I bit the inside of my lip, still hung up on the train thing. “We could walk in the Black Forest of Germany.”
He smirked. “So, it’s either take a train or walk. No, like, rent a car in Germany. You know there’s the Autobahn, right?”
“That’s expected, though. No. I don’t want to take normal transportation if we can help it. Let’s go by train. Or walk. Especially in enchanted forests. I read an article about inns in that area and thought it sounded dreamy.”
He tilted his head. “Are all your travel ideas dreamy?”
I wasn’t blushing. Not at all. “Maybe. The world’s full of pretty things, right? I want to see them.”
He took more notes, then glanced up at me. I reached over and brushed a lock of his hair behind his ear. Then I realized I’d touched him.
He stilled. I pulled back and hastily opened my mouth. “I can’t believe you aren’t fighting me on any of these,” I said, and winked. “You make me feel like we can actually do them.”
“Of course. We can do anything.” And his wide smile blew me away. “You’re George Bailey in It’s a Wonderful Life, and we’re planning your trip around the world. I want to give you everything you want.”
Okay, first, he knew that was my favorite movie, since he’d seen it three times with me.
Second, I melted at the sincere look on his face. Tate’s nickname should’ve been Fairy Godfather, because he was the best at making wishes come true. He never said something I wanted was dumb or that I wouldn’t be able to get it or shouldn’t have it. He only asked, how do I give it to you?
So, again, why didn’t he have a girlfriend?
Or more accurately, why was I not that girlfriend? Because if we were dating, we’d be out the door. We’d leave Merlot and do things, both of the sexy variety and also the general, doing-more-with-our-lives variety.
The thought passed through my brain that he was gay, and his questions were just a friend thing. That I’d misinterpreted everything all along.
That thought made me irrationally pissy, so I shoved it aside.
“What’s on your Anti-Bucket List?” I asked. “Where do you want to go?”
“Wherever you are,” he answered immediately.
I shoved him gently on the shoulder again. Mmmm, solid. “I’m serious.”
“So am I.”
“You’re impossible.”
He raised his eyebrows. “I believe the term is, ‘handsome.’”
God was he ever handsome. Tate radiated confidence in a playful way.
I ignored him and went back to our original topic. “It might be simpler to buy one of those round-the-world plane tickets or get a Eurorail pass. Can we take everything else off the list and just see where those would take us? Because that’s it.” I kicked my feet excitedly. “I want to ride a train. With you. Everywhere. And travel the world without ever driving anywhere.”
“No taxis?”
“Well, we don’t have to be perfect,” I admitted. “We can rely on taxis in some places. And I’d like to take one of those things in Thailand. What are they called?”
“What am I, Wikipedia?”
“You have this weird mind for geography and history facts.”
“True. They’re rickshaws. Or tuk tuks, depending on if they’re motorized.”
“See? You are Wikipedia. How do you know these things?”
He shrugged. “My mom took me there.”
Of course he’d been to Thailand. He’d been everywhere, unlike me.
His mother, Sandra Lemieux, was a famous wine country caterer who hunted around the world for inspiration. She took private lessons from renowned chefs in other countries, arranged for imports of special ingredients only she had access to, and generally exposed him and his brothers to the entire world.
Meanwhile, I’d never been to Disneyland, which was in the same freaking state.
Pathetic, huh?
But my life was way different than his. Tate had piles of brothers. I had no siblings whatsoever. His dad ran some finance business. My dad was the fire chief, not the go-to caterer for every fancy soiree in the Valley. And unlike his globetrotting mother, as of late, my mom had been sick. She’d taken a leave of absence from her teaching job, although we didn’t know her diagnosis other than fatigue.
Still, Tate Lemieux knew my dreams. He knew I wanted to go places and do things and that I had this itch in my soul. The fact that Tate took the time to write my dreams down mattered, because he was the kind of guy who could get these things done.
If I were going to fall in love, I’d fall in love with him.
I bit my sucker, getting to the gum, and started chewing.
He unlocked his phone. “Shit. I have to go home. Pick you up tomorrow morning for school?”
“Yeah,” I said, sitting up on the edge of the bed as he stood and gathered his backpack, sliding his phone into the back pocket of his jeans. “Wanna stay for dinner? At least it’s not pork chops.”
“No, thanks.” Tate grinned. “Mom wants to try a new recipe.”
“Of course she does,” I muttered.
“You can come by—”
I held up a hand. “No. Dad already started dinner.”
“Okay,” he conceded. “Another time.”
He ripped out the page from the kitty cat notebook and folded it, also pocketing it. Then he paused before he turned to leave, looking down at me. He normally just smiled and waved.
The expression on his face now was not something I’d seen before. Unless I was imagining it, his expression was heated.
He leaned over, and his big eyes studied mine for a moment. With a finger under my chin, he tilted up my face—
And kissed me.
My door stood wide open. My parents could walk by at any time.
But his soft lips touched mine.
Fast.
This quick peck had no choice but to be memorable, since it was our first kiss, a closed-mouth and speedy caress. So fast I didn’t know what he tasted like. I still had the bubble gum in my mouth when he was done.
I was so startled, I almost didn’t kiss back, and I forgot to close my eyes. I was sure they were huge.
His finger traced my jaw, and he hoisted his backpack over one shoulder. “See you tomorrow?”
The only thing I could do was nod, my brain on the fritz. He turned, walked down the hall, called goodbye to my parents, and let himself out before I could unfreeze.
I brought my fingers to my lips and touched where his lips had been, wondering what it all meant and knowing it was the sweetest kiss I’d ever had.
It made me want more. Of him. Of his lips. Of our dreams. Of everything.
But I didn’t know if that could ever come true. Maybe my dreams were just something written on kitty cat paper and shoved in a pocket, never to happen.
“Dinner in a half hour!” my dad called.
I straightened my face and threw out my gum.
No matter what, my relationship with Tate had just changed.
And I couldn’t wait to find out how.
Two
The Mobile Living Room
Tate
Slightly stunned and blinking, I shut her front door and stumbled out to my truck, my head spinning, my senses full of the candy-sugar scent of Audrey Staunton. Her words echoed in my brain.