I sat nearly frozen, absorbing every syllable.
“I know hearing Ed the way you did freaked you out, and I don’t know if you can get past this or if you’ll think of me as a psycho, but I need you. And if it has to be as a friend, I’ll take it. The thought of not talking to you or hearing your laugh makes me crazy. I know you’re leaving after the wedding, but until then, I want to hang out with you. After that, I want to be in your life. I’ll take anything.”
My chest wound so tight it was hard to breathe. “You’d be okay if friendship was all I could give?”
His eyes set on me. “I would. But I’ll work like hell to prove I’m worthy of more.”
My heart was begging to let him in, but it was too scary. While I wanted my voice to be strong, it was barely a whisper. “I can’t do the weekend pass. I thought I could, but no.”
He put his hands up. “That’s okay. We could just take it day by day. Friendship is fine. I’d just like to spend some time with you.”
I nodded.
He settled back in his chair, and I felt relief pouring off him. He cleared his throat. “Fern, could I take you out tonight for a bit? As friends or anything you want.”
For the first time in days, the fifty-pound weight that’d been sitting on the center my chest lifted. “Yes.” My heart was doing cheerleader jumps.
A little grin slid across his lips while his eyes twinkled at me. “Thank you.”
An hour later, we sat in a dark theater watching a kick you in the throat movie. We shared a bucket of popcorn. I know, puke. About halfway through the movie, he stretched his arm around the back of my seat.
Feeling his arm around me was the same feeling I had at age five. A memory, a warm summer night at dusk, sitting on the swing in my back yard, taking in the last few moments of light before the sun would sink over the horizon. Maybe it was that particular day, or being in the safety of my yard feeling utterly protected, but Gabe next to me brought back the feeling I’d never be able to put into words.
In the dark, I snuck a look at his profile…strong jaw line and perfect nose. Tingles tumbled down my spine, remembering his whiskers on my neck. Stop! Don’t go there. Maybe? No! Whiskers off. Clothes on.
The lights came up, and as I stood, I dropped my purse, which landed upside down on the floor. “Oops.” I sat back in my seat, quickly grabbing my just in case tampons that exploded from the bag and shoved them back inside while flashing a weak smile.
He sat back down. “Well, well, well. Look at all this stuff.”
“You just never know what you’ll need.”
He held up my little electric pencil sharpener. “Really?”
“I like pencils instead of pens, and you never know when you’ll need to sharpen. In case I have to erase an individual from my life forever.” I narrowed my eyes as he laughed.
“I’m picking up what you’re laying down, girl.”
“Good.” I scooped up a pair of hot pink socks. Huh. Maybe I did need to clean out my purse more frequently.
“OMG, Fern.” He raised a can of chili in the air.
I couldn’t help but sound defensive. “Listen, we’re in Minnesota, and you never know if you’ll be stranded in a blizzard or run into a damn tree. I could probably survive three days off that delightful can.”
His chuckle bounced off the chairs around us as he retrieved another item from the ground. “But a screwdriver?”
I shook my head. “Okay, multiple uses for that bad boy. If I had a car thing happen and I needed to unscrew some part?—”
His head shook. “You’d know what to unscrew under the hood of a car?”
Eye roll. “Well, no. But I’d sure as shit give it a shot. And it could be a self-defense tool. Ya know, if a thug tried to kidnap me, I could stab him in the eyes with my screwdriver. So there you go.”
“I like a lady with a plan. Maybe a jacked-up plan but none the less, a plan.”
The items were nearly all back in their proper place when he reached out and flashed a packet of taco seasoning at me. “Why?”
“Who doesn’t like tacos?”
“So basically, your purse is a junk drawer with handles?”
