Page 73 of American Love Story

The sleepy look he gave me did not match up with the cheeky response or the lopsided smile that appeared on his face when I said the word home. “Will you tuck me in?”

I could only laugh as I pulled him up with me. “Only if you’re good.”

“Well that doesn’t bode well for me then,” he said, feigning annoyance.

All I could do was shake my head. No matter how much I tried to keep my fortress of solitude act up, Easton always found a way to make me take myself a little less seriously.

I liked the person I was with Easton.

I looked over at Jude and Nesto who were getting up, too. “We should be heading out. Easton’s on a super early wake-up schedule and I’ve started getting up with him and heading to the gym before class.”

We exchanged hugs and goodbyes and soon were walking up the street to our cars. Easton looked at me and pointed at my black SUV that was parked right by his. “Do you want to leave your car here and go in mine? I can drop you off here in the morning.”

I laughed at the suggestion, because it made zero sense. “That would mean you driving like forty minutes tomorrow morning for no reason. So, no thank you,” I said, unable to keep a straight face at his hurt expression.

I pulled on his scarf so I could give him a kiss, and when he pulled back, he seemed in much better spirits. “That should tide me over.”

I was about to get in my car when he pulled on my hand, not letting go. “Hey.” The way he said it, made me turn fully around.

“Hey, yourself.”

He put both arms around my neck, and looked up at me, eyes locked with mine. “I could fall in love with you, Professor Denis.” His voice was clear and strong, unhesitant.

To my surprise, my response to his words seemed just as certain. “I’m pretty sure I’m falling in love with you.”

Radiant.

That was the only word for the smile the words got me, and the kiss afterward was so sweet I felt greedy that I got to have all of it.

After a few more kisses, Easton pulled back, biting on his bottom lip. “Does this mean I get, ‘we said I love you sex’?

I shook my head, laughing as I got in my car. “When have you ever not eventually gotten what you want from me?” I waved as he grinned at me in answer. “I’ll see you at home.”

I saw Easton quickly get in his BMW and drive off while I checked my Twitter account. I had a bunch of stuff in my mentions. People tagging me on different events and posts related to race relations in Ithaca. I responded to some and retweeted the less incendiary ones. Everything else I just let sit there for now, tonight I would be a little selfish, like my mother had said. I felt so good right now, I wanted to hold on just a little longer.

I’d been on the road for about fifteen minutes when my phone rang. I had on those magnetic things where I could mount the phone on the dashboard, so when the screen lit up I easily read it was from Easton. I smiled and shook my head as I hit the Bluetooth button on the steering wheel to take the call.

“Where are you? I just got into the garage.” Of course he had, because he drove like a New York City cabbie.

“Uh I’m still like five miles out of town, Speedy.”

I heard him scoff and smiled in anticipation of his response. He had a very inflated sense of his driving skills, which was kindof adorable. “I didn’t even drive that fast. There’s barely any traffic at this hour.”

I nodded in the direction of the phone, like he could see me. “You know I like to go just under the speed limit at night, helps me feel like I’m more in control of the vehicle.” I sped up a bit, because it was true that there was no one on the road, not that I would admit that to him.

“Did I accidentally call my grandpa?”

The genuine bafflement in his voice had me busting up. “All right, smart-ass, I’ll see you in a few minutes. I’m really close to town,” I said, grinning as I drove down the dark county road.

“Fine, I’ll leave the door?—”

A siren coming from behind startled me out of the conversation. I tried to slow down in case a first responder needed to get past me, but when I looked in the rearview mirror, there was a patrol car behind me, its flashing lights trained right on my car.

“Patrice?” I heard Easton’s voice still full of humor, and for a moment, it felt like I was in a dream. Like time had slowed down, and then I realize it was panic. I was scared.

“I think I’m getting pulled over,” I said woodenly, my bare hands on the steering wheel suddenly felt like sausages. Still I quickly tapped on my phone screen, and switched the call to FaceTime, as I steered the car over to the side of the road.

When I saw Easton’s face, he looked terrified. “Where are you? I’m coming over there.”