Page 118 of Under the Weatherman
I shook my head. “I’m just going to steal your books anyway.”
She slid over into my space. “Not twenty minutes to shop for books.”
“For what then?” I asked, suspiciously, hoping she was suggesting what it sounded like.
“Whatever you want,” she said. “Consider me a bonus Christmas present.”
“You know what I want?”
“For me to take off your clothes slowly while dragging my tongue across your skin?”
I choked a laugh. That would work. “Yes. That was exactly what I was about to say.”
So we readalmostall night.
Saturday, she proved she wasn’t lying about how much damage she could do in a bookstore, and I counted myself every kind of genius for coming up with a reward that made her look so cute, shooting me devious glances, like she was getting away with something when she shoved an entire box set into my arms.
New Year’s Eve arrived at last, and I felt like we’d won something more than a silly scavenger hunt. We’d made memories together and forged a deep friendship, one that I hoped rivaled Elizabeth’s and Chelsea’s. I was going to need her loyalty when I dropped a bomb on her that would alter our future.
And I might end up losing her after all.
Chapter Forty-one
Elizabeth
“I do love nothing in the world so well as you: is not that strange?”
Much Ado About Nothing
We dressed in our finest and hit the town, planning to go bar to bar, starting at the Skybar where we’d met. It was way too cold out on the roof, therefore it was entirely empty as we made our way to the deserted bar with the drinks we’d purchased downstairs.
The echo of that crazy night together made me smile. The past month had been a whirlwind of friendship, romance, and intimacy. It was hard to believe it had all started with a simple dare.
I took Evan’s hands, facing him. “When we first stood right here”—I waved at the spot where I’d approached him—“I was so scared to talk to you.”
“When Chelsea explained to me exactly why she’d made you pretend to be someone else, how we’d never have met otherwise, that was when I honestly stopped feeling like a victim of a prank and more like the winner of a game of chance.”
“I wonder what would have happened if I’d been dared to total honesty that night. If I’d said, ‘Hi, my name is Elizabeth, and I think you have the prettiest eyes I’ve ever seen.’”
He grinned. “Yeah?”
“That’s what you would have said?”
“Hmm.” He cocked an eyebrow a little deviously. “I think I would have said, ‘Your smile is brighter than the sun.’”
“Liar.” I pushed him, but once my fingers touched him, I didn’t let go.
“You’re right.” He wrinkled his nose. “It would have scared the fuck out of me, but I was an idiot.”
“Well, at least we can be honest now, right?”
He exhaled. “If we’re being honest, there’s something I need to tell you.”
“Oh, no. Please don’t tell me you’re in a cult.”
A laugh escaped. “Nothing like that, but maybe you’ll wish I was.” He squeezed my hand, all serious now. “You know that job I found in Colorado?”
“Yeah. Are you going to apply?” My heart skipped a beat. It would be good for him to take a shot at something that truly excited him, but what would happen to us if they offered him a position?
