Chapter 7 Come Inside
Champ
Her townhouse looks exactly how I expected it to look. Not too cutesy, but not plain either. The lawn is cut low and even, like somebody takes their time with it. It’s immaculate. Just like her.
I put the car in park and let my eyes rest on the front of her house a second longer than necessary.
I’m not too proud to admit I’m a little nervous to look at her.
There’s a chance we took this too far already, and she’s about to end it right here, thank me for the ride, and go inside like none of this ever happened.
I glance over without turning my head. She’s still staring straight ahead at her place, like she’s thinking the same thing I am. And now I know whatever I do next is going to decide how this ends.
I turn off the car.
That’s it. That’s my move. My way of saying I’m ready if she is. And if she’s not, I’ll walk her to the door, make sure she gets inside safe, and leave it at that.
My hand still rests on her thigh, and I don’t move it.
She doesn’t move either. Doesn’t reach for the door. Doesn’t look at me. She just sits there, still and quiet, like she’s holding herself in place.
I slide my eyes over to her again, slower this time. Her fingers are curled slightly in her lap, like she’s bracing herself for something.
Waiting.
Before I can stop myself, I flex my hand once against her thigh.
Her breath catches.
Damn.
I drag my gaze back to the windshield like I didn’t just do that.
“Home,” I say, like I didn’t just spend the few hours driving her everywhere but here.
She lets out a soft laugh. “We made it.”
“Yeah.”
Neither of us reaches for the door.
I should say something. End the ride the way I always do. Thank her, tell her to have a good night, maybe joke about the rating.
Instead, I sit there with my hand on her and this tight feeling in my chest like I’m about to miss something I haven’t even had yet.
She finally looks at me.
“You do this for everybody?”
There it is.
I lean back just a little, forcing some space between us even though my hand doesn’t move.
“Only the ones I like.”
Her lips press together like she’s trying not to smile. “That so?”
“Yeah.”
Silence settles again, heavier this time.
I glance down at my hand on her thigh like I forgot it was there.
I didn’t. I just don’t want to be the one to move it first.
“You gonna take your hand back?” she asks, her voice softer now.
I look at her. “You want me to?”
She holds my gaze for a beat too long.
“No.”
I nod once.
Noted.
She shifts in her seat, turning just enough to face me. “Come inside,” she says.
Simple words, but they make my heart pound.
I search her face for a second, making sure. “You sure?”
I need to hear it.
She nods. “Yeah.”
I finally lift my hand from her thigh, and I miss the feel of her immediately, but I know I’m not walking away from this empty-handed.
I open my door and step out into the night air, taking my time closing.
It doesn’t help.
By the time I make it around the front of the car, she’s already out, standing there with her keys in her hand like this is nothing, like this moment isn’t sitting as heavy on her as it is on me.
But the way she looks at me says otherwise.
“You took a long time to get out of that car.” she says, her tone light again.
I let out a quiet laugh as I stop in front of her. “I’m thinking too hard.”
“About what?”
I take her in properly this time and shake my head. “Bad decisions.”
Her mouth curves just a little. “And this feels like one?”
This is the moment where I could make this easy, where I could play it off and give us both an out.
I don’t.
I hold her gaze. “No.”
Something shifts between us again.
She turns toward the door, and I follow just behind her, close enough to notice the change in her breathing, close enough to see her miss the keyhole the first time. She mutters under her breath, and I can’t help the small smile that pulls at me.
“You nervous?” I ask.
“No,” she says quickly, not turning around.
This time the key slides in clean, the lock clicks, and the door opens. She pauses there for half a second, like she’s giving herself one last chance to change her mind.
I don’t move.
The walk back to my car wouldn’t be far, but it would feel a lot longer than it should.
She glances back at me over her shoulder. “Are you coming, or are you just going to stand there?”