This time he let me slide off the counter. I quickly changed into my one pair of jeans and pulled on his hoodie again.
We drove slowly in the snow. But it only took a few minutes to reach the local Main Street. There were still lights streaming down the sidewalks from Christmas. And even though they weren’t lit up for the night yet, it still looked festive and quaint.
Miller opened up my door and held his hand out for me. He kept his hand wrapped around mine as we walked down the sidewalk.
“This place is cuter than the pictures,” I said.
“It’s really creepy that you stalked everything so thoroughly before you bought this place. I’m trying to show you something new and you already know it.”
I laughed. “I wanted to make sure you’d be happy.”
He looked down at me. “I wasn’t happy until you came back.”
I smiled up at him.
He stopped in the middle of the sidewalk and kissed me. Without a care in the world that there were other residents of this little town milling about. We were invisible here. Just the way I liked it. I pulled back. “So where are those condoms?”
He laughed. “Come with me.” He grabbed my hand and led me past the cutest little shops. There was a bakery with a pink exterior, a toy shop where kids were staring in the windows, a newspaper stand, a little pub. We stopped outside a local convenience store. The bell jingled as we walked in and the person at the register waved to us.
“People here are so friendly,” I said. “It’s the exact opposite of New York. I love it.”
“Just be mindful. A small town means gossip.”
“You think the sweet old man at the register is dying to find out our true identities?”
Miller stopped in front of the condoms. “Maybe.”
I looked around to make sure no one was near us. “We have to purchase some other random stuff. Not just these. It’s going to look like we’re sex fiends. Talk about small town gossip.”
Miller laughed. “We don’t need anything else. Now take your pick.”
“What? No. You take your pick.”
“You’re the one that wants them,” he said.
I just stared at him. “You don’t want to use one?” I whispered at him. “We can barely afford to feed ourselves, let alone a little monster.”
He laughed. “A monster?”
“It’ll feel like a monster if you accidentally knock me up.” I pulled a random box off the shelf. “How about these?”
“They’re neon.”
“Little Dicky will like them. He’s very retro and loves clubbing.”
Miller laughed even though the expression on his face was one of pure shock. “What the heck happened to promising not to call me that?” He grabbed the box of neon goodness and put it back on the shelf.
“I promised not to call you that. Not him.” I wiggled my eyebrows as I looked down at his crotch.
“Whatever you want, kid.”
I stuck my tongue out at him.
Instead of sticking his tongue out at me, he captured mine in a kiss. His fingers gripped the back of my neck, pulling me closer. It was exactly how I’d been hoping he’d kiss me when he came home earlier. It was the same way he kissed me right before he’d touch me. Like he was desperate for me.
He groaned and pulled back. “Would you just pick out a box already so we can go home?”
I blinked up at him innocently. “What about touring the town?”
“I’d much rather tour you.”
His eyes wandered back to my mouth.
I swallowed hard. God, I loved when he looked at me like that. I turned back to the condoms and grabbed a box of very normal looking ones that were on sale.
“Much better choice,” he said. “Let’s get out of here.”
“But we should buy something else so we don’t look…”
“Like sex fiends? I’m minutes away from fucking you in this store. That would make it look a little worse, don’t you think?”
“You wouldn’t dare.”
He paused in the aisle, and slowly backed me up until my butt hit one of the shelves. “Do you want to bet?”
Kind of. Not because I thought he wouldn’t. But because I thought he might. And I’d really been looking forward to this moment. The last thing we needed was to get arrested though. I ducked under his arm and hurried up to the register.
As I suspected, the old man looked shocked by my purchase. Especially when Miller came up and put his arm around my shoulders. It was like he was trying to embarrass me. Or torture me. Or something. But it wasn’t working. Because he’d turned me on so much back in that aisle that all I could think about was getting home.
I grabbed the bag and raced out of the store. I wasn’t nervous anymore. Just excited.
Chapter 34
Saturday
“You didn’t seem nearly as mortified about buying condoms as I thought you would,” Miller said.
“Were you trying to mortify me?”
He shrugged as he unlocked the car.
“What does that shrug mean?”
He climbed into the car, ignoring my questions.
I climbed in too. “Seriously, what does that shrug mean?”
“I’m just trying to make sure you’re ready for this step.”
“And buying condoms without being embarrassed is some kind of test to make sure I’m ready to have sex?”
He didn’t respond.
“I’m not a virgin, Miller.”
For a second he just looked…surprised. And then he shook his head. “Okay.” He turned his attention to the windshield and put the car into drive. He pulled out onto the road without another word.
Wait. He thought I was a virgin? I stared at him as we drove home in silence. I wasn’t sure what I was supposed to say to fix this. I wasn’t a virgin. I couldn’t exactly undo what I’d already done.
Miller pulled the car into park outside our house. But neither of us moved.
“I was engaged,” I said. It was the only thing I could think of to say.
“I know.”
“Then why are you surprised about this?”
“I’m not.”
“You’re acting surprised.”
“I’m not surprised. I’m pissed.” He stepped out of the car and slammed the door.
I scrambled out of the car. “You’re not allowed to be pissed at me about this. You knew I was with Matt. You knew…”
“I’m allowed to be upset about whatever I want to be upset about.”
“There’s nothing to be upset about. I’m sure you’ve been with plenty of other women and I’m not mad at you.”
“I can be mad that you gave your virginity to some rich prick that was undeserving.”
“I can’t undo what I did. But I’m choosing you now.”
“Are you? Because you refuse to talk about what happened with Matt when you went to New York. What were you doing in California? I was sitting here like an idiot for months waiting for you to show up and I have no idea what you were doing.”
“Missing you.”
He shook his head. “If you really missed me you would have shown up ages ago.”