We get back to her house, and in usual Lily fashion she jumps right into the task she’s set her mind to. Her parents are still at work, and Ethan usually stays at an after-school program until their mom or dad pick him up.
Which means we usually have an hour or so alone. Sometimes we use that time to make out or test out the new physical boundaries of this relationship. Sometimes we go out with the horses, or like today we bake cookies.
Lily gets out the ingredients listed on an old, discolored handwritten paper from her grandmother. Her mom has kept a ton of old recipes from her, and I always know that means something is going to be delicious.
Lily’s the boss when it comes to this and I just do what I’m told. As I’m mixing in the chocolate chips into the dough, she presses herself up to me, and I almost drop the bowl.
“You have something right here.” Her hand swipes across my cheek, and I feel the powder of what I assume is flour on my face.
I set the bowl on the counter and press my tongue into my cheek, not looking over to her yet. “You better run.”
“What’re you going to do?” She giggles.
Sliding my hand in some of the flour still on the counter I start to chase her. Lily squeals as she runs away from me. She doesn’t get far before I’m wrapping my arm around her middle, hauling her back against me and wiping my flour covered hand all over her face.
“Stop, ah!” she screams, trying to fight her way out of my arms.
“You started it,” I say through my laughter as she continues her weak attempts to get away from me.
“I surrender.” She becomes dead weight, trying to drop onto the floor, and I ease her down, joining her on the ground. We laugh and I grab her legs to spin her around to face me, her smile shining with the sun beaming through the kitchen window. Her light blue eyes are so bright, and I can’t hold back anymore.
I slide closer to her; even covered in flour and in the mess we made in the kitchen I’ve never been surer of what I’m about to say in my life. “I love you, Lil.”
She sucks in a sharp breath before the biggest smile spreads on her lips and she’s throwing herself into my arms. “It’s about time. I love you, Parker.”
CHAPTER 36
Lily
My life has completely shiftedin the last couple weeks, and I feel like I can’t keep up. I went from coming back to Amity with a boyfriend, to no longer having said boyfriend and somehow, someway, being back with Parker. The same Parker I swore up and down I would never get back with again.
But apparently, I’m a big fat liar because if I’m not with him I’m thinking about him. It’s like we really are teenagers back in high school again. And I love it.
But right now, I’m scrambling to get to work on time because I overslept and the only reason I woke up when I did was because Tulips started licking my face. Since I’m on the overnight shift, not only has my life turned upside down but my entire schedule is so messed up trying to balance overnight but also be a normal human.
Parker is on shift, and I used to dread the possibility of seeing him at work. But now I anticipate it.
Crazy how things change.
“Come on, Tulips, I have to go,” I bounce on the balls of my feet, waiting for her to do her business in the yard. Throwing my head back on a groan when I realize I forgot to get gas.
Now I know I’m going to be late because I like to wait until the very last minute when it comes to filling my car. If there’s enough miles left to get where I need to go then why would I waste time stopping if I don’t have to?
Then there’s times like this where I wish I wasn’t like that.
Aaron used to hate it. Almost every time he would get in my car, I would be low on gas, and he would make some snide comment about it. I don’t know what I saw in him and am easily adding him to the long list of regrets I already have in my twenty-four years of life.
Wait, almost twenty-five.
In my chaos of a life and screwed up schedule I realize I’ve lost track of the days, and my birthday is in two days. I wonder if Parker will remember. I scoff to myself because of course he will. He’s Parker.
Eventually, I get into my car, turn it on and expect to see the gas tank on negative E. But I think I must still be waking up, or dreaming, because it’s completely full.
Even though I may be hallucinating I drive to work trying to rack my brain on if I got gas in my sleep. Or if there’s some sort of gas fairy that goes around to fill up cars of women thatprocrastinate.
I get into work, get the report from the nurse I’m relieving, but I’m still distracted. When I sit down at the nurse’s station, I pull out my phone for the first time and see a text from Parker that has my stomach flipping.
Parker: Have a good night at work.