“Come with me to my boat.”
“Your boat?” My eyes expanded, brows rising. “I didn’t even know you had a boat!”
“Bought it a few months ago. It’s not huge or anything, just something to get me from point A to point B. It’s where I was going to take you after Dane’s.” He stopped walking, turning me in his direction, the palms of his hands curling around my upper arms. “Forgive me for not sending you a location the other night,” he begged, eyes full of remorse. “I was just… really fucked in the head. I don’t know what was going on with me. I had this small chat with Marcel, and it sort of fucked with me.”
“Oh.” I paused. “I have one question…”
He pulled away, looking at me oddly, almost like he already knew the question I was going to ask. “What’s that?”
I fiddled with my fingers, focusing on the ground. “Do you really think this will last all summer?”
Relief washed over him, and he drew in a thick amount of breath, nodding. “Let’s make the deal right now. All summer, no thoughts of the past. No thoughts of our lives or who it may be that ties us.” His face changed when he said his last sentence. He hated owning up to the betrayal as well. The thought of his baby girl finding out about us would kill her and possibly damage their bond. Our bond. “Let’s promise to pretend that we’re two strangers. Like we’ve never met before and are only looking for a good time. You could use it. I could use it.”
“But… what if more comes out of this?”
His face changed, his attitude no longer carefree. “We agree now that nothing more comes out of this.” His face was stern, eyes like steel. Gripping my shoulders, he said, “Promise me, Chloe. We can’t take this farther than it is right now… okay?”
I swallowed hard. “Okay.” My voice was defeated. He noticed.
“Fuck…”
“What?” I asked as he roughly raked his fingers through his hair.
“Maybe we shouldn’t do this… I shouldn’t do that to you—make you think this is just me wanting to get my dick wet.” He pulled me into him, watching me with a gentle stare. “I don’t want you thinking I don’t care about you. I care about you a lot. You’re a good girl, and you know me just as well as I know you. It’s just—well, if we still want to be in each other’s lives, as well as Izzy’s, we have to settle on some terms and keep some things out of the way.”
“Like love?” I whispered.
His throat worked hard to swallow the lump that’d been lodged deep inside. “Love… will get in the way. To protect ourselves—to protect Izzy—let’s settle on this. Trust me, we’ll still have a good time. We’ll make this one of the best summers of our lives. And when it’s all over, we’ll still be at an understanding.” He dropped his head to catch my eyes. When he did, he asked, “Is that okay with you? We don’t have to. I understand you not wanting to. The risk involved—I just need to know if this risk is one you will take with me. If I’m worth it to you. I’m sick of pretending I don’t want you.”
I struggled with a smile, unsure, but as he looked at me, so child-like, his face handsome, eyes full of want, need, and the same hunger I’d clung to for years, I knew I couldn’t say no, no matter what feelings came out of this arrangement.
“Just the summer,” I told him, smiling. “I think you’re worth the risk, Theo.” Then I kissed his cheek, and he nodded with a smug smile, following me out of the neighborhood park.
We were hand-in-hand until we reached the exit, then we went our separate ways, never losing sight of each other, even as we walked on opposite sides of the street. Not even as cars passed by us, quick blurs that meant nothing right now.
When we made it to our houses, entering our front doors, we took one final glance and finally lost sight of one another. Even while he was gone, I knew he still thought of me. Probably just as much as I thought of him.
Knowing it thrilled every single part of me.
Later that afternoon, after hitting the shower and helping Margie clean up the kitchen, I was at the diner on the pier of Bristle Wave with Theo. Like most men would, he ordered a double cheeseburger with extra bacon and cheese and a side order of fries. I helped myself to the honey-glazed salmon, a side of broccoli, and a sweet potato.
“You eat like a girl,” he teased, poking at my fish with his unused fork.
I gave him the evil eye, chewing thoroughly before speaking. “I’m sorry I’m not a brute like you, ordering extra meat and fries.”
“Yeah… I’m pretty sure I’m going to end up on the toilet later on tonight.”
“Oh my gosh!” I gasped. “I’m trying to eat here!”
He busted out in a laugh. “See. Like a true little girl.”
“Whatever.” I sipped my sweet tea. As I placed my glass down, I felt a pair of eyes on me. I’d felt the heavy gaze on me ever since we entered the diner. It was really starting to bug me. I couldn’t not look anymore.
Turning my head a fraction, I spotted a woman sitting in the corner, magazine in hand, and a half-eaten slice of cherry pie on the plate in front of her. She caught me watching her stare at Theo. She looked at me for a brief second before rapidly snatching her gaze away, focusing on her magazine again.
“Do you know her?” I asked. I gestured to my left, and Theo glanced over.
“Not at all.”
“She’s been staring at us since we walked through the doors.”
“She’s most likely curious…”
I thinned my eyes at him. “About what?”
“Us.”
I frowned. “What do you mean?”
Theo’s eyes bounced from mine to the woman again. She was pretending we didn’t exist now, scanning her magazine with swift eyes. “Well, look at us, Chloe. We don’t exactly look like we belong together. I’m much older than you are, and she isn’t going to assume we’re related with how much I’ve been absentmindedly touching you.” He flashed a smile. “I bet she’s been wondering why we’ve been playing footsies for the past thirty minutes.” With quirked eyebrows, Theo’s leg brushed mine, and goosebumps crawled along my skin. Reaching across the table, Theo picked up my free hand, curled it into a fist, and then brought my knuckles to his lips.
A hot flood ran down my throat, sinking deep and pooling in my panties. I blushed ridiculously as he kissed each knuckle while his eyes moved to his right, staring right at the woman that was watching us again.
As if she were shocked, she gathered her wallet, tossed a few bills on the table, and then rushed out of the restaurant, taking one more glance at us before slipping out of the door.
Theo and I laughed out loud, catching the attention of a few guests in the restaurant. Fortunately, they disregarded our silliness, returning to their meals and small chats.
“So, I’ve been meaning to tell you.” Theo straightened up in his seat, his face getting serious.
“What is it?” I aligned my back as well.
He capped one of his fists, his elbows on the table, and hands now on his chin. “I’ve been thinking about putting the house up for sale.”
Shocked, my eyes widened, and I dropped my fork. “For sale? Wow… are you sure?”
“I think it’s time. I mean, I’m hardly ever home, but there’s a reason behind that.”
“And what is it?”
His brows drew together, lips twitching. “It… reminds me too much of Janet.” The sentence came out rushed. His voice was strained, eyes no longer on mine as he scratched his head.
“Oh.” I focused on the wooden tabletop.
“Not that I want to forget about her or anything, it’s just when I go there, I always end up thinking about her. Standing or sitting in certain places, putting on makeup in the mirror in the bathroom, or even cooking her disgusting ravioli in the kitchen.” His laugh seemed to cause him pain. “I thought getting the kitchen upgraded and remodeled, rearranging the bedroom, and even changing the paint in the house would help, but it didn’t. I still feel her. I still think of her. I know you don’t want to hear all of this but—”