Page 76 of Fast

Zara looks into my eyes as if she wanted to see deep into my soul. And fuck me, I have no intention of hiding from her.

“Is that true? Is that why you liked hookups?”

My lips curl into a lopsided smile. “Maybe? I mean, fuck, being wanted is nice. But I also like sex, and being on the hockey team at school and on Atlas and Ares’s racing team made me pretty popular. I guess I reaped the benefits of that popularity.”

There’s a beat of silence, and she looks at me as if she was trying to crack some kind of secret code.

“So, is this what we’re doing here?” she asks. “Did you ask me on a date so we can hook up later?”

Chapter 18

The Deep End

LEV

“You know I’m looking for more than that.” I say. “But if you want to hook up, just say the word.”

Her lips curl into a mischievous smile. “The word.”

We almost run back to my car, giggling at the look the waitress gave us when I asked her to box our untouched food.

“I hope she isn’t offended that we left so quickly,” Zara says, a little breathless when we reach the parking lot.

“Nah,” I reassure her. “I tipped her really well. I’m sure she’ll forgive us.”

Once our food is deposited safely in the back seat, I open the passenger door for Zara. “Hmm,” I can’t resist the temptation to go in for a kiss, caging her soft body between me and the car.

We’re one of very few vehicles parked out here tonight, but I don’t want to offer a spectacle if someone comes back to their cars.

It isn’t until I turn on the engine that it hits me that the personal chef my parents hire to cook all our meals was making something special for them to eat at home tonight.

They’re almost never home, but I can’t take Zara there if we want to be alone.

“Is everything ok?” she asks, when she notices my hesitation in leaving the parking lot.

“My parents are home tonight. I mean, we can go, but they’ll ask us to have dinner with them. And I wanted to be alone with you.”

She thinks about it. “What about my house? Mom and Scott left yesterday for their honeymoon.”

That could be a solution, but I bet every dime in my trust fund that we wouldn’t be alone. “Chance is gonna be home, and I’m gonna be a little selfish, but I want you to myself tonight, if you don’t mind.”

Zara smiles. “I don’t mind.”

“We could get a hotel room,” I continue. “But after Labor Day, everything in town closes. The only hotel open all year is The Grand Hotel, but the owner is a client of my family’s law firm and everyone knows us. Remember what we were saying about small towns? My parents would hear that I took a girl to my room within an hour.”

“Yikes.” Zara giggles.

“I think I know a place where we can park and hang out without being disturbed, if you don’t mind eating in the car.”

Zara nods. “Sounds good.”

We drive the five minutes past the marina, to Whisper Point without saying much.

I park the car by a lookout point that offers a view of the ocean. The eco-lights offer enough light to see each other without being too harsh.

“Do you want to eat now, or…” I ask, unbuckling my seatbelt.

“Or.” she answers, unbuckling her own and pulling me closer by the front of my t-shirt.

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