Page 27 of Playing With The Mountain Man

“Nice try. Your date. How did it go?” Emmy pushed again.

Deep down, I knew there was nothing I could do to avoid this conversation, but I could try.

I pointed to my ear and mouthed, “I can’t hear you.”

Emmy rolled her eyes, and I shut off the blender. I poured the milkshake into the glass and slid it across the counter to her.

“What? No whipped cream and cherry?”

“Oh, my god. You’re worse than River,” I told her.

I added her toppings and then poked two straws down the side. “There. Happy now?”

“Ecstatic. Now, start talking. Where’d he take you?” Emmy pushed.

“We hiked up to the lookout.” I shrugged, downplaying it.

“Hiked? Ew. Who wants to exercise on a date? Unless it’s without your clothes on. Tell me you didn’t have clothes on.”

I looked around the diner. People were staring at us. “Keep your voice down,” I hissed.

“Sorry,” Emmy apologized, at least having the decency to look sheepish.

“Sorry to disappoint. We were both fully clothed. We hiked up to the lookout and then had some food.”

“And?”

“And what?”

“And then what happened? Come on, Tils, I need details. The last time I had a date, River was still in diapers!”

“It was … nice,” I admitted, feeling my cheeks heat as I recalled exactly how nice it had been. Especially when Cody had me coming undone on his tongue.

“Nice? Nice? All you’re giving me is nice?”

“What? It was.”

Emmy fell quiet, which was far more dangerous than her peppering me with questions and demanding answers.

“I’m not buying it.”

“Not buying what?”

“Nice.”

“Well, it was,” I told her pointedly.

“Not saying it wasn’t. But there’s something you’re not telling me.”

“How do you …”

“It’s written all over your face, Tillie Hooper.”

I scrubbed my hand down my face like I was trying to wipe away whatever it was that Emmy thought she could see.

“But I’ll leave it for now,” she conceded.

“You will?” I blurted out, not bothering to mask my surprise.