Page 21 of Protect

“Did you have tocallmy dad? I’m eighteen, I don’t need permission to hang out,” I bite out as I get into the passenger side of Rowan’s mom’s Ford Explorer.

“Todate,” he corrects as he closes my door with a smile on his face that I can’t really be angry at. He gets in on his own side. “And yeah, I did. You aren’t a stranger, I wanted to make sure your dad and Jacob were all right with it.”

I roll my eyes. I mean, it was kind of sweet he told my dad he was taking me out, but little does he know I’ll never hear the end of it from Jacob, and my mother will be asking me every five seconds what’s going on between us.

I turn to face him, the scent of his cologne fills the space between us, and it’s hard not to breathe it in. He smells so good. I will myself to focus and try to get my point out.

“It’s 2014, you aren’t ‘courting’ me, and you have no idea what happens in my family when you throw the word date around with my name like that—especially since I’ve never been on one! And also because it’s only a date because I lost a bet. My family will hound me about this for years to come,” I protest.

Rowan grins and starts the engine before looking back at me, placing his broad palm on my forearm, and I realize just how close we are. How close his face is to mine when he looks down at me.

“Vi, do you not understand that I’ve been having fun hanging out with you the last few weeks and that winning this bet was just an excuse to get you to go out with me?”

My mouth falls open and my eyes drift from his down to his full lips, then back up to his eyes. Hewantedto take me on a date?

“Why?” I ask out loud before my brain tells me not to. Rowan’s thumb grazes my arm as he speaks and my skin breaks out in goosebumps. He angles himself toward me a little more and leans in slightly, bringing that delicious scent with him.

“Lots of reasons…” He smirks. “You’re terrible at judging scientific matter, you have a really hard time admitting when I’m right…about anything or that you even like me...but”—his voice grows softer like he’s about to admit something—“the thing that seals the deal? You look really, really cute when you’re trying to pretend that you aren’t absolutely terrified of shitty horror movies.”

I sit dumbfounded for all of three seconds before I scoff and swat at him for poking fun at me and also saying I looked cute, because he can’t mean that.

“Uh-uh. Don’t do that,” he says, gripping my arm a little tighter, as if he’s reading my mind. His eyes grow instantly serious. “For the record, when you opened that door tonight… you took my fucking breath away.” He lifts his hand from my arm to twist a piece of my curled hair between his fingers then releases it.

We sit across from each other; the only sound is our breathing as his gaze drifts to my lips. Rowan is looking at my lips…like he likes them? I feel something start to heat between my thighs. I clench them together to stop it, but it only makes me feel it more.

“But I’m nothing like the girls you normally date…” I say, because I just can’t make sense of it.

“I know. That’s why I like you, Vi,” He says it like it’s the most obvious thing in the world, leaving me speechless as he turns and starts to back out of my parents’ driveway.

I say nothing, because, well, I just really didn’t expect that and I need a minute to process that this is my first real date.

With Rowan.

Internal panic mode activated.

So, it turns outAnnabelleis that scary, and I did actually spend the entire movie peeking between my fingers, much to Rowan’s delight while he chuckled and ate popcorn. He did tell me what was happening when I was too afraid to look and he did in fact sharehispopcorn with me. Every time I reached into the bag and our fingers brushed, those little butterflies swirled in my stomach. I keep reminding myself it’s Rowan, but my body isn’t listening to the logical side of my brain. My heart rate is almost normal again by the time we’re leaving the theatre and there is a little more space between us.

“I think I might need to buy you some ice cream to bring your heart rate down to a reasonable level. I can hear it from all the way over here.” Rowan wraps his pinky finger around mine, pulls my hand to the center console and laughs.

I feel my skin heat with his unexpected touch, but I fight the urge to say no, I’ve been doing so well with my diet this week. I know one ice cream won’t kill me, but I already ate popcorn and candy at the theatre. The familiar guilt creeps up and I do my best to push it down. How often do I go on a date? NEVER. I make the decision almost immediately to go with him. I’m sure there will be something of the healthier variety at our local ice cream parlour,Licks.

“Okay, but I can pay for myself, you know,” I remind him, but he’s already shaking his head.

“Not a chance,” he says. “My mother would have my head for that,” he adds.

“Well, when you put it that way, I’ll do it for Liz,” I say, mentioning Rowan’s mom by name. She’s always been so nice to me and Jacob, I’ve met her a lot more than I’ve met his dad because his dad is a long haul truck driver, he goes back and forth from coast to coast. He’s only home for a few days every two weeks, but he does his best to make it to every one of Rowan’s games he can.

When we get to the other side of town, Licks comes into view. You can’t miss our town ice cream parlor, it’s a staple in Sky Ridge.Licks Dessert Barand a huge milkshake are painted in a bright, retro style on a large mural across the side of the big historic red brick building on the corner of Sky Ridge’s Main Street and it’s packed as it always is this time of year. There are people from our school sitting on the numerous picnic tables outside under the overhang and it features enough twinkle lights to brighten the entire patio in the dark. People who don’t fit at the tables eat in their cars, or on their tailgates in the parking lot. I feel my palms start to sweat at the thought of going into this place with Rowan Kingsley and having to see all of these people from school. I look around nervously trying to talk myself into walking by all of them with confidence.

“Vi.” Rowan chuckles as he sneaks into a free parking spot and cuts the engine.

“Yeah?” I ask, looking out the window. Kyleigh Miller, her cronies, and three of Rowan’s teammates take up a few of the tables.

“You ashamed to be seen with me or something?” he asks, noticing my nerves.

“You’re fucking with me,” I say with a laugh.

He pulls his black Seahawks hat off the back seat and pops it on his head backward, then faces me. “Well, I can’t help but notice you look like you’d rather rob this place than go in and get ice cream with me,” he says.

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