My father pokes his head out from behind a freezer door and nods. “Okay, honey. Stay safe. Are you and Meadow going somewhere?”
With a big smile, I answer his question. “I’m going to spend the day doing something fun with Cade.”
I like the sound of that.
Chapter Eighteen
Cade
“So what should we do first?” I ask as Hailey and I walk toward my building. “Swim or go jet skiing?”
Her eyes grow wide. “I’ve never gone jet skiing. I don’t think I can drive one of those things. I might kill someone.”
“Then you can sit behind me and I’ll be the one at the controls. You’ll love it. It’s a good time.”
“Are you sure it’s not dangerous? I’ve watched people before doing it. They fly around on the water like maniacs.”
Waving away her concerns, I laugh as the memory of the last time Alex and I went out and nearly drowned because of some asshole and his girlfriend playing around out there. Fucking newbies.
I can see she’s still worried, so I weave my fingers through hers and bring her hand to my mouth to press a kiss onto her thumb. “I promise it’ll be fine. I don’t drive like a madman in the Jag, so why would you think I drive a jet ski like that?”
“You do sort of drive like a madman in your car, though, Cade. Didn’t you notice me hanging on to the door a few times the other night?”
“No, but I was too busy looking at the woman sitting next to me to notice that. It wasn’t that bad. Well, that one turn I took a little fast, but you didn’t scream, so I figured I was fine.”
She laughs at my explanation, making her look even more beautiful than usual. “That’s a weird litmus test you have there for if you’re driving too fast.”
“I guess I could use someone jumping out of the car, but that wouldn’t be fair. No one has ever jumped out while I’m driving. So screaming sounds about right.”
“Because someone has screamed before?”
With a shrug, I have to admit the truth. “A couple times. People can be excitable sometimes. I chalk it up to that.”
As the elevator doors open, I tug Hailey in and press the button for the fifteenth floor. Alone with her, finally, I slide my arms around her waist and pull her to me. After what she told me back at the restaurant, I feel like I need to make sure she knows I’m not like that asshole who fucked her life up last year.
“We could just forget about doing anything but hanging out in the house. It’s not like we can’t go out later. You know, it is pretty hot out today.”
She looks up at me and raises her eyebrows. “Have you lived in Tampa a while? It’s May. This isn’t as hot as it gets.”
“I’ve lived here all my life, actually. I was just looking for an excuse to keep us inside, preferably in bed.”
And at that moment, I see suspicion fill her eyes. She thinks I’m a guy who just wants to fuck her and that’s it. Smooth, Cade. Real smooth.
I don’t give her the chance to pull away or say anything. “I didn’t mean that the way it came out. I’m all about jet skiing all afternoon, if that’s what you want to do.”
“So you don’t want to sleep with me? Is that what you mean?” she asks with such innocence that I realize I’ve gotten myself into a hole I need to get out of quickly.
Shaking my head, I work to change what she’s thinking before she bolts as soon as the elevator doors open. “No, no. That came out wrong too. Let me start again. I’d love to spend all afternoon in bed with you, but that’s not all I want to do with you. Yeah, that sounds closer to what I meant.”
For a few moments, I watch to see if that made things any better, and finally right before the elevator stops on my floor, Hailey gives me one of her sweet smiles. “I knew what you meant. I was just playing with you. You’re cute when you’re like that, though.”
“Like what?” I ask just as the doors open.
“Sweet. Thoughtful. You don’t look like you’d be that kind of guy, but you are, and I like that.”
The doors begin to close as I lower my head to kiss her, but one of my neighbors stops them and marches into the elevator, interrupting us. It’s that guy from across the hall who likes to wear Hawaiian shirts all the time and pulls his hair back into a man bun.
“Oh, sorry. Didn’t realize it was that late in the day.”
Hailey’s cheeks turn bright red, and she hurries out of the elevator while I give him a nasty look on my way out. “Yeah, like there’s a time when a guy can kiss someone in here. Aloha, dude.”
By the time I get down the hall, she’s giggling uncontrollably. “Did you just say aloha, dude to a guy wearing a Hawaiian shirt? What did he say back?”
“Nothing. He’s an asshole. Like this is some puritan building that doesn’t allow me to kiss you in the elevator. That guy needs to get laid and change his clothes. The seventies want their look back.”
As I open my door, she whispers next to me, “Don’t be mad. I don’t think he meant any harm.”
I turn my head so our mouths are just inches away from one another. “He ruined a sexy moment on me. He’ll pay in the future. I’ll make sure of that. It will be painful and torturous. Maybe it will involve a wreath.”
“If I kiss you now, will that spare that man all that pain?” she asks with a gentle smile.
“No, but that’s because he’s been a Hawaiian shirt wearing dick for years,” I say before leaning toward her and kissing her on the lips.
“Hell hath no fury like a man denied a kiss in an elevator,” she says as she walks into my place.
“Othello, right? Or maybe Hamlet? Sounds pretty tragic, so I’m guessing one of those,” I joke before following her into the living room.
Wrapping my arms around her, I snuggle up to her back and press a kiss to her neck. “So did we decide if we’re staying in or going out? I don’t remember.”
Hailey slides her hands out from beneath mine at her waist and pretends to weigh the choices. “Hmmm…go out and possibly get killed by a maniac driver on a jet ski or stay in and have sex. What’s a girl to choose?”
“Just one question before we decide. Am I the maniac driver?” I ask before nuzzling her neck.
Giggling, she wriggles out of my hold and turns around to face me. “Yes, I’m sorry to say you are, so that only leaves us with sex. I hope you aren’t too disappointed.”
I reach out and pull her back to me, loving how her body feels on mine. “I’ll get over it. I can go jet skiing with one of my cousins or my friends.”
We stand there with me holding her to me for a while, neither one of us saying a word, and I can’t remember the last time I was this quiet with anyone, but especially with a woman. I use talking to get what I want. Always have. It’s just how I am.
But with Hailey, I want to be quiet sometimes. Like now, when we’re standing in my living room and her eyes are closed and I have a feeling she wants to run.
I have to make it that she can’t, though, and I have a feeling that isn’t with anything I can say right now.