I wrinkled my nose, glad such traits had gained his loyalty, but still, they sounded as boring as hell. “I feel like a freaking trained dog.”
Throwing back his head, he barked out a laugh. “And you always make me smile,” he added before removing plates, silverware, and glasses from the basket.
Remembering the day we’d met and how he’d known no one else in school but had waited in the hall, just outside the office, for me to rescue him, I drew in a breath, suddenly glad I hadn’t been too afraid to approach him that day. My one little act of bravery had turned out to be the smartest thing I’d ever done.
Brandt continued to be the attentive date as he filled both our plates, asking me how big of a portion I wanted for everything. And though he’d brought silverware, neither of us used them, eating everything with our fingers. He’d even had the forethought to steal a package of diaper wipes to keep our hands clean.
We talked easily through the meal, commenting on flavors, the weather, school, what we were going to do after graduation. I decided I wouldn’t have been able to relax and just enjoy a date this much with anyone else, because Brandt was comfortable and safe.
Plus, I could totally pig out without caring what he thought of me. In fact, we had a laughing fight over who was going to steal the last piece of cheese before he acquiesced and let me have it.
As I popped the last grape into my mouth and chewed, I groaned and cradled my stomach before relaxing backward until I was lying on the blanket and staring up at the cloud-filled sky. “Oh my God, I think I’m going to burst at the seams. That was so good.”
Brandt chuckled and plopped down beside me, angling his legs so his body went off in a different direction from mine but keeping his face close enough that some of his hair brushed my cheek. “The way you were chowing down, I was beginning to worry how I was going to cart your fat ass back out of here.”
I gasped. “Whatever.” Then I shoved at his shoulder. “Jerk.”
“Ouch.” He laughed and rubbed a hand over the spot I’d abused. “Assault.”
Rolling my eyes, I muttered, “As if that hurt. I barely nudged you.”
“As if I actually insulted you?” he charged right back. “You’re all of what, a size two?”
“Six,” I hissed back.
“Ooh.” He made a sarcastic shivering motion. “That must classify you a step above anorexic, then?
I shoved him again, but this time, I chased it with a laugh. “You really are a jerk.” Though, honestly, I appreciated how he treated me. He’d never been too gentle with my emotions, as if I were a piece of delicate glass that might shatter at the slightest teasing. That was one of the things I loved most about him. He never made me feel handicapped.
After a couple seconds of silence, he said, “The sunset’s pretty.”
I turned my head to look at the pinks and yellows and oranges. “Yeah.”
A comfortable silence washed over us as we watched the colors slowly blur and change with the gradual setting of the sun.
On the banks of the lake, a couple of guys started to toss around a football. “Why didn’t you play football in college?” I asked, suddenly curious. I knew he’d enjoyed it in high school, and he’d been good enough to probably get a scholarship. But he’d never even tried out and had just kind of shrugged it off when I’d asked him before.
But I had a feeling he’d be more honest now. In this quiet moment between us, things just felt a lot more open.
“I don’t know,” he said, tugging a piece of grass from the ground and running it between two fingers. “Football was always Noel’s thing. He was so determined to make it pro, I think it killed something in him when he broke his collarbone. I just...it wouldn’t have felt right if I’d ended up going farther with it than he had.”
I blinked, startled to learn this. “So...you just gave it up because of his feelings?”
When I twisted my head to see his face, he was shrugging. “It was never as important to me as it was to him.”
“You have to know he would’ve been nothing but proud of you if you’d ended up going pro.”
His blue-eyed gaze bored into mine. “But I didn’t want to go pro. I didn’t want to leave Ellamore. Everyone I love is here. This is home.”
The way he watched me, it was as if he was trying to tell me I was one of the reasons he’d stayed, because he hadn’t wanted to leave me.
My heart swelled with emotion. I couldn’t stop myself from reaching out to trace a finger over his jaw. His lashes wavered and the blue in his gaze darkened. “Any other questions?” he wondered softly.
My breath caught. Well...since he was asking.
“Just how full service of a date is this?”
His gaze dropped to my mouth, and my core crackled with heat. “What’d you have in mind?”
I smiled and batted my lashes. “A kiss?”
His return grin was slow and sexily hooded. “Think you could actually handle another one of those from me?”
“I guess there’s only one way to find out.”