Page 53 of Making It Up

I give him a sly smile. “David won’t let me camp out there alone.”

“There you go.”

“I really do want to learn about four wheelers and dirt bikes though. Could you give me some lessons?”

“I thought you said David wanted to teach you.”

“Yeah, but if I just ask him, he might say no. That kind of feels like a date. I think he’s into this, but I almost feel like it’s a challenge. Like he really wants me to come up with ideas and like he wants to see how far I’ll go to work this out.”

“I’ve got you,” Charlie says, pulling his phone out of his back pocket.

“You can’t just call him and tell him to take me dirt-bike riding,” I say.

“Come on, I won’t be that direct. But this is easy.” He starts typing into his phone then hits send.

“What did you do?”

“I told him that I’m gonna teach you how to ride.”

“What? If you teach me that he won’t need to.”

“Wait for it,” Charlie says.

A couple seconds later his phone dings with a text. Charlie reads it, then grins. He holds his phone up to me.

The fuck you will.

Charlie laughs. “David’s not going to let anyone else teach you to ride. So the best way to get him out to this bonfire is to tell him someone else is going to.”

I feel light and warm in my chest. And lower.

David wants to see me. He wants to keep this up. And it is fun. Sure, I could probably ask him to meet me in the next town for coffee or a drink. But this is fun. I get to come up with interesting ways to steal time with him and prove to him that I really want this.

David is worth it. I want him to know that this is worth some effort.

And I have never been a pursuer before.

Who says the girl can’t go after the guy?

This is good for me too. It’s making me come out of my shell, it’s giving me some confidence, I get to be creative, and then get the endorphins when my plan works and he’s thrilled.

Not to mention the way he kisses me.

I definitely want more of all of this.

“Okay, let’s do it. Thanks, Charlie. It’s fun conspiring with you.”

“My brother is a lucky guy.” Charlie grins at me. “And you’re lucky too. He’s a great guy. I’m really grateful that you’re showing him that.”

“My pleasure.” I turn to leave, but then think to say, “Oh by the way. Maybe don’t read the most recent chapters of my Hot Cakes fanfic.”

“Yeah? Why is that?”

“They are especially spicy. And I’ve had a recent surge of inspiration. Knowing what you know, you might be a little uncomfortable.”

He groans as I descend his front steps. “You could’ve just not said that and I might not have thought of it.”

I laugh. “Just don’t read the most recent two chapters. Or the next several.”