Page 143 of Finding Delaware

"Salem’s got it,cariño. She’s cooling them both down. Let’s bounce.”

Thatword again.Cariño. I’ll have to Google it.

Taylor looks back at me anxiously, his eyes darkening with so much longing that my heart skips a beat. For a brief moment, we share a silent conversation; neither of us wants the night to end. But he’s Christian’s designated driver, and since I’m also sober, that makes me Logan’s, too.

“Come on, Huck.” My best friend bumps my shoulder, skin slightly green. “I don’t feel so good anyway.”

Fuck.

“Uh,” Taylor clears his throat, shaking off Arya when she tries to hold his hand. “I guess I’ll see you guys later.”

“Yeah...later.”

Christian smirks at me when I give a half-assed wave as I turn around, walking in the opposite direction toward Logan’s car. When I get to the driver’s side, I glance up the street to see their backs nearing the corner, but Taylor turns around to meet my gaze and blows a kiss, making me chuckle. I really,reallydon’t want to leave him tonight. So why should I? Who says the night must end because our friends want to go home?

While Logan is distracted trying to put on his seatbelt with drunk fingers, I pull up our Delaware chat to send him a message.

Me: After you drop them off, come get me? We can drive around in your truck and hang out. If you want.

I don’t know why I was nervous that he’d turn me down because his reply is instant, making my damn breath catch.

Taytay: I want. See you in about thirty, baby.

Huckslee

The drive back to Logan’s apartment is quietly awkward.

His head keeps swiveling in my direction, mouth opening like he wants to ask something, but then he chickens out and turns back to the window. I’m not about to encourage him to ask whatever’s on his mind because I’m honestly not ready to answer.

Anticipation buzzes through me, so much so that I swear my body is vibrating by the time we pull into the apartment complex. Sending Logan inside with his keys, I tell him I’m going to hang out with Royce and that I’ll be out late, the lie getting caught in my throat. He seems to believe it, though, nodding as he tells me to be safe before disappearing into the building while I stand outside and wait for a yellow truck to pull up.

It’s ridiculous how excited I am to see Taylor since we just parted ways twenty minutes ago. I feel like I’m addicted to him,intoxicated by his presence. I just want to breathe him in, hold him inside my lungs and never exhale, as if his very existence could give me life.

A thought occurs to me, and I hurriedly run up to the apartment to grab my sketchbook. Luckily, Logan is already in the shower, so he doesn’t notice. By the time I come back down, Taylor is waiting on the curb in his truck with a big, crooked grin, snapback on backward.

“I’m here to pick up my date,” he calls from the open window. “Have you seen him? Super tall, sexy curls, plays football?”

“Haven’t seen him, but I’m happy to take his place.” Hopping into the passenger seat, I lean over for a kiss. “I charge by the hour, though. Hundred bucks.”

“Damn, that’s cheap. I can swing that,” he chuckles as he pulls out of the parking lot, and my chest swells. It feels...odd to be flirting with him like this. Not in a bad way, but freeing. It should have been this way between us from the start.

“So you survived Arya, I see.”

“Barely.” Shifting gears, he maneuvers the truck into traffic. “She practically grabbed my dick, trying to get me into a threesome with her and Christian. They started fucking right there on your seat.”

“Gross,what the fuck!” I jump into the middle, pressing into Taylor’s side as he bursts into laughter. His hand leaves the gearshift to rest on my knee, and I watch him drive for a minute. He looks completely at ease, his inked arm extended to grasp the wheel, strands of dark hair brushing his face, and his lips curled into a smile. Beautiful.

“Does that happen often?” I ask, tearing my gaze away when he tosses his phone and tells me to pick some music. “With you and Christian?”

“What, threesomes?” At my nod, his head bounces from side to side. “I wouldn’t say they happenoften,but frequently, yeah. Don’t know if you remember, but Christian and I had issues in high school with stealing each other’s girlfriends.”

“He punched you for messing around with one, I remember.” Settling on a playlist titled‘Songs I Miss Getting High To,’I lean against him as ‘Like This’ by Breathe Carolina filters through the speakers. “The night you broke my arm, right?”

He squirms uncomfortably. “Yeah. We eventually decided that it made more sense for us to datetogether.Can’t steal someone’s girlfriend if she’s already your girl, too.”

My brows jump as I turn to gape at him. “Seriously? Like, at the same time?”

“Yep. It was practical, honestly, because we spend most of our time together anyway. So, it was like...killing two birds with one stone? Is that the right phrase?”

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