I matched her pace. “All those princesses look alike. Boring. They should make movies about ninja fairies.”
“Fierce Firestorm,” she said. “The fighting anime fairies. You should check it out.”
“Does Gilly know about this? Sounds like her kind of show.” I edged closer to her on the path, catching a whiff of lavender on the breeze.
She laughed softly next to me. “I think Gilly was their inspiration.”
We walked in silence, our feet kicking up clouds of dust barely visible in the light of the new moon. I considered the possible outcomes of kissing her.
One: Disgusted slap to the face.
Two: Willing compliance. No slapping. Just open lips and me finally finding out if she tasted as incredible as I imagined, and then—
“—so does that sound okay? Or do you think they’ll be bored?”
Uh oh. What had she been talking about? She’d stopped walking, waiting for an answer.
“Uh…I’m not…sure?” I offered lamely.
Light spilled from the houses that backed the canal trail, and cast a dim glow over her face.
“You’re probably right.” She sighed. “My ideas aren’t very exciting. You’re better at planning stuff the kids like.”
Kids? She must’ve been talking about a nannying activity. “No, I’m not,” I said quickly. “I was just…distracted. It’s a great idea. Really.” Whatever the hell her idea was, I was committed now.
Her face lit up with a smile that made my insides do a weird dance.
“You think so?” She sounded hopeful.
I couldn’t risk losing her smile by admitting I had no idea what she’d said. “Yeah, absolutely.”
“We can take light rail—I think the kids would like that. Can you pick me up at eight? Then we’ll get the kids.”
Light rail? At some point I was going to have to confess my ignorance. Or maybe not. I could probably play it off the same way I managed to pass classes where I barely paid attention.
She pulled her phone out of her pocket and checked the small, glowing screen. “Oh, wow. It’s later than I realized. I should get going. My mom will be home soon.”
“You sure?” We weren’t even close to PDA yet. This was so different from all my other dates. She was so different from all my other dates.
“Yeah. This was…nice. I’ve never been on this trail at night.”
Our eyes met, and I thought about kissing her again, but I told myself to take it slow so I wouldn’t scare her away. We turned and headed back toward my car.
The last time I’d taken a girl out to dinner and not gotten at least a little action was….uh…never?
But after I dropped Trina off, I realized I was okay with how our night ended.
More than okay.
Chapter Thirty-Two
Trina
Thursday, June 20
“Spillage. Now.” Desi’s voice was sharp in my ear. “Did you have to beat him off with a tire iron? Protect your honor with that mace you always carry?”
“Hilarious, Dez. No, none of the above.” I sighed into the phone. There’d been a few times when I’d thought he might kiss me, but I’d obviously misread his signals. “He was a perfect gentleman,” I muttered, remembering Alex’s comment.
What was wrong with me, anyway, if the most notorious playboy in school didn’t even try to make a move? I sat on my bed and attacked my chipped toenails with a cotton ball soaked in polish remover. I wished my feelings about Slade would disappear as easily as this nail polish.
Desi snorted in my ear. “Maybe he’s got the flu?”
I tossed my pillow off my bed. “Aren’t you the one always telling me I should give him a chance? That there’s a decent guy hiding underneath that man whore reputation?”
“Yes. And it’s true. But I thought…I mean, dinner and then walking under the stars? Not even one little kiss?”
“It’s obvious, isn’t it? I’m not his type. At all.” I sighed heavily and started working on the toenails on my other foot. “I mean, we knew I wasn’t, but—”
“Just hold on, sister. We need to analyze this. Let’s not forget him giving me the third degree about you at the mall. Also, Slade isn’t going to waste his time on someone he’s not interested in. You should see him at parties, the girls throwing themselves—”
“Hello? Still listening. Confidence plummeting. Insecurity hitting the stratosphere.”
Her laugh bubbled in my ear. “Do you joke with him like that? Because he’s really freaking smart. You’ve figured that out by now, right?”
“Yeah.”
“Maybe I should ask Trey to ask Slade—”
“No!” I shrieked. “Do. Not. Tell. Trey.”
“But Trey adores you. He’s always wondering who he can hook you up with.”
I cringed as I remembered the last time the two of them had tried to fix me up. The guy had bailed on me ten minutes after we’d gotten to the party, claiming some vague illness. “You and Trey don’t exactly have a great track record for matchmaking.”
Desi’s sharp intake of breath shot across the phone line. “I just thought of something. Maybe he likes you a lot, and that’s why he didn’t try anything. I mean, everyone knows you’re not a party girl. So maybe he—”
“Stop.” I set aside the cotton balls and pulled the covers over my head. “Just stop. I don’t want to be this kind of girl.”
“What kind of girl?”
“The kind who spends hours and hours dissecting some guy’s every word and every move. Who analyzes him like he’s a science experiment.”
Desi laughed softly into the phone. “Sounds like both of you are behaving abnormally. Slade being a gentleman… You turning into obsesso-girl…”
I snorted and threw the covers off, sitting up straight. “Shut up, Desi.” I screwed the cap on the polish remover. “I never should’ve taken this job,” I mumbled, more to myself than to her.
“But just think how boring your summer would be without it. No crazy kids having public meltdowns, no Slade to drive you nuts, in more ways than one.”
“Exactly.” I tossed the wet cotton balls into the trash can. “I’ll call you tomorrow night,” I said. “After nanny duty.”
“What’s on the agenda for the kids tomorrow? Skydiving?”
I snorted. “He’d like that. But it’s my turn, so we’re going to the Molly Brown House.”
“Seriously? You don’t think the kids will be bored? You’re not doing the tea, are you?”
“No, I don’t think they’ll be bored,” I said defensively. “And neither does Slade. He liked the idea when I told him about it tonight.”
She giggled in my ear. “Oh girl. He told you that going to a museum about some dead lady was a good idea? I don’t care if he didn’t touch you. He’s got it bad.”
Chapter Thirty-Three
Slade
June 21, Friday
Gilly and Max danced around the light rail station making train whistle noises. I was glad they were excited, because I had a feeling this might be the best part of the day.
“Have you ever been to the Molly Brown House?” Trina’s eyes practically sparkled. She was stoked. I wondered if her eyes would ever light up like that for me.
“Yeah, I think so. Maybe a fifth grade field trip?”
“I love the history of the place. She was an amazing woman. Most people have no idea about her, other than the Titanic story.” She sighed. “She was so ahead of her time.”
I thought back to the movie. “She was the Kathy Bates one, right?”
“Yeah.” Trina bit her lip, smiling at me in a way that made me wish the kids were far, far away. I wondered what it be like to bite her lip. To nibble on it and—
“Here comes the train!” Gilly screamed.
“Woot woot! Train! Train!” Max shouted. They held hands and spun in circles, cheering with excitement.
I needed to focus. I grabbed the kids by their shirts and pulled them in. “You have to be careful, guys. Stick close to us. Or else.” We settled ourselves on the train, the kids sitting across from Trina and me.