Page 52 of When The Rain Falls

"You can add more touching, too,” she says. Good Lord. No more touching. This is getting dangerous. She places her hand against my chest. Her voice is breathy and soft as she circles a finger around my left pectoral, right over my heart. I stand my ground like a soldier being barraged by cannon fire. She really should stop looking at me like that, it’s impacting the rhythm of my breathing.

"Then use your soft eyes,” she adds, batting thick eyelashes at me. For absolute fuck’s sake. Does this woman have a degree in seduction? Why are her eyelashes so long? "Then stare right at his lips." I drift my gaze to the wall behind her. Aimee steps closer until we're practically brushing up against each other. And all I can think about is Aimee pressing her lips against mine. Icancontrol my thoughts. Icancontrol my thoughts.

"It will make him think aboutyourlips," she continues. "And?—"

For fuck’s sake. That shit actually worked.

“—This bullshit doesn’t actually work,” I yell, quickly jerking my head back.

“If it doesn’t work, then why do you look so flustered?” Aimee asks, a glint of humor in her eye.

"Don't listen to her. She's on the insanity spectrum," I warn Ruby. “And you. You keep your lips to yourself." I scoop the keys off the counter and grip them in my fist.

"Oh my god, Dad." Ruby rolls her eyes. "Why is everything an issue with you?" Ruby grabs Julie's arms and starts walking to the front door.

Aimee pats my back with athere, theregesture of consolation. Like I just lost a fight. But the only thing I'm really losing is my goddamn mind.

I walk behind them to the foyer. All except Vivian who elects to stay home. According to Vivian, she'd rather burst both her eardrums than have to listen to another word about homecoming. Aimee makes the girls pose for pictures by the front door.

"Here we go," she exclaims, snapping the last one. "A couple of certified baddies being released into the wild!" Ruby and Julie shuffle out the door and then it's just the two of us for one quiet second. She grins at me. "Ready, bear?"

"No," I tell her, running a hand down my face. I don't know why, but nerves are starting to bubble up out of nowhere. It's just a dance. Why do I feel so heavy? "I'm not ready for any of this shit. Yesterday, Ruby was prancing around in a princess nightgown singing Disney songs. Now she's...well. You know."

"It'll be fine," she says. "Everything always turns out fine." What the fuck does she know about fine? What the fuck does she know about anything other than being a cheery pain in my ass? A pain in the ass that makes my nerves do funny things when she's near. A pain in the ass that...shit. That has a really nice ass.My eyes wander over her backside as she turns and walks out the door.

“Bear?” she asks. “Why are there couch cushions in the driveway?” As I walk towards the van, I see them—three blue cushions lined up along the driveway. Where I set them out to dry in the sun after scrubbing them down earlier in the day.

“Ask your damn cat why it pissed on my couch,” I mutter. I walk to the van and lean against the driver’s side door while Aimee walks around to the passenger side.

"You can go home," I tell her, nodding across the street. "I'll take them." I'm not just offering to be nice. It's a desperate attempt to put distance between us. Because it's getting harder and harder to maintain control around her. Inside the box of my carefully drawn boundaries.

"Are you trying to get rid of me?

"No."Yes. Fucking yes.

"What would I do at home?” she asks, a hint of flirtation in her voice. But I don’t bite.

"I don't know. Go to bed? Plot the destruction of the known universe? Whatever you do when you're alone." I pull open the door and prepare to step in.

"You want to know what I do when I'm alone?" Aimee quirks an eyebrow suggestively.

"No," I growl.Yes.Fucking yes.

She tilts her head back and laughs.

"Ok, then," I say, jingling my keys to give her the hint that it’s time for her to leave. "Goodnight."

"No, thanks," she says as she opens the passenger door and eases herself in.

I tried. For fuck's sake. I goddamn tried.

I pull up behind a red Mustang outside Pt. Evan’s High School. The Mustang is vibrating from the sounds blaring through its speakers. In front of us, car doors are slamming and groups of teenagers are meandering to the front of the auditorium. I barely get the van in park before Ruby and Julie pile out of the van with their made-up faces and dresses.

Aimee’s practically vibrating with excitement, much like the Mustang in front of us. I’m much less excited about the whole thing. There will be chaperones, I remind myself. It will be fine. Calm. Calm. Calm.

"Meet me here at nine-thirty," I call out through Aimee's open window.

Ruby spins around. "Ten," she says.

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