Page 42 of Any Second Now
“Right, good idea, we can have another dating lesson.” She taps her lips with a finger. “Want to watch a movie?”
“Sure.” I glance at the Pink Palace. She must mean we’ll go out to the movie theater.
But she doesn’t.
“We can each pick one and decide which we’ll watch when you get here.”
“Here?” I attempt to clarify.
“Yeah. Or we can watch both.”
Raleigh wants to watch a movie with me here, in her RV, in the middle of the woods, on her tiny couch? Okay.
She nods, the sides of her mouth turning up.
“We might be able to see the fireworks across the lake. I’ll check.”
Raleigh blinks at me with those dark eyes before opening the passenger side door. She slips a foot out.
“Movies and fireworks,” I confirm.
“That isn’t a bad second date idea, to be honest.” Raleigh exits the car, her dress bunched up around her thighs as she slides out of the seat.
“I’ll come at seven on Friday, okay?” I lean over and let my eyes very briefly flit down her body while she’s not looking.
“See you then.” Raleigh slams the Wrangler’s door. I roll down the window.
“Bye, coach.”
Raleigh rolls her eyes and waves. I watch her unlock the Pink Palace and open the door. She calls out to Megghen and then closes the door securely behind her. She pulls aside the curtain above her couch and waves to me, and only then do I drive out of the campsite, lowering the driver’s side window as well to appreciate the smell and sounds of the woods at night.
I don’t love her being out here all alone, even if she did tell me about her nice Midwestern neighbors. But I wouldn’t dare tell her what to do. I wouldn’t dare make her think she needs a man to protect her.
But I wouldn’t mind doing it.
CHAPTER 9
I’m Not Weird, I’m Unique
RALEIGH
Friday, July 4
“Are you fucking with me, Megghen?” I stand with one hand on my hip and the other holding a warm egg that I found nestled in the hood of my hoodie on myactual bedwhile cleaning up before Atticus arrives.
Why was my chicken on my bed? There’s just no excuse for that. Ever. I thought I closed the door. Can chickens open doors if they try really hard?
“It was a present,” I say in what I imagine is Megghen’s chicken voice. She looks up at me from the tiny square of a kitchen floor and cocks her head.
“I don’t want this kind of present. I also don’t want you pooping on my floor anymore.” I point to the door. “It was a perfectly nice afternoon and you refused to go outside.” I put the egg in the fridge with the others. “But there’s still another hour and a half of daylight, so I’m sending you out.”
“Because you want to be alone with the hot hockey player?” Megghen continues to mock me. “Your best friend’s little brother?”Megghen raises her chicken eyebrows and judges me. “And what are you wearing, anyway? Shorts and a tank top? Try harder.”
She’s so freaking judgmental. I didn’t want tolooklike I was trying hard for Atticus and our not-real date, so I went with super casual.
And I really don’t want to overthink why I’m having these kinds of conversation with my chicken.
I sigh as Megghen takes a cautious step toward the door.
