her car and got a front-row view of her jumping up and down with something gripped tightly in her hands in front of her.

I hopped out of the truck as she slipped a gray beanie over her mess of blonde hair. I couldn’t wipe the smile from my face and wasn’t surprised that Amanda seemed embarrassed when she turned to find me standing by the passenger door of my truck.

“You’re early,” she whined, straightening the beanie and stuffing her hands into the pockets of her black jacket. She looked cozy, and it was seriously fucking cute.

“I’m only five minutes early,” I corrected her.

“Well, five minutes was enough time for me to run down here, find my beanie, and run back upstairs before you got here. But now you’re early.”

“I apologize. Next time I will be perfectly on time or how about this: I’ll be two minutes late. Better?”

“Yes, that would be great, actually.”

“Fine, I will implement that on our next date,” I said with a wink, and she smiled. “So, you need to run back upstairs?”

“Yes, I’ll just be a minute or two. I need to grab my phone and my purse.” She began climbing the concrete stairs but stopped on the second step. “Is what I’m wearing okay? The outfit guidance you gave me wasn’t very specific.”

She held her arms out at her sides like she was presenting her outfit to me. Besides the gray beanie and black fleece jacket, she was wearing dark jeans and white sneakers.

I smiled. “You’re perfect.”

She bit her lower lip just the way I wanted to and nodded before running the remainder of the way up the stairs.

While she was gone, I turned the truck back on and made sure her seat warmer was on. All of the supplies we needed for our date were shoved onto the back seat floorboard, and I hoped she wouldn’t turn around to see them. They would most likely give up our destination rather quickly.

I slipped out of the truck as Amanda hurried back down the stairs and met her at the passenger door.

She murmured a small “thanks” as I opened the door and made my way back to the driver’s side.

It wasn’t even a full second after I shut the door that she asked, “So, where are we going?”

I chuckled and rolled my lips to suppress my grin. Out of the corner of my eye, I caught her mischievous smile as she straightened her seat belt over her chest.

I pulled onto the street. “It’s a surprise, baby girl. I thought we talked about that.”

She sighed and let her head fall back onto the seat in defeat. “Yeah, I know, but I thought I’d try. You do both realize that a good date doesn’t require a surprise, right?”

“Yes, but you have the best reactions to surprises,” I clarified and reached over to grip her neck, urging her to look at me.

“What is that supposed to mean?” she said in a bored tone. However, I could see the excitement in her eyes, dancing along the surface of the blue.

“It’s your excitement and joy—it’s contagious.”

She pursed her lips and tried to hide her smile but failed miserably. My fingers twitched against her hair, and I palmed her cheek as she leaned into my touch. I attempted to split my attention between the road and the woman who was openly accepting my affection. It sent warmth through me that she wanted me to touch her.

“Can you at least tell me how long it’ll take us to get there?”

“Nope.”

She groaned and playfully pushed my hand away from her face. I caught it, though, gripping her small hand in my own before she could pull away.

“About fifteen minutes,” I said, dropping a kiss to her knuckles and settling our intertwined hands on her lap.

We sat in companionable silence for several minutes, and as we drove farther out of town and away from the city, the more relaxed we both became. The weight of our lives washed away as the miles passed.

“How’s Adam doing so far?” she asked as we neared our destination.

I shrugged and stopped at a four-way stop in the middle of nowhere. “Fine. He’s been mostly helping Grady behind the bar.”

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