Wishes At First Light

Her heart still pounded fiercely, but some of the fear had leaked away. And not just because Davis looked like he couldn’t make a grab for her if he tried. They were talking. And he could very well be telling the truth.

“At the time—” he paused to clear his throat, his voice still tight with pain and his words careful “—the combination of disbelief and euphoria were making the blood pound in my ears too hard for me to hear anything.”

Mia covered her mouth to smother a sound that was half laugh and half cry of regret. He must have heard, though, because his eyes narrowed.

“It’s not funny.”

“No.” She shook her head. Just a misunderstanding that would embarrass them both forever. “I know. But I was really scared.”

“I’ll say.” Shoving upright on the seat, he scrubbed a hand over his pale face. His skin looked clammy. “I’ll be lucky if I can still have kids after that.”

She bit her lip. “Sorry. I’ve had...bad experiences with guys.”

She tried to gauge his expression as he stared back at her, but what she saw was wariness. Not anger.

But then he heaved out a long breath and swiped a hand across his forehead.

“You think you can drive a stick?” He nodded toward the driver’s seat. “I could use a few more minutes to recover, but I know you need to get home.”

“You want me to drive?” She hopped from foot to foot to warm up.

“I think we’ll both be glad for whatever gets us home fastest.” He fell back against the passenger seat and stared out the front windshield, not even looking at her.

“Can I ask you a question first?” She didn’t wait for him to answer. “When things started to get ugly a minute ago, you said, ‘I heard you liked this.’ What the hell was that supposed to mean?”

“Mia. You’re a smart, smart girl. I thought that before I asked you out. And I know now it’s true after getting to know you more tonight.” He slanted a glance her way, peering down at her. His freckles stood out all the more against his too-pale skin. “So I’m going to guess you know exactly what I meant because you have to be aware of your reputation at school, right? You’re a favorite topic of discussion among the male population of Crestwood.”

His words hit her like a pile of books falling off the top shelf of her closet. She fumed even though a small part of her was glad he thought she was smart.

“And the consensus is that I like grabbing guys’ crotches?”

He didn’t even pick his head up where it lolled back against the headrest, but she could see him roll his eyes.

“Not in so many words. But—whether it’s true or not—guys want to believe the hottest girl in school is also...attainable. I never paid much attention to it, honestly. But when I thought you grabbed me—like, well, like you wanted me—libido took over. So sue me.” He gave a bark of laughter. “On second thought, don’t. You already had your revenge. Now can you drive a stick, or not?”

Cold and eager to put this night behind her, Mia nodded. Padding around to the driver’s side of the truck, she tugged open the door and dropped into the seat behind the wheel. The keys were still in the ignition.

“I don’t know the way,” she reminded him, slamming the door behind her while she fired the engine to life.

“Back out to the gravel road, and left when you hit the main county route.” He tugged on his seat belt, his legs sprawled to take up the whole passenger side. She noticed he’d taken the to-go cup of soda from the movie theater and wedged it between his thighs.

The ice must help.

“Can I ask another question?” She nearly stalled the truck shifting it into gear, but got it under way, the headlights spilling out over empty hayfields in either direction. “What made you think I was smart before tonight?”

She’d heard the whole “hottest girl in school” bit before and didn’t ever care to hear it again. Those words were like a teenage ode to the high, firm 34DDs on a frame too small to carry them. They didn’t have anything to do with the girl inside.