Page 19 of All the Right Things

But I won’t push her into anything she isn’t ready for.

Pretty soon, our food is done, and we take a seat at the table. I stand up to grab a beer out of the fridge, and I open one of the bottles of wine I bought for Andi earlier.

“When did you get that?” She smiles.

“Earlier. On my way back into town. I have no clue if it’s any good or not, but I had the clerk show me some sweet stuff. I hope it’s okay.”

“I’m sure it’ll be great.”

I pull out the corkscrew that I also got at the liquor store since I’ve never had a use for one before. I think Andi’s the first woman I’ve been around who has drunk something other than beer or hard liquor. Hell, most of the women in Grady can shotgun a beer faster than I can.

I flip the tiny tool around in my hand a few times, trying to figure out how it works before I feel Andi’s hands on mine.

“I got it,” she says, taking the corkscrew and bottle from me.

“Sorry, I don’t think I’ve ever used one of those things before.”

“It’s alright. I’ve used one more times than I care to admit.” She lets out a quiet laugh.

I pay careful attention to how she opens the bottle so that I will know for next time.

Damn, I hope there’s a next time.

Within seconds, she has the bottle open and is looking around for a wine glass.

“Sorry, sugar. Afraid I don’t have any fancy wine glasses either.”

She smiles. “No big deal.” She walks over to the counter, grabs a coffee cup, and pours some in.

I’m smiling so hard that my cheeks threaten to start hurting. I find myself smiling more and more around this woman. She’s good for my soul in a way that I’m not entirely sure how to explain just yet.

“So, you said you met Tracy today, too?” I ask.

“Yeah, I went into that Daisy’s Boutique you told me about. She seems like a real sweetheart even though most of the things in the store really weren’t my style.”

“Did you find anything you liked?”

“I picked out a couple of things to get me by for the next few days. A couple of shirts, some jeans, and some leggings.”

“You going to give me a fashion show later?” I ask, only half-joking.

“Maybe if you’re lucky. But if not, I’m sure you’ll see me wearing them the next couple of days.”

And I can’t fucking wait.

Chapter Eleven

Andi

“You did a good job picking out this wine,” I praise, taking another sip out of my mug.

“You sure?” Jonas asks. “I got a few different kinds if you don’t like that one.”

“Really, it’s great. It’s sweet, just like I like it.”

A smile plays on his lips like he wants to make some sort of sexy comment, but he doesn’t. I can’t tell if I’m relieved by that or disappointed. When he stands up from the table, I realize it’s the latter.

“Do you want to go hang out in the living room? It’s a little early for bed, and we could watch some TV or something.” Jonas asks the question, not in his usual confident way, but he almost sounds nervous.