“Where are we going?” I ask as he slips his feet into work boots.
“We’re going out,” he says with a grin.
I haven’t brushed my hair, and I’m wearing his clothes, and I don’t have a clue where we’re going. But the tilt of his mouth and the sparkle in his eye are enough to melt all my resistance.
Trust him. My inner voice tells me it’s okay to trust him. The warmth of his fingers slipping between mine is assurance.
“I look like hell,” I say—my weak attempt to stay hidden in this basement.
“You’re fucking gorgeous, Nova.” The force of his words stops me, his brows low, eyes challenging me to argue. “We’re going to my buddy’s place. It’s nothing special.”
“Like a party?”
Zeke laughs, and the sound of his genuine amusement lights him up in a way that draws me to him. More than I already am. I’ve seen his serious, sexy side. I’ve experienced his goofiness, and this lightness on such weighed-down shoulders is so lovely to see. I’m almost jealous of it.
“No,” he chuckles. “Not a party.” He pauses and waits for me to decide.
I’m bored here. I’m stewing in my problems. I’m obsessing over things I can’t control.
I want to get to know Zeke in ways that aren’t just here in this basement, oscillating between freaking out and gawking at his beauty.
Stepping toward him, I let him lead me outside to his truck. He opens the door for me, not letting me go until I’m inside.
“You’re sweet,” I say out loud, then blush furiously. “Shit. I didn’t mean to say that.”
Zeke curls my fingers around his, kisses my knuckles, then takes a deep bow before closing the door. He winks at me, then moves around the front of the truck. By the time he’s next to me, there’s no more embarrassment.
I want him. Deeply. Just like the day I met him.
I shift in the seat, staring out the window at the pinks and purples that paint the sky as the sun disappears behind a wall of rock in the distance. The clouds look like cotton candy, and the snowcapped mountains like fondant. This town is beautiful.
“Just to warn you, Nova,” Zeke starts, and I whip my head around to face him. My heart skips, and I bite my bottom lip. “My friends are complete assholes. We are not coming out of this unscathed.”
I scrunch up my features in mock uncertainty. “Maybe we need that?”
Maybe we need to be made fun of by a bunch of guys and stop taking all of this so seriously. Having a baby at nineteen was not in my life plan. Zeke was not in my life plan.
Someone trying to run over my sister because of something I said on the internet was also not part of my plan.
Zeke tugs his ball cap lower on his head. “You’re right. Let’s go get roasted by idiots.”
The smile that pulls across my lips might be the first genuine one in a very long time.