Page 97 of More For Me

Bodhi appears a moment later, his hands full with a dishtowel of ice. I raise an eyebrow. “I accidentally pressed a curling iron against my neck, Bodhi, I didn’t light myself on fire.”

He scowls at me. “Stop with the sass and come over here.”

See? That’s another thing that’s getting me into major trouble. I never knew that Bodhi could be so…assertive. He was like that last night, too, when we were kissing. He’s always been a confident guy, but seeing him like that in this new context was unexpected. And really, really hot.

“Everly?” He looks worried again and I jump up, nearly slipping on the tile floor in my haste.

“Jesus, you really are nervous, aren’t you?” he asks, reaching out to steady me.

“My stupid sisters keep texting me,” I mutter, embarrassed. He clucks his tongue, positioning me in front of him, then brushes my hair aside again. There’s nothing I can do about the goosebumps that erupt over me. What is it about this guy exposing my neck that turns me into jelly?

“This will be cold,” he murmurs, then presses an ice cube against the stinging burn. I hiss a little and he rubs his free hand down my arm in soothing sweeps of his fingers. “It will feel better in a minute.”

He’s right, of course. A few seconds with the ice against the burn and the sting fades. Without the pain to distract me, I’m right back to freaking out.

“There’s nothing to be worried about,” he says in a calm voice. “Your sisters and your cousins are just messing with you. That’s what they do.” He laughs softly. “Hell, that’s whatwedo, too. I doubt we were any better when River started dating Jas or Rose and Leo got together.”

“I think we were the worst with Will,” I admit. “Because he hadn’t dated in so long.”

“See? That’s just how your crazy family shows affection.”

I sigh, letting my shoulders relax a little. He’s still rubbing my arm and the feel of it is immensely soothing. “I let Santana get in my head. She was going on and on about what a big deal this is.”

“She kind of has a point,” he says. “It is a big deal. But that doesn’t have to mean it’s scary.”

“Then why do I feel so scared?”

He tosses the ice in the sink and turns me to face him. He studies my expression for a long moment. “Are you really scared?”

Looking up into his familiar eyes, it’s hard to feel anything resembling fear. “No,” I say. “Not really. Just nervous.”

He nods. “Good. Because you know I would never do anything to hurt you or pressure—”

I grab his forearms. “God, Bodhi, I know. I wasn’t afraid ofyou. I would never be afraid of you.” I take a breath, trying to get my thoughts in order. “I guess I’m just afraid it will…I don’t know, feel different? That we’ll be awkward with each other or—why are you smiling?”

“Did it feel awkward when we were kissing last night?”

“No,” I say immediately, and his smile shifts, turning cocky.

“Remember last night you said it was dumb to be afraid to talk to me about stuff? Because in the end we still just felt like Everly and Bodhi?” I nod and he reaches toward me to link his fingers through mine. “That’s how tonight will feel. I promise.”

I smile, all the tension going out of my body. I can handle a night of feeling like Everly and Bodhi. He squeezes my hand. “You almost done in here?”

“Just about. I need a few more waves.” He releases my hand and brings those fingers up to slide through my hair.

“I think you look perfect.”

I let my gaze move up and down his body, my breath catching in my throat as I see he’s wearing a suit jacket, the top two buttons of his shirt undone to keep it casual. “You look better than perfect.”

He smiles that big Bodhi smile and I just know everything is going to be all right.

* * *

The car ridedoesn’t feel all that different from the hundreds of times I’ve been in his Jeep before. He blasts our favorite pop station and we both sing along the way we always do. He drives to South Bay, a neighborhood near his parents’ house, and pulls up in front of a non-descript building I’ve never seen before. The unadorned red brick façade could house anything, but I catch sight of a simple white sign. “The Cardamom Table?” I ask. “Is this a restaurant?”

“The best restaurant in the city.”

Since Bodhi is something of a foodie, I consider that high praise. Still, you’d think such an amazing restaurant wouldn’t look so…boring.