Page 21 of Drive Me Wild (Owl Creek #2)

I don’t know who is more shocked, Zoe or me, that I asked to take this relationship to the next level.

The thing is, I’ve never thought that was something I wanted. My reputation as a lady’s man formed before I graduated high school, and I believed it. I believed what people said about me. If they saw that in me, it must have been true, so I stuck with it.

It’s amazing what happens when you start to question what the world tells you is true.

It’s as if a curtain has been hanging in the stage of my life, and I didn’t realize it was covering everything up.

I thought that the little bit of the stage that fronts the curtain is all there is.

And then I noticed that the curtain was there.

The shock of realizing it exists takes a while to get used to.

But then I started to pull it back, revealing everything that sits behind.

The set. The scene. The place where the real story plays out.

That curtain was me as the world sees me.

What is behind is the ‘me’ that is real.

This summer, for the first time in my life, I’m deciding what is true because I’m peeling back the curtain. I’m deciding that I am enough for Zoe. I’m becoming the man who she deserves. Who I deserve to be.

I want to do real boyfriend-level stuff, so I reserved a table for Friday night at a romantic place in Port Stratton. I figure we have enough time to sort out our cover story, and hopefully, after that night, she won’t want one.

Zoe comes over right when I’m closing the shop on Friday. She’s in a cream sweater with a little black skirt, and I think I would gnaw off my arm if Cole tried to stop me from being with her.

Her lips are a glossy pink, and I wrap myself around her and press my mouth to hers. She’s soft and melts in my arms. I wish I could pick her up and carry her to my room now, but I want to give her a night she’s worthy of.

“I gotta take a shower. Do you want anything to drink? I’ve got beer, sparkling water, tea, just about everything.”

“Sparkling water? Sounds fancy. I’ll have one of those, please.”

She kisses me through her grin.

“I’ll just be in the shower for a minute.”

“Um, Caleb. I know we’re going on our first real date, but is it okay with you if we drive separately? To keep up the ruse?”

I try to mask my disappointment as I turn to grab her some water.

“Of course. Not a problem.”

I add a lemon slice to her glass and hand it to her, then slip down the hall to the bathroom.

This is what she needs. Keep an eye on the prize, jackass.