“We’re good. Thank you so much.” Ginny took the plate from her without too much resistance. “Javi, you want to walk her back to the motel? I’ll keep your plate warm.”
But Javi responded by shoveling his food into his mouth, rising at the same time. “I’ll walk you over, if you’re sure you don’t need help.” He addressed the last to Ginny.
Ginny looked around the diner. The tables had been cleaned. “I just need to give the floor a mop before I go. May as well close up so I can be ready to go first thing in the morning,” she said, picking up Javi’s plate, too, and leaving her own untouched for now. “I’m sure we’ll be just as busy then. Thank you again for your help.”
Espy vowed to herself that she would wake up early and head over to lend a hand. Tonight wasn’t her first time waiting tables, though she was out of practice. But she didn’t make any promises as she walked out the door with Javi.
“You don’t have to walk me. It’s just right there.”
He nodded. “I know.”
“Are you driving back home?” His house wasn’t terribly far, but they were both exhausted and she worried about him being on the road, especially since some parts were littered with debris..
“Yeah. Might be hot in there tonight, but I’d rather be home than at the shelter. I’ll go back early to give a hand before my shift.”
“Are you going to take your mom?”
He shook his head. “She’s probably settled in, and she’s with her friends. She’ll be okay tonight. I can take her to my house as soon as the power is restored.”
“Good plan.”
As quickly as they’d both eaten, they were walking quite a bit slower, like they didn’t want to part.
“Thanks for helping Ginny out tonight,” Javi said. “She’s a good friend.”
“You did a lot more than I did,” Espy pointed out.
“Then I’d like to thank myself for stepping in,” he said with a grin, stopping at the corner of the motel and turning to face her. “Thank you for the experience today.”
Was he saying good-bye? Espy’s heart squeezed. She hadn’t planned on saying goodbye to him, not yet anyway. She might not have a vehicle to leave town yet, and she might want to stay around to help with some of the damage. She’d never lingered in a town that had experienced damage from a tornado, and she felt guilty leaving it behind, especially since she had met some of the people who were affected. She felt connected.
“I’m not going anywhere until my van is fixed,” she reminded him.
“I know.” He angled his head, like he was studying her, trying to figure her out.
She never thought she was that hard to figure out, to be honest.
But then he lifted his hand to her hair, and brushed his fingertips along the top of her ear. The calluses on his fingertips caught the curls at her temple that had escaped from her scarf, giving them a tiny tug, and she smiled up at him, hoping she was giving him just the right amount of encouragement. His gaze drifted to her lips and she caught her breath, not wanting to move, not wanting to do anything to spook him from kissing her, because she got the feeling he spooked very easily.
But he also kissed like a dream. Her eyes drifted shut as his soft lips brushed hers, so tenderly, like maybe he thought she spooked easily as well.
She rose on her toes, hoping to encourage a deeper kiss, and he drew back, just a bit, when she leaned into him.
And just when she thought he would break the kiss, he slid his fingers around the back of her head to cup it in his hand. She wanted to pump her fist in victory as he brought her closer, angling his lips over hers, teasing hers apart.
The hairs on her arms stood up as the buzz of longing coursed through her, like lightning in a bottle. She never wanted the sensation to stop, even if she had to stretch up on her toes until her calves ached in order to reach him.
Finally, though, she had to lower her heels to the ground, laughing a little as she held onto his arms.
“Leg cramp,” she admitted. “Romantic, I know.”
He grinned and rubbed the back of his neck. “Yeah, romantic.” He lifted his head with an exaggerated motion and snapped his shoulders back.
“Oof, did I hear a pop?” she teased.
“I am much too young to have to pop my back after a kiss. But maybe next time we can find you a step stool or something.”
She wanted to linger on the words “next time,” because she definitely wanted that, instead of regretting that this evening was apparently over. She took a step back, because honestly, she was getting a crick in her neck, too. “Or you could kneel down.”
