Page 49 of The Good Girl (Nashville Neighborhood)

He shot me a confused, amused look. “Hey there.”

As I buckled my seatbelt, I felt his gaze wander suggestively over my bare legs, and my pulse jumped. Blood rushed to heat my face. I loved the way he made me feel, and I tried to imprint this as a memory I’d hold on to, because by my count, we only had three lessons left.

We had to make them count.

“Ready?” he asked.

He’d only meant if I was ready to go, but I swallowed a breath, feeling like his question went deeper. I peered up at his handsome face, feeling more confident than ever. “Ready.”

He put the car in gear, backed out of the driveway, and once we’d started down the street, his hand came off the steering wheel. He didn’t rest it casually in his lap, though. The warmth of his palm slid onto the top of my thigh, resting just above my knee.

I gasped and my gaze darted to him, but his expression was plain. He didn’t even bother to take his eyes off the road. “What?” he challenged. “I felt like touching you. It’s not a big deal.”

I smashed my lips together to hold back my incredulous grin. This gesture was so intimate and affectionate, it threatened to make me lightheaded.

“You’re right,” I said breathlessly. “It’s not.”

So, I set my hand on top of his, daring him to pull away. But he didn’t.

We rode the rest of the way like that, his hand on me and mine casing his.

A tinge of sadness washed over me when we reached his house, because it meant this strange and wonderful handholding was coming to an end, but I reminded myself that a hell of a lot more was on the menu for tonight.

The three-car garage at his house was empty until he pulled his car in.

“Nobody’s home?” I asked.

“Nope. My dad’s working, and Cassidy’s out with friends.” He shut off the car, and his attention dropped to the hands on my leg. “It’s just us tonight.”

Dear lord. All the moisture in my body began to migrate south, making my mouth dry. “Oh.”

“Come on.” A seductive smile stretched across his lips as he undid his seatbelt. “I’ve got something for you. It’s in my bedroom.”

I filled my voice with suspicion. “Is it your penis?”

My question surprised him so much, it punched a laugh from his chest. “No, but it can be, if you want.”

“What is it?”

“Guess you’ll have to come see.”

His eyes glimmered with sex and mischief before he pulled his hand out from beneath mine and reached for his car door.

I was sort of glad he’d said something because I was more focused on my curiosity, rather than my nerves as we came into the house and descended the steps into the basement. He moved fast, maybe in an attempt to keep me from stopping and looking at the pictures lining the staircase on either side.

There weren’t any embarrassing ones, nor were any of them from before he was in high school, but that sort of made sense. He hadn’t moved in with his dad until he was sixteen. But had he not been a part of his father’s life before then?

I was curious, but that seemed too invasive of a question to ask, so I focused elsewhere. There were graduation pictures, both high school and college, plus a few family trips. One even included Cassidy in the mix, and I couldn’t help but wonder how that worked.

Bad enough to have your ex dating your father, but to be a third wheel to them? Yikes.

It’d been a year since I’d been in the Lowes’ basement, but it hadn’t changed much. The only difference was the table where we’d played beer pong was now empty and surrounded by chairs.

“You want something to drink?” He went to the fridge and pulled it open, but it wasn’t to show me the selection. It was so he could pull out a can of Coke for himself.

“Sure. I’ll have one of those.” I nodded to the can he was holding.

“You want something to go in it?” He motioned to the bottles of hard liquor on the inside of the fridge door. “Like rum?”

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