Page 55 of Small Town Swoo
“No, but that’s all I’m going to tell you.” Under the table, Dash put a hand on my leg. “I’ll see you later.”
Reluctantly, I slid out of the booth and went back to work, fully aware that this was the most magical day of my life.
And it wasn’t even half over.
“So where are we going?” I asked as Dash backed out of my driveway.
“It’s a surprise.”
“Dash!” I laughed. “What if I’m not dressed right?”
He glanced at my work clothes—black pants and Buckley’s Pub top (worn with push-up bra). “You look perfect in everything.”
My whole body tingled. “Thank you. But you better not be taking me anywhere fancy.”
“I’m wearing jeans and a flannel, Ari. I haven’t trimmed my beard in over a week. We are not going anywhere fancy.”
Actually, I didn’t care where we were going. Dashiel Buckley had picked me up in his car and we were going somewhere together that was not the E.R. Everything about this was amazing.
“So my dad took off on a mysterious road trip,” he said.
“Oh yeah? To see Julia?”
“That’s what Xander and I assume. His note mentioned visiting afriendin Tennessee.”
“Sweet old George. I hope he has fun.”
“Me too. But I hope he realizes he can tell us what’s going on. We’d all be happy for him.”
“He might just need a little more time to come to terms with it himself, you know?”
“Yeah,” Dash said slowly. “That’s a good point.”
“He’s been alone a long time, and probably not because he wanted to be. He did it out of respect and love for your mom. And getting beyond the past can take a lot of emotional work.”
“True.” He glanced over at me. “And speaking of the past.”
“Oh, God. What?”
“I found my senior year high school yearbook this morning.”
Covering my face, I groaned. “Don’t tell me. I wrote something embarrassing in it.”
“It wasn’t embarrassing. It was sweet. I don’t remember ever seeing it before.”
“That is because you paidzeroattention to me in those days, Dash. Meanwhile, I had the crush of the century on you.” Sighing, I shook my head, dropping my hands into my lap. “So what did I write?”
“You thanked me for being like a big brother. You wished me luck in L.A. and told me not to forget anyone back home.”
I laughed and pointed to my chest. “Meaning me.”
“And you wrote you had more to tell me but you couldn’t. Maybe someday, you said.”
“Maybe someday I will appear in your bedroom and offer myself up as a parting gift,” I joked. “But you will not want this gift, so perhaps you should start locking your bedroom door.”
“Are you kidding? Of course, Iwantedthe gift. You were sixteen and hot as fuck.”
“What!” I shrieked. “You said you thought of me like a little sister and didn’t have those feelings for me!”
