Page 34 of Silver Edge
“Nope, and I don’t care. Now, are you going to meet my grandmother, or am I going to pinch you again?”
I held up my hands in surrender. “Fine. Geesh.”
He jumped out of the car and raced to open my door as if I’d escape if he wasn’t fast enough. Before I had a chance to stand up on my own, he took my hand and lifted me, pulling me into him. After a second, he wrapped his arms around me. “I wanted to do this the entire drive up here. You ready for another kiss?”
I didn’t answer. Instead, my mouth closed over his, and he squished me between him and the car. The scent of fall leaves, the sound of them crunching beneath tires in the parking lot, everything disappeared, replaced by the pressure of his body against mine, pinning me to the car. He was so close, our hearts competed for rhythm until it sounded like one long beat in my head.
He broke the kiss and panted. After a moment, he rolled off me to lean against the car and scrubbed his face.
I spotted an elderly man on a scooter, watching us from the front porch of the main building, not to mention a woman fanning herself from one of the home-like structures a little way from the parking lot. “Um, should we be going before one of them calls the police on us?”
“Ah, not yet.”
“Why?” I turned to face him.
He paced with his hands on his hips around the back of the car. “Because you’re so damn hot you get me excited just from kissing you. I can’t go in there in this condition.” He glanced at his groin.
“If you did, I won’t be such a shock, then.”
Drake swiveled to face me. “Ah, you do have a sense of humor.”
Was I joking? I walked over to him and pinched his side.
Drake jumped from me. “Hey, what was that for?”
“Did it help? If not, I can do it again until you can behave.” I reached for him again.
“Ah, funny girl. Okay, let’s go.” He snagged my outstretched hand and led me to the front walk. Before we even reached the main entrance, I felt dozens of eyes on me.
When we got to the top step of the porch, my feet stopped moving. Everything inside me said to run. This was so outside my comfort zone. I preferred dark corners and secret rooms, not overly bright lights and conversation. Drake looked back at me with a smile, yet confusion still held me captive. One foot wanted to run all the way back to Atlanta, while the other wanted to keep that smile on his face. A speeding semi overloaded with sensory and fear jackknifed, threatening to send me into an armadillo ball in the corner.
Chapter Fifteen
Drake leaned against the wall of the building. “I won’t push you. If you don’t want to do this, you can wait in the lobby and I’ll drive you back to Atlanta after I visit my grandmother.”
I studied the double doors of the assisted-living facility as if it contained the answer I sought, but I found nothing. Part of me wanted to make Drake happy, to please him, but the majority of me just wanted to run from all of this, screaming.
“It’s your choice, but I know you’ll love her,” he whispered, his words caressing my mind with its magical soft dance that seduced me into compliance.
“That’s not what I’m afraid of.”
He gently touched my back and all my focus drove to his hand. The birds stopped singing overhead; the man glaring at me through the window to our side disappeared.
“I can’t with you touching me. If I’m going to meet her and not curse, or do something stupid, you can’t touch me.”
“Deal.”
“It’s not that I don’t like it—”
He lifted one finger to my lips but didn’t make contact. “No explanation needed. I’m not breakable. Remember, honesty is all I ask.”
I nodded and took in a long, cleansing breath then stood tall and entered through the door Drake opened for me.
Stand up straight. Look everyone in the eye. Don’t curse. Shake hands if offered.
I repeated the social rules over and over in my head, concentrating on what I should do and blocking out the irritating florescent light that flickered over the reception desk. The brightness was more like an inanimate object piercing my skull.
Stand up straight. Look everyone in the eye. Don’t curse. Shake hands if offered.I repeated the social rules again and closed my eyes.
