Page 101 of More For Me

“I really can’t believe you remembered that.”

He shrugs like it’s no big deal. “I remember everything you tell me.”

Once we’re in the boat, I understand the need for flats. We both have to pedal in order to make the swan move in anything like a straight line. I place my feet over my pedal and look over at him. “If you knew we were doing this tonight, why didn’t you tell me to just wear flats in the first place?”

He smirks. “And miss you in those shoes? Yeah, right.” We pedal backwards away from the dock, Bodhi taking over the control of the tiller.

“You see me in those shoes all the time,” I point out. “They’re my favorite pair.”

His jaw tightens. “Do you have any idea how many times I watched you wear those shoes out of the house on your dates with other guys?”

I don’t want to think about other guys, or Bodhi being sad, or anything besides how perfect this moment is, so I place my hand over his on the tiller. “Let’s make a deal—you only wear that Tom Ford shirt for me, and I’ll only wear these shoes for you.”

“What’s the deal with the shirt?” he asks, looking puzzled. “That’s the second or third time you’ve mentioned it. I have about ten different white button downs.”

I shake my head. “That one is different.”

He raises an eyebrow, waiting, and I know there’s no way I’m going to get out of this without telling him. “That shirt is more fitted than the others. It looks good on you. And…”

“And?” He doesn’t even try to wipe the smirk off his face. I’m blushing like crazy and he’s enjoying every second.

“And you wore it that night we had dinner in the private room,” I blurt out. “With the sleeves rolled up. And you look like, really good with your sleeves rolled up. Really,reallygood.”

He studies me for a long moment before tipping his head back and laughing. “Remind me to thank Rose later.”

“What does Rose have to do with it?”

“Never mind. So. Are we actually going to do this or did you want to sit two feet from the dock for the rest of the night?”

“Let’s do it.”

The swan boats at night are every bit as magical as I thought they would be. The other boats out on the water are lined with the same lights as ours, so we can see illuminated outlines of swans all over the lake, the light reflecting off the dark water all around. Beyond the park, Los Angeles is lit up against the night sky, providing an amazing view.

And then there’s Bodhi sitting next to me.

“I’m so glad I didn’t do this with anyone else,” I blurt out, because there’s literally no one else I would choose to have sitting next to me in this boat.

He looks over at me, his face illuminated by the lights. His expression is intense. Heated. The kind of expression that makes me want to climb right over the central console of this thing and into his lap.

He closes his eyes momentarily, like maybe he’s trying to keep himself under control, too. When he opens them, he looks more like my silly friend, and he gives me a wide grin. “You should be glad you saved this for me. Anyone else would probably expect you to do some of the pedaling work instead of sitting there gawking at the lake.”

“Of course I’m gawking! It’s freaking gorgeous!”

“And we could see more of it if someone wasn’t being so lazy.”

“Oh, I’ll show you.” I start to pedal as hard as I can, making the water behind us churn loudly. The boat starts to turn in my direction, even with Bodhi holding the tiller.

“Is this really a game you want to play?” he asks, starting to pedal faster, too. “My legs are longer than yours, Lele. You don’t stand a chance.”

“That may be so, but I take spin class twice a week.” I try to knock his hand off the tiller. “Let me do that.”

“Absolutely not. We’ll end up crashing into another boat.”

“Excuse you, I am obviously a better driver than you.”

He makes a big show of scoffing and rolling his eyes, but releases the tiller so I can take over. We pedal across the lake and it’s perfect. Honestly. The lights are beautiful and the sounds of laughter and conversation drift across the lake.

It’s also hot out here. Really freaking hot. And way more humid than it should be in the spring time.