The look on her face was one that would forever be in his memory. “I love knowing that.”
She ducked her gaze, bit her lip, and he had to fight back a groan. When she looked up, her expression was so sweet it made his heart ache. “Lainey and I used to pass notes back and forth about our crushes. Your name was always in mine.”
His chest felt full. He reached out, grabbed her other hand across the table. “Oh yeah? One of those ones with ‘do you like him? yes or no’?”
She nodded. “Those too. Some of them were: ‘who’s cuter?,’ then your name, Liam’s, Leo’s, and sometimes if she was being irritating, she’d put my brothers’.”
He laughed. “Bet you crossed those ones out. Did you evernotcheck my name? Did you ever choose Liam and Leo over me?”
She shook her head. “Never.”
He inhaled deeply, looked around for the waitress, and asked for the check. “Let’s go for a walk.”
Once they paid, they left his mom’s car in the lot and took one of the trails that led to the water. The air was cool but he didn’t feel it. He pulled Jilly closer, in case she did, and because he liked having her next to him.
The trail through the trees led to an alcove that followed the water. Large, weathered bricks, stacked about waist high, created a wall where people often sat, stood, or leaned to gaze out or makeout. He smiled, thinking about how they’d once called this area Kissing Cove.
They stopped at the wall and Levi turned Jillian toward him. Leaning down, he kissed her, his mouth lingering, his heart waiting for that hitch in her breath.
“Tell me more.”
He’d tell her anything. He smoothed her soft hair back from her face. “What do you want to know?”
“Your favorite color. Song. What you hate to eat. Where you’d go if you could travel anywhere. What you love most about being back in Smile. Your favorite thing to do on a lazy Sunday.”
Surprising an adorable squeal from her, he yanked her closer, putting his back to the brick and holding her tight.
“That’s a lot of questions.” He kissed one cheek, the other, then the tip of her nose. “Okay. Dark blue. You can’t go wrong with ‘Paradise City.’ Jell-O is gross.”
Jill laughed and moved her hand up his chest, burrowing closer, making him wish they were at his place. Of course, he might want to actually get some furniture before that happened.
He focused on the questions rather than the way she fit against him perfectly, like the dips and curves, the lines and planes of their bodies were meant to fit together. “I’d like to go to Seattle. Never been. Seems like a cool city. Or Nashville.” His brain blanked when her fingers, her nails specifically, traced over the back of his neck. “Um. This. I love being here with you. In Smile. Where we grew up. But being grown-up enough to do this.” He kissed her then, crushing her body to his, his arms wrapping around her as he changed the angle of his head to kiss her more. He pulled back, swept her hair back from her face. “Kissing you is my favorite thing to do on a lazy Sunday or any day that ends iny. You’re killing me, Jillian.” His voice came out hoarse like he’d been screaming.
She ran her fingers over his face, like she was memorizing it.
“That’s funny. You have the opposite effect on me. You make me feel more alive than I can ever remember feeling.”
Levi moved his hands to her hips, one of them sliding to the side of her neck so he could feel the heat of her skin. Her breath shuddered out.
“You’re so sexy.”
“You make me feel that way,” she whispered, that hint of vulnerability, along with the slight pinkening of her cheeks, undoing something inside of him.
“There’s something I’ve sort of always wanted to ask you,” he said, whispering even though there was no one else around them.
She leaned back, her hands on his shoulders. “What’s that?”
“Will you be my girlfriend, Jillian Keller?”
Her laughter floated around them, echoing off the water and making Levi feel like he’d won the lottery.
“Is this a yes, no, or maybe question?”
He tickled her waist, making her laugh more. “Do you need that many options?”
Her gaze found his, all humor fleeing from it. “No. I don’t need that many options. I’d love to be your girlfriend, Levi Bright.”
He grinned at her, probably looked like an idiot, but he didn’t care. He pulled her close, tightening his hold to swing her in a circle.
