Alright, Landry. I’m ready for you.
This time, as I gear up for whatever game he’s playing, there’s an honest-to-God smile on my face. A real, genuine, I’m-excited-to-spend-the-day-with-Hudson kind of smile.
CHAPTER 19
HUDSON
The summer heatis already setting in when I pull up in front of Wren’s house to pick her up. It took me the whole morning to work up the nerve not to cancel the date. So many questions undermined the confidence I had when I made the bet.
Would Wren like what I have planned? Does she even want to spend time with me at all? What if things between us are awkward since the kiss? She was stunned when I pulled away from her. Normally I can read the emotions that pass over Wren’s face—she wears them plain as day—but after the kiss, I couldn’t. She did agree to come today, so it couldn’t have been all that bad. From my perspective, the kiss wasn’t bad at all. It was …everything.
I don’t have time to dwell on it any longer because Wren has seen the truck in the driveway and is walking down the front steps, a shiny dark ponytail bouncing high on her head, her backpack slung over both shoulders. It relieves me to seeshe’s dressed practically—denim cut-off shorts showing off her tanned legs, and an old familiar t-shirt.
She must have found it in her closet. It’s the same one she used to wear when we were teens. I recognize it right away because it’s an old one of mine. I forget she held onto it.
Something about her today is eerily reminiscent of the Wren I once knew, that I once loved. I yank myself back to reality, out of my drifting thoughts, and hop out of the truck to come around and open the door for her.
“Good morning.” I greet her with an uncontainable smile. There’s magic in the air today, something sizzling between us. Maybe it’s the knowledge that we’re going to one of our old haunts. Maybe it’s the way Wren looks this morning that has sucker punched my heart and sent me ten years back in time. Or maybe it’s a new tension between us since our kiss. Whatever it is, it feels good.Electric.
“Morning!” she says cheerfully, her voice almost a song.She feels it, too. The magic.
“Are you ready for the best date of your life?”
Wren’s mouth twists as she squints her eyes at me.
“I’m skeptical. None of my best dates have started with ‘bring comfortable shoes.’”
“Well, this one does.” I swing the passenger door open and watch as Wren climbs up into the truck, her denim shorts hugging the curve of her ass, showing off a sliver of the soft bit of skin at the top of her thigh. My gaze lingers, travelling down her leg and stopping at the boots she’s selected.
“Those boots look brand new. Are you sure you’re going to be comfortable?” I ask her, earning myself a vicious glare over her shoulder.
“I’ll be fine. Aren’t these shoes known for being comfortable?”
“I mean … yeah, eventually. But those look brand new, and they usually take some breaking in. Did you buy them for this? You would have had to go all the way to Calgary last night to get them. That’s a lot of effort to go to for a date you’re only on because you lost a bet.” I can’t help the smirk playing on my lips, thinking of Wren preparing for this.
Wren sticks her tongue out at me.
“You wish,” she says, flopping down on the passenger seat. And she’s right, I do wish. I wish she wasn’t here because she lost our game of beer pong. I wish she was as excited about this date as I am. But at this point, I’ll take anything I can get with Wren.
As I close the door, Wren turns in her seat and greets Ruby, who has stuck her head between the seats and can hardly contain herself. She gives her some loving scratches behind her ear, a far cry from the greeting she gave her the first time they met at my apartment.
I can’t help but wonder what has changed. I can’t help but wonder about a lot of the changes I see in Wren today. Whatever it is, she’s lighter; even the way she glared at me felt a lot more unserious than it has in the past.
The drive to the old forestry road is almost … peaceful, and the silence hanging between us isn’t uncomfortable. Wren is staring out the passenger window, watching the trees go by, but her head snaps towards me when we pull onto the road that will take us to the location of our date.
“Here?” Wren asks, and there’s a hint of hesitation in hervoice. Almost like trepidation at venturing into old territory, an area that holds so many memories for us. The old swimming hole. “That explains the bathing suits, I guess.”
“Maybe.” I pull the truck over to the side of the road when we get to the big metal gate that closes the rest of the forestry road off to regular traffic. “But you know we never cared much for bathing suits.” I wink at her as I throw the truck in park. A pink flush spreads up Wren’s neck to her cheeks, shading them the same colour as her rosebud pink lips.
Before she can answer with something snarky, I hop out of the truck and open the back door to let Ruby out. There’s no one else out here, and Ruby doesn’t wander very far. She’s my ‘velcro dog’ as I like to call her, so I let her roam around and sniff on the side of the gravel road.
Wren follows suit and jumps out of the passenger side, rounding the back of the truck where I’m opening the tailgate and gathering the supplies I brought.
“So, what about the toothbrush then?” Wren asks, and I cock my head at her. Sensing my question, she clarifies, “The toothbrush on the list?”
“Oh yeah.” I forgot I put that on there. It was mostly to throw her off what we were doing today. So was the bathing suit, now that I think of it. I sling my hiking pack over one shoulder, grab Ruby’s leash, and start walking towards the trailhead. Not the one Wren knows, a different one I found about a year after she left.
“You’re leaving me here for dead, aren’t you?” Wren says, slightly out of breath from trying to keep up with me. “When they find me, my body will be rotting, but my teeth will be sparkling.”
