Page 126 of Girls Will Be Girls
I stick him with a glare. “Just drive.”
As soon as he’s reversed out onto the road, his hand slides up my thigh, pulling up my knee-length dress enough so he’s touching skin.
His touch sends a flutter of panic into my chest. We’ve spent all of today wrapped up in each other that I haven’t had time to consider whatusmeans out here in the real world.
“Should we maybe talk about logistics?” I say.
“Logistics?” He asks, clearly amused.
“Like, how we’re going to work going forward?” I explain.
He smiles. “Well, I was thinking that you’d become my girlfriend, we’d be happy, have lots of sex, and live happily ever after.”
I turn to him. “Lou.” I scowl.
He laughs. “What’s worrying you, sweetheart?” He squeezes my leg.
“We live in different states,” I say.
He shakes his head. “It’s only a four-hour drive.” He says. “And I come to New York often enough, I’ll come even more now.” He continues. “And long-term, I can move there, or you can move to me. It doesn’t matter, I’ll make it work for us.”
I look at him skeptically. “Why do you make it sound so easy?”
“Because it is easy, baby girl.” He beams at me.
“Okay.” I un-tense a little. “Then what about your brother thinking we’re engaged? I’m still wearing your ring.”
He smiles smugly at me over that. He’s never mentioned it, but I know he loves that it sits on my ring finger.
“I could always propose to you now, then it wouldn’t be fake.” He smirks over at me.
“Don’t you dare.” I laugh.
He smiles and shrugs. “I don’t intend on Otto being in our lives any more than he has to be.” He says. “He can think whatever he wants to think.”
“Lou, he’s your brother,” I say.
“He lost that privilege a long time ago.”
I wrap my fingers around his, where they rest on my thigh, and hold him.
I can’t imagine what it must be like for your own brother to try to sabotage your life like that.
When we arrive at the restaurant — which looks big enough to host a celebrity wedding based on the parking lot alone — I take Lou’s hand as we walk over to the slope leading up to the grand entrance.
“So what am I tonight?” I ask. “To you?”
“What do you want to be?” He smiles as he stops us by the trees leading up to the front door.
I play with the button on his shirt to avoid looking at him directly. “You mentioned something about a girlfriend?” I say.
“Hey, Louisa.” He says, his fingers on my chin, gently drawing my gaze up to him. “Will you be my girlfriend? Tonight and at all other times.” He grins.
“Yes, please.”
He lifts my head higher to reach his lips in a small peck. I already told him off once for kissing off my lip gloss tonight, so he keeps it soft and civil.
When we wrap our hands together, Lou spots the ring still on my finger again. When he looks over to me, I shrug wordlessly, telling him it’s staying on. I’m not sure why the idea of taking it off feels like someone’s stealing something important from me, but it does. So I keep it on, and at that, Lou smirks and kisses my knuckle right where the gems glint.
