When we arrive back at the house, Luke and Liam park their trucks outside, their clothes stained with mud and oil as they high-five each other and pull out a long, white contraption.
“What is that?” I ask as they chuckle to each other, looking way too nefarious for my comfort.
Oh, this cannot be good.
“The potato gun,” they say in unison.
“Oh, and what do you do with this?” I ask.
“Come on, we’ll show you,” Luke says. “You’re gonna love this.”
* * *
“I did not love that,” I say that night, curled into bed with Luke. He rests his head on my shoulder and looks up at me.
“You so did. You even shot the thing. It made you want to howl at the moon, huh? Rip your shirt to shreds, claw at the earth?” he says, and I roll my eyes.
“It did not. It was dangerous and a little scary.”
“You can deny it all you want, Eli, but I heard you. Heard that itty bitty howl come out of your mouth, just like a werewolf cub.”
I sigh and thread my fingers through his hair, tugging on it.
“Come on. Admit it, Doc. You loved it.”
I love you, I think, but I don’t voice it. I should, but part of me is afraid. It’s so soon. Too soon.
So, instead, I just huff, and confess. “Yes.”
Luke laughs and yawns at the same time.
“Fuck, I’m pooped. That thing you did in the shower wore me out.”
I tug on his hair again, and he groans.
“Did you like it?”
“Duh, you can do that to me anytime, anywhere,” he says, and then his eyes slip closed.
I just lie there for a few minutes, warm and safe in his childhood bed, thinking about a future with Luke until I drift off to sleep.
CHAPTERSIXTEEN
ELLIOT
Jane:The surprise is on the kitchen counter.
Kate:Mission accomplished.
Jane:I also left you celebratory drinks, just in case.
Eliza:I’m mad I couldn’t come. This baby is killing me.
Me:Eliza, you’re a mother now, you can’t go sneaking around at all hours like you’re used to.
Eliza:That’s exactly why I have a husband, so he can watch the baby while I can go sneaking around at all hours.
“Who you texting?” Luke asks, eyeing my phone. I place it in my pocket and step out of the car.