Chapter 4
four
. . .
On a warm spring night when the air is thick with the scent of new blooms and crackly with the call of crickets, my world changes.
I stand next to Andy during a rare shift together, filling saltshakers in a way that has become all too familiar between us over the past weeks.
He always helps me do this, even when he's not working.
He says it's soothing, just standing next to me, watching the way the salt moves. I always wonder if it’s me or the salt that soothes him.
As I laugh at some silly remark he's just made, I feel his hand come under my chin, lifting my gaze to meet his.
My whole body comes alive at the touch, sending me back to that first day we met.
Then his gentle lips are brushing against mine.
He tastes like the cinnamon gum he's always chewing, and his lips feel like silk against mine.
The kiss is sweet and timid, just like the boy who makes my world spin a little slower and my heart beat a whole lot faster.
“Go on a date with me,” he whispers onto my lips. He kisses the tip of my nose and straightens, taking the warmth of his breath with him. “Tomorrow night. Neither of us is working.”
I can’t process this. Is this a game to him?
There’s no way he wants to take me out. He’s 21 and gorgeous.
I’ve seen the way our customers (of all ages) look at him.
He can have any one of them. He’s not going to take me along on this little prank or whatever this is to him.
I know he likes me, but he doesn’t like me. There’s no way.
I screw the top of the saltshaker on much too tightly, but it helps me keep my voice even.
“What? You’re not serious and I don’t like being toyed with, Andy, so let’s just go, okay?
We're done here anyway.” I honestly don’t know how to react to what he’s saying.
Part of me thinks he’s just playing a game with me and another part is far too hopeful that he’s not.
But there's no way this is real; I'm so far out of his league.
We're not even the same sport. He's hockey and I'm baseball. Or something.
I storm out of the diner and into the parking lot. He follows closely behind, asking me to wait, but I don’t listen. “Don't play games with me, Andy! I might be younger than you, and you probably caught on to the fact that I have a crush on you, but this is too far!”
I’m just about to reach his truck when he gently takes hold of my elbow and turns me back toward him.
One of his hands grips my waist and my breathing, my heart, they go haywire.
I was already worked up before but this, this is something else.
The anger is pouring out of me in hot waves, but when he touches me, all the waves crash and the warmth that spreads through me is entirely different.
“Elaina,” he whispers my name. We’re so close, his nose nearly touching mine.
There’s a fire in his golden eyes that makes me want to screw my eyes shut, but I don’t because I can’t look away from him.
I never can. He licks his lips before he speaks again.
“I would never play games with you. Go on a date with me. Please.”
We stand there staring at each other for an eternity. I am stunned silent. I’m sure it looks like my eyes are going to pop out of my head. I’m still breathing heavily, and I can’t describe this weighty feeling in my stomach right now.
“I’ve wanted to ask you out since the first day we worked together.
Since that Saturday, 18 days ago. I’ve been trying to work up the courage every moment since.
I thought the chocolate chip cookie would be a good way in and then I froze.
But I can’t wait anymore.” His grip on my waist tightens and my hands come to rest on his forearms because I need to touch him, especially when he’s saying what I think he’s saying, which is that he likes me.
Me! He wants to take me on a date. For real!
His eyes are still intently on mine, that amber glow setting me on fire.
I hold his gaze and nod. “Yes. Okay. If this really isn’t a game, you can take me on a date tomorrow night.
” I slip away from his grip and get in the truck because I don’t think I can handle his stare or our proximity any longer.
He drives me home in silence. Again, it’s comfortable, but the air is definitely charged with something different now. I catch him sneaking glances at me, and for the first time since we met, I’m glad it’s a short 7-minute drive to my house. I’m all out of sorts trying to process this. Him.
When we arrive, I quickly open my passenger door.
“See you tomorrow night, Andy. Thanks for the ride.” I need to get inside to digest what just happened.
There are too many thoughts, too many feelings all threatening to burst out of me and I won’t be able to bear it if I let them all out now, in front of him.
I need to write this down. I need to sleep, and wake up, and make sure I didn’t dream it all.
I wince at the sound of his truck door opening then closing, and as I’m about to grab the front door handle, he reaches for my shoulder and turns me around for the second time tonight, with the same gentleness he’s treated me with since day one.
He smiles. Slowly, the dimple comes out to taunt me. His stare moves from my eyes to my nose, to my lips, and then his right hand is on my cheek.
He takes a deep, slow breath. “This isn’t a game, Lainey."
I am positively reeling right now.
He called me by my nickname. The one only my friends and family use. I have never loved that nickname as much as I love it coming out of Andy’s mouth. I stare at his lips as he keeps talking because I need to see his words to make sure I’m not just hearing what I want so desperately to hear.
"I like you. I want to spend time with you. Outside of work and the 7-minute drive to your house.” His voice is low and rumbly.
“I want to pick you up tomorrow night and take you on a date you’ll never forget.
” His thumb brushes across my lower lip.
“I want to end it with a kiss that leaves you out of breath. And then I want a second date, and a third, and so on.”
His other hand goes to my waist and I brace myself by placing my hands on his biceps, our forearms touching.
He takes another deep breath before he continues. “I want to make you feel the way you make me feel. Do you know how you make me feel, Lainey?” I shake my head, certain that my knees would give out were we not holding on to one another so tightly now.
“You make me feel lightheaded just from being near you, restless when I can’t hear your voice, desperate for the next time I'll make you laugh, and completely crazy because I’ve never felt this way about anyone before.
There’s more, but I want to tell you slowly.
I don’t want to scare you by saying too much. ”
I’m floating. My feet have left the ground. Either that or this is a dream. I have definitely died and gone to heaven. Maybe all of the above.
Andy places a kiss on the tip of my nose and when he speaks again, his voice is almost a whisper. “I’ll see you at six tomorrow, Elaina. Goodnight.”
And just like that, his sweet touches are gone, and the skin that was once on fire is now ice cold, missing his hands. How the heck am I supposed to make it until tomorrow?