Page 102 of More For Me

“Maybe this was a dumb idea,” Bodhi says when he sees me wipe my forehead for the tenth time.

“No!” I insist. “It’s perfect.”

He’s sweating, too, his hair becoming damp around his ears. “We could come back and do this another night,” he suggests. “When it’s not a billion degrees out.”

“This is fine,” I say stubbornly. Because I’ve waited my whole life for nighttime swan boats with a guy I’m crazy about, damn it, and I’m not going to give up so easy. I pull my hair off my neck. “I just wish my hair didn’t hate humidity so much. It’s probably a frizz helmet at this point.”

He rolls his eyes. “You look gorgeous.” He reaches into his pocket and pulls out a black elastic hair tie. “But if your hair is making you too hot, you should put it up.”

I stare at that little black circle, at a loss. “You have one of my hair ties?”

“I have a hundred of them. I swear to God, I have no idea where they come from. Do you shed them? They end up in my car, in my room, in my book bag.”

“In your pockets?”

He shrugs. “As much as these things seem to follow you around like breadcrumbs, you never seem to have one when you need one. So I started sticking them in my pockets when they turn up.”

Something about that strikes me as so sweet, I can’t breathe for a second. Why had I never realized how much Bodhi takes care of me? Ordering me a drink before his own when we go out. Bringing me coffee at work. Calling to remind me to eat when he knows I’ve been at a sewing machine all day. Planning the perfect date.

In big ways and in all the little ways, Bodhi Lakra shows me that I’m important to him. And I really want to kiss him for it.

So I do. The second my lips press against his, it’s like a fire ignites between the two of us. He grips my face, pulling me closer, the most delicious groan coming from deep in his throat. Before I know it, I’m swinging one leg up over him so I can clamber into his lap. I don’t even think about what I’m doing—I just need to get closer.

“There are children out here, you know,” a huffy voice calls from nearby. I yank my lips away from Bodhi to see a family in a nearby boat. The dad has his hands over a little kid’s eyes while the mom is glaring daggers at us. “You should take your disgusting behavior somewhere more private.”

“Um, right,” Bodhi calls in his most polite voice. “Sorry about that. Won’t happen again.”

The woman huffs again and they pedal away. Bodhi and I stare at each other for a long moment and then we’re both laughing. “Oh my God,” I gasp against his neck.

“I can’t decide what’s more embarrassing—your cousins walking in on us or that.”

“That,” I say, wiping at my eyes. “Definitely that.”

He brushes some hair out of my face, smiling up at me. “You ready to get out of here?”

“Yes, please.”

Ten minuteslater Bodhi is merging onto the freeway in the direction of our neighborhood. “You know,” I say contentedly, “in spite of nearly getting arrested for indecent exposure, I think this was pretty much a perfect night.”

Bodhi tsks. “A, we were nowhere near indecent. That lady just had a stick up her ass. And B, don’t tell me you give me that little credit? The night is far from over.”

“You fed me amazing food and took me on the swan boats. What else could there be?”

Of course he doesn’t answer me. Instead, he turns up the radio volume when a song we both like comes on, and we both sing along. “We should go on a road trip soon,” I say suddenly. “I freaking love road trips.”

“Me too! Road trip snacks beat all the other snacks.”

I pull my leg up under me as I shift on my seat to face him more fully. “Okay, top three road trip snacks. Go.”

He scoffs. “Top three? Totally unfair. Top three only gives me one space each for salty, sweet, and a beverage.”

“Fine, top five.”

He hums softly as he thinks. “I’m gonna have to go with Chex Mix for my salty choice.”

“Chex Mix?” I make a face. “Since when do you choose Chex Mix? That’s so boring. I’ve bought snacks with you like, a million times and I’ve never seen you get Chex Mix. You’re totally a Doritos kind of guy.”

“True. But Doritos make your mouth taste like Doritos for the entire day. Not optimal road trip breath when someone else is in the car.”