Page 33 of The Lies Always Told (Baker Oaks #4)

SIXTEEN

MY FAVORITE PLACE

AUGUST

Better by James Bay ; Do I Wanna Know? by Hozier Cover ; The Little Things by Ella Mai ; Anyway by Noah Kahan

Gus

“Turn right,” Nellie says softly. Getting to know Nellie these past few weeks has been more than I could have hoped for.

We were waiting for our siblings to get their shit together before telling everyone, but now that they’ve clearly figured things out, it’s time to talk to them.

Except now, I’m the one who doesn’t want to tell anyone—not because I don’t think they’d take it well, but because there’s so much unknown with my health.

I don’t want to add more to anyone’s plate.

The dizziness and weakness continued, so Dr. Diaz ran more labs.

Now, we’re waiting on those results before the next steps.

It feels like my health has blown up in my face these past couple of months.

After that attack in May, my body hasn’t recovered fully, and we’re back to figuring out the right medications.

Dr. Diaz is worried about the combination messing up my heart and giving me other issues, so we’re proceeding with caution, slowly.

In the meantime, I’m in limbo without answers.

Something’s wrong with my heart, and I don’t want to put pressure on Nellie, not when she just started her new job.

Not when she’s trying to get everything in place.

Not when I don’t have any real answers. So, we’re still a secret.

This is why we’re on our way somewhere Nellie wanted to show me.

She didn’t say where or why, only that it was around five hours away from her house—near Atlanta.

She also promised me nobody would be there, so we can stop pretending for a few days.

We’ve been exploring a lot of places just the two of us a few hours away from home, days where we get to pretend we’re a real couple.

My hands never leave hers on our getaways because I need to touch her every chance I get.

She’s becoming an essential part of my life, taking over the majority of my day.

When I’m not with her, she’s in my thoughts.

I find myself wanting to swim more so I can feel like I’m with her.

I want to drive more so I can feel like I’m driving to her.

I want to see her all the time, and I’m not sure if it’s healthy.

“Thirty more minutes on this road, and then we’ll be there,” Nellie adds, tilting her head back and lifting her arms, letting her hair dance with the breeze.

We’re in my Barracuda, and she touches every inch, as she always does.

It’s like she’s committing every part to memory, the same way I touch her…

I don’t use this car often, but when I do, I’m damn careful of where I go.

Going up the mountains in Georgia was not what I had in mind when she asked if I wanted to go for a ride and I suggested taking this car.

The engine growls as we fly down winding roads surrounded by beautiful greenery.

The red paint gleams under the sun, and every time we stop at a traffic light, people look at the car.

They can’t help it; it’s stunning. Add Nellie to the mix with the beige top she’s wearing, open between her breasts and tied together with thin straps, I’m sure they’re looking at her too.

“Oh, I almost forgot. Open the glovebox.” Nellie follows suit, and after opening it, she pulls out the small bag I placed earlier in there.

“What is this?”

“Open it.” I continue driving down the quiet road while she fumbles with the bag, finally pulling out a small velvety box.

“Gus, what is this?” she asks with concern in her voice, making me chuckle. I guess I didn’t think this through.

“It’s not what you think. Open it.”

After opening the small box, Nellie pulls out a ring.

“Is this…”

“A fidget ring,” I interrupt. She puts the ring in the palm of her hand and stares at it, not knowing exactly what to do. “I’ve noticed you pick at the skin next to your nails. I was reading about it, and it said sometimes, these help.”

She stays silent, staring at the ring, dumbfounded. Maybe I messed up. I’ve never seen her this quiet. Her eyes don’t leave the ring either. “If I overstepped, I’m sorry. I figured it didn’t hurt to try, but I can return it. It’s not a big?—”

“It is a big deal.” She turns to face me, her eyes glossy and her cheeks pink.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to upset you.”

“No, no. Stop for a second.” I pull over on the side of the road. What is going on? She takes a deep breath and turns her body to face me. The wind blows, taking her dark chocolate hair with it, carrying her soft vanilla scent, wrapping me up in her, in Nellie.

“It’s a big deal to me, and not in a bad way.

” She shows me a soft smile and takes my hand, placing it under hers on her lap.

“Sometimes, my thoughts are all over the place, and I need to focus on something small to ground myself. Picking at my skin is not the healthiest, but it helps. People are always asking me why I do it or flat out tell me to stop…but nobody has ever thought to find another way to give me the same input. This, this ring, it does that. You, you did that…and I’m just—” she lets out another breath, searching my eyes “—thankful. Thank you. This means the world to me.”

She climbs over the middle and gives me a hug. Not a kiss, nothing sexual, just a hug. It takes me by surprise. I tense at first, but as her body melts onto mine, I wrap my hands around her and hold her tightly. I bury my nose in her hair, vanilla and cinnamon. Sweet and spicy. Just like her.

“Well now the thing I got you is going to seem silly in comparison.” Nellie turns and grabs something from the back seat after she lets go of my neck.

“You got me something?”

“Mm-hmm. Nothing as thoughtful as this, though, so don’t get too excited.

” She settles back in her seat and hands me a brown bag, sealed shut with dot-printed tape.

I open it and find more bags inside, all tied with ribbons.

I look at her, confused, and she smiles the soft and beautiful smile I love.

So simple, but so her. “Go on, look at them.”

They look like make up bags but bigger, soft to the touch and in different colors.

I pull one up, and when I turn it around, I see it has letters.

Medicine Bag , it reads with mini cartoon pills.

“You said you have bags everywhere with your medicine, like the one in your night stand and the one here. I figured you’d like them a little bit more fun, like you.

It’s not jewelry, and they’re kinda cheap, so just ignore them,” she says, but I don’t reply.

I just keep looking at the rest of them.

Another one says medicine bag, but this one with medical doodles.

All My Medical Crap the black mesh bag reads right.

The next one says These are my legal drugs , and I chuckle.

“I can use them if you don’t want them. Not a problem,” Nellie whispers.

“Nellie… ”

“No, for real, it’s not a big deal. I’m sure you can buy fancier shit and not these homemade stuff.”

“This is the nicest thing anyone has ever done for me. I don’t care about money, you know that. But this… You took time to find these for me. That… that I care about,” I add, holding her hand and squeezing it gently.

“I kind of made them,” she says shrugging.

“You what?”

“Yeah, Cara has a Cricut, and I was bored and thinking about you…so yeah.”

“Think about me much?”

“Oh, stop. We both know that you do too.”

I lift my hand to caress her chin. I drag my thumb over her soft skin and smile at her. “Oh, I’m not hiding it, Trouble. I think about you every moment I’m awake, and in my dreams, you’re always there too.”

I look at her attentively, intensely holding her gaze and not dropping it.

I want her to see the sincerity behind my eyes.

I want her to see I mean it. “Do you know the one thing we never get back, Nellie?” She shakes her head but doesn’t say anything, letting me continue, “Time. You can buy your way through almost anything, but no matter what you do, you can’t go back in time, and you can’t buy more of it.

You spent time getting these bags and then making them for me.

That’s nothing small. These, I will treasure all my life. Thank you.”

I tilt my face forward, dragging my hand down her neck and pulling her to me so I can kiss her forehead. “Thank you.”

If she only knew how time spent doing anything is valuable to me—even more if she’s choosing to spend it with me, let alone doing something for me.

There’s nothing I value more than time, and this gift is not only thoughtful, but she used that one thing I can’t buy more of.

The one thing I’m afraid of running out of.

And she thought it wasn’t a big deal. How do I keep this girl?

How do I keep her without overwhelming her with my health issues? With my health questions?

As if she can spot my thoughts getting out of control, she comes closer and kisses me. It’s gentle at first, but then hard, intertwining her fingers behind my neck and holding me in place. I groan. “We’re on the side of the road. You’re going to get us in trouble.”

She chuckles against my lips. “Okay, sorry. Let’s go.” She settles back on her seat and buckles up, signaling me to keep going after she turns the music back up. Her head lays back on the seat as her fingers twirl the ring she just placed on her thumb. With a smile I continue down the road.