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He blinked a few slow times, still worrying his lip between his teeth. I tried not to stare at his mouth as he let out a quiet breath, but my eyes were glued there whether I liked it or not. (Okay, yeah, I liked it. Obviously.) “I just want to help people,” he said. “I want to leave this world knowing I helped make it a better place, and I’m not sure I need college to do that. I can do it now, at church. And…” he cleared his throat. “I’ve always wanted to be a firefighter.”
“Really?” I asked for a second time, but I hadn’t expected that either for some reason.
“Yeah, really.” His smile was shy, but his eyes were lit up. The moment seemed to stand still for a few stuttering seconds. “I’ve never actually told anyone that before.” And a few seconds more.
Neil was confiding in me. That’s what was happening.Okay.
If Neil could confide in me, I could confide in him, too. Right? “I think that’s really cool. Thank you for trusting me enough to tell me that.” The light in his eyes spread across the rest of his features, and I had to force myself to take in a full breath. My heartbeat accelerated and pounded right through that breath. I cleared my throat, continuing on anyway, “As far as college goes… think Idowant to go to school, maybe, but like, an art school. Or maybe just work and write and be out on my own for a little while. I don’t know. I’m sure it sounds crazy, but I do know that I want to give screenwriting a shot. I want to know I at least tried.”
“I don’t think that’s crazy,” he instantly responded.
“No?”
He shook his head. “I think you’re really talented, and you should go for it. It’s always worth pursuing your dreams, right?”
My lips fought against the pull of a smile, but the smile won out. “Yeah. Thanks, Neil. And for the record, I think you shouldn’t care what anyone thinks about what you want to do, either—including your parents. If you want to be a firefighter, then you should go be a firefighter.”
One thing I knew for sure: He’d look good as hell doing it. Uniform, muscles, fire burning in the reflection of his gaze.Yeah.
I was going to keep that bit to myself, though.
We found ourselves holding each other’s stare, and I swallowed past my heartbeat that had settled in my throat, all while attempting to hold back my mischievous smirk at the thought of him in a fireman’s uniform, but I was failing miserably.
“What?” he asked on a soft chuckle.
I said the first thing I thought of, besides the obvious. “You want to be a hero.” It was kind of cute that he wanted to be a hero. Admirable, too.
He shook his head. “No, not at all. I just want to do something that matters. And fires are sort of fascinating to me.”
“Okay, Clark Kent.”
“What?” His features went all amused.
“Nothing.” I looked back up at the sky. Another shooting star streaked over us. What kind of luck was that?
I made another wish:Don’t let me scare Neil off. Not yet. I promise to keep my hands out of his pants from this point forward if he doesn’t walk away.Honest.(Liar.)
Ahem.
Neil shifted beside me to get more comfortable, and now his elbow was touching my elbow, and his leg was touching my leg, and I sucked in a quick breath. It was like the universe had turned around and decided to immediately test me.
Try not to put your hands down Neil’s pants now,she was clearly taunting.
I didn’t. My fingers didn’t even twitch.So there, Uni. How do you like me now?
Neil shifted again, settling his arms beneath his head. I caught sight of his bicep and dragged my gaze away.
Where the hell was Linda, anyway? Not that I minded hanging out with Neil in the back of his truck, but it was getting increasingly warm back here, next to him. Because of muscles and warm skin and close proximities and all that. I could practically feel the rise and fall of his chest we were so close.
Headlights darted up the driveway, followed by the sound of my mother’s car.Oh, thank you, sweet baby Jesus—the gods—the universe.Whoever was up there and in charge.
We were waiting on Linda because I’d forgotten my keys in the house this morning—since Neil had picked me up and driven me to school today. (I know.I know.Things were escalating in some areas, while deescalating in others, and I didn’t get it either. I’d thought that maybe he wanted to break things off on our way home, but that hadn’t happened, and now here we were.) Thankfully, Linda was home today and could let me in. I just hadn’t realized she was going to take her sweet time getting here, though I should have known.
I sat up in the bed of Neil’s truck as she pushed her car door shut with her elbow, at least a dozen shopping bags decorating her arms.
“Hey, baby! Got you some stuff, too. Oh, hi there,” she greeted Neil when he sat up beside me.
We both shuffled our way out of the truck, plopping down onto the driveway. I ignored the fact that she was only half-dressed today; I was used to it. But I tallied a huge point in Neil’s favor when I noted him doing the same.