Page 134 of Here and Now
“Then you understand why I’m so afraid of this?”
He lets out a long breath through his nose. “I understand. I just also think that you have to give Miles the chance to make his own choices. If he loves you, he’s not going to give up. I think you should trust him with your secrets. If there’s anyone in that town who is capable of doing what you need them to do, it’s him. Just think about it.”
“You’re telling me to risk his life too?”
Quinn chuckles. “If he loves you, his only concern is you, and he doesn’t care about risks, because protecting you is worth it.”
The three of us are curled up on the couch, just finishing a movie that Kai picked out. We have family date nights at least once a week. Tonight was the only one we could make work. Tomorrow is the first hometown football game, which I was instructed I had to attend. Not by Miles, but by everyone.
The entire town shuts down.
Like, closed.
Every business, the parks, everything.
Friday nights in Ember Falls are for football, and the entire town attends to support the Bulldogs. So, tomorrow, we are going. Not just to support the football team, but because Miles will be there and we get special seating as his guests.
Kai is beyond excited, since Ethan and Briggs talk about it nonstop. They’ve been going to games since they can remember, and it’s “the best time ever.”
Kai looks over at Miles. “That movie was stupid.”
Miles laughs. “It really was, but you picked it.”
“Mom only gave me two choices.”
I roll my eyes. “I liked it.”
“Because you’re agirland it had kissing,” Kai informs me. Apparently, my status as a female has definitely knocked me down a peg in the cool category.
Whereas Miles is the coolest person in the world.
Miles does his best to hide his smile. “I think guys like kissing too.”
Kai’s eyes flash to him, and the absolute horrification on his face is comical. “No, they don’t.”
I lean back, wondering how he plans to get out of this one. “Well, maybe not in movies.”
That seems to mollify my son. Kai lets out a long sigh. “Next time we get to watch something with fights.”
Oh boy. “Or we watch an animated film,” I offer as analternative.
Kai shakes his head. “No way, Mom. We need war.”
I burst out laughing and Miles chuckles. “Okay, soldier. Go get ready for bed. You have school tomorrow.”
He stands, salutes—badly, I might add—and rushes off.
“Come here, love,” Miles says with his arm open. I scoot over, closer to him, and rest in the crook of his arm.
When he’s here on family date nights, we keep the PDA to a minimum, increasing it each time to get Kai comfortable with it. Tonight, he kissed me when he came in the door, which was the first time we’ve done that.
Kai didn’t even seem to care.
“That movie really was terrible,” I say, smiling up at him.
“Seriously, so far, you’ve picked two movies, and each one was worse than the last.”
I chuckle and nuzzle in more. “Whatever. Yours are all fighting and destruction.”
