Page 33 of Perfectly Us

Our food arrives ten minutes later, the fries steaming hot because they’ve just come out of the fryer. I tear into my burger, eating it with all the fixings: pickle, tomato, cheese, lettuce, and onion. I groan as I chew.

Shiloh’s watching me.

“Hmm?” I ask with my mouth full. “What’s up?”

“Nothing.” He presses his lips into a line before looking at his food. He takes the tomatoes off the burger before adding some mustard. “Are you going to stare at me until I take a bite?”

I swallow and wipe at my mouth. “Yep.”

“That doesn’t make this weird at all.” He lifts the burger to his mouth, and his eyes flicker to mine. He can’t hold eye contact as he takes a bite though, which I think is adorable. I’ve never met anyone who’s so awkward, and I kind of love it. His eyes widen, and he puts a hand to his mouth. “Wow.”

“Right?” I take another huge bite of mine, happy he likes the food. “Do you hear the angels singing?”

“Maybe.”

I grin and eat a handful of salty fries.

By the time we’re done eating, it’s almost 8:00 p.m. The sun is mostly set, but areas of the sky are holding on to the light as long as possible. I love dusk, that fraction of time between night and day. It’s like the best of both worlds.

“Where to now?” Shiloh asks as we walk toward the parking lot, side by side.

I’m not ready to say goodbye to him. And him suggesting we’re not done hanging out tells me he feels the same.

“I know a place.” I unlock my car and open the door. “Follow me?”

“Sure.” Shiloh gets into his Mustang.

The purr of the engine sends an excited shiver through me. As I drive out of the parking lot, him behind me, I have visions of us making out in his back seat, the music turned down low as our lips meld together. I can even imagine the smell of the leather seats as he pushes to my back and gets on top of me, his hand sliding up my shirt.

Will that ever happen? Unlikely. But I’m a glutton for punishment sometimes. It will make for an awesome addition to my spank bank though. I tuck the fantasy away and vow to return to it later tonight once I’m in bed.

I drive to the lake.

The parking lot is empty. Fishing tournaments are held a few times a year, which brings quite a few people out, so the ground is well-kept. A small brown building sits to one side that has bathrooms and a vending machine, and there’s a stand to buy snow cones. The person who runs the stand closes at seven thirty.

Shiloh parks beside me and gets out of his car. “Is this where you tie me up and throw me in the lake?”

“No.” I walk up to him. “If I planned to kill you, I’d take you to the woods.”

“How very Ted Bundy of you.”

“Did you know he had sex with dead bodies?” I shudder at the thought and walk toward the left of the parking lot. “He kept mementos of his killings, like decapitated heads. He’d wash their hair and put makeup on them too.”

“Can we not talk about this?” Shiloh asks, glancing around. It’s dark now, and we’re walking along a dirt path beside the lake.

Is he scared?

How fucking cute.

“Don’t worry.” I puff out my chest. “I’ll protect you.”

He chuckles, seeming much more at ease. “Where are you leading me?”

“To one of my favorite spots. It’s away from the busier part of the lake. I used to come out here a lot.”

“Why?”

“To think.”