Page 29 of Between Us

He chuckles and pushes forward without missing a beat. “Please, Blake,please.” With a quick once over and a mischievous glint in his eye he adds, “I’m not afraid to get on my knees and beg, if that’s what you want.”

Slightly more prepared for his flirting, I just roll my eyes and lightly shove his shoulder. “I guess I can write it off as charity.”

Chuckling, he gestures for my keys and opens the trunk. I watch as he takes one tire off and trades it for the spare, then he takes the other off but leaves it on the jack. He squats down and lifts both tires at the same time, one under each arm, and turns toward me with a content expression.

He’s been talking this entire time, and I couldn’t tell you a single thing he said. I mean the few seconds that his muscular forearms are flexing under the weight as he walks from my car to his SUV, has me so hot and bothered, I momentarily forget we’re supposed to be going somewhere.

Which means getting into his car.

And I have to move to do that.

Shaking myself out of my stupor, I pull my eyes off of his body only to find him smirking at me. He looks all too pleased, and that simply won’t do.

With a saccharine smile, I tilt my head and say, “Sorry, I just wasn’t sure if aflacolike you could carry a tire—much less two.”

Walking to where I’m leaning against his car, he stops in front of me and looks down at me with unadulterated amusement shining through his dark eyes. “You can stare as much as you want, but don’t be a liar about it.”

With that, he opens the passenger door and watches as I climb in.

Themechanicshopispacked. They did say they could probably get my tires fixed in between appointments. It isn’t ideal, but it’s better than having to come back before work tomorrow.

That’s one of the beauties of living in a small town—your dad saves the mechanic’s dog after he got a tennis ball lodged in his throat, and you’re given special treatment for years after.

But still, it’ll be at least three hours until they have a long enough lull to even glance at my tires… and that means I’m stuck with Adrian.

Okay, maybestuckisn’t the right word. It’s notreallya hardship.

Especially not when he stopped at Morning Drip, one of the food trucks at The Loop.

Or when we cross the street, and he puts his hand on the small of my back.

And the way he stretches his arms after laughing really hard is kinda cute too, like he lets the happiness completely overtake his entire being anytime he gets the chance to.

I wonder what that’s like. To be so comfortable in the good moments, never worrying about when the rug’s going to get pulled out from under you.

Even now, as I sit across from him in this little sandwich shop, he looks so content. We’ve barely spoken in the last ten minutes but it’s nice. The quiet’s always nice with Adrian.

Every few minutes I’ll catch him staring at me or he’ll find my gaze on him, but neither of us have called each other out yet. We just look away and fall into another round of this little game we’ve created.

It’s new, but spending time with Adrian has made that ever present ache in my chest lessen. I miss Margo and Meera more than I can explain, but I wouldn’t want them to be all alone in another state, and I know they don’t want that for me.

“What’s brewing in that head of yours, Storm Cloud?”

My head snaps in his direction, but instead of letting me chase his gaze, he holds mine. Choosing my usual tactic, deflection, I muse, “That nickname again.”

He smirks, already seeing past my walls. “You like it?”

Biting down on my lip, I try to ignore the flutter in my stomach because goddamnit, Idolike it.

“You mean do I like being called chaotic and temperamental?” I tease.

He laughs and shakes his head. “No. Well, maybesometimes.” I jokingly scoff. “But more like strong, alluring… refreshing.”

Refreshing.That word sticks out to me for some reason. I’ve never been described as the breath of fresh air for someone.

My face warms and there’s no stopping the butterflies now. “It’s typically ‘Sunshine.’”

“I like rain better.” Speechless, my mouth drops open. “And it matches your eyes.”

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