“That’s the next question? If I cry?”
“No, it’s when did you last cry in front of someone and by yourself?”
“Well, then prepare to be shocked but…I cried a few months ago at my grandfather’s funeral.”
“Oh, Levi, I’m so sorry.” Without thinking, Willow reached over and placed her hand over his. Levi immediately linked his fingers with hers.
“He passed away a month before my grandmother’s 80th birthday. I think everyone in the family cried. So…I cried in front of and with them and…I even cried alone when I got the call.”
“As you can probably imagine, I cry around once a week. I cry over commercials or out of frustration. The last time I cried in front of anyone was…” She had to stop and think about it. “Oh, last week in front of the dogs.”
“The dogs? Really?”
She nodded. “I had taken the smaller dogs out for their walk and Gia stepped on something and let out the most pitiful little sound. I scooped her up in my arms and cried because I felt so bad for her!”
“O-kay then…”
“You think I’m weird, right?”
“I wouldn’t say that…”
“You’re definitely regretting being on this trip with me. I can tell.”
“I never said that, Willow.”
“You don’t have to. I can tell. You have a very expressive face.” When he turned to look at her like she was crazy, she waggled her finger at him. “There! Right there! You think I’m crazy!” Sighing, she went on, “It’s okay. I get that a lot. I guess it’s why I don’t date a lot. Most guys don’t want someone who’s as…emotional as me.”
“There’s nothing wrong with being emotional,” he countered. “And honestly, I don’t think you’re weird.”
“Really?”
“Yeah, really. I’m not used to someone being so honest about themselves. I think this test or quiz or whatever it is you want to call what we’re doing really is kind of fascinating. I don’t think I’ve ever had a conversation like this with anyone I’ve ever dated.”
“Me either.”
“Can I ask a question?”
“You should probably stay focused on the road.”
He laughed, and it was low and gruff and so masculine that Willow almost hummed dreamily.
“I meant can I ask a question that’s not part of the quiz.”
“Oh, um…sure! Why not?”
“Actually, I have two questions.”
It was hard not to tense up. It was one thing to be the one in control of the questions and to wrap her head around them before she had to answer, it was quite another to have no idea what was coming her way. So instead of internalizing and freaking herself out, she said, “Lay them on me.”
“How did you get the name Willow?”
“Gammy named me.”
“And she’s the one we’re going to see, right?”
“Yup.”
“How come she named you?”
“Because she told my parents they were picking uptight names, and she thought my siblings were a little on the serious side. So she challenged them to let her pick my name and they would see if the name really affects our personalities.”
“So you were like…an experiment?”
“I never thought of it like that, but…I guess.”
“And that doesn’t offend you?”
She shrugged. “Like I said, I never really thought about it.” They drove in silence for several minutes. “What was your other question?”
Levi seemed to consider his words carefully before asking, “What’s the most embarrassing thing you’ve ever done?”
Okay, clearly he hadn’t thought this through because once Willow shared her most embarrassing thing, he was going to have to do the same.
“Falling in front of you kind of tops the current list,” she said with a hint of humor.
“You didn’t really fall in front of me…”
“It was right in front of the window at McGee’s and you saw it because you ran right out to help me. So, yeah. That’s a biggie.”
“But is it the most embarrassing?”
“I believe I’ve shared enough of my embarrassing moments earlier. Let’s put Levi under the microscope, shall we?”
“Well…I guess that’s fair. After all, you did tell me a lot about you.”
“Levi?”
“Hmm?”
“Quit stalling.”
Her bluntness was kind of cute in this instance and he knew she had him pegged. “Fine. The most embarrassing thing I ever did was…back in high school, my buddies and I streaked across the football field during the halftime show.”
“No!” she cried, her hands going over her mouth as she started to laugh. “You did not!”
“Unfortunately, I did.”
Lowering her hands, she giggled a little more. “Did you get caught?”
“Nope,” he said proudly. “We had a plan and knew exactly where to run to. Plus…we had football helmets on so no one could see our faces.”
“Oh, my gosh! Why would you do that?” And yet, she was still laughing.
“Because we were stupid and thought it would be funny,” he replied, shrugging. “You know how immature guys are at 18. Looking back, I’m shocked we didn’t get caught even as much as I’m shocked we did it at all. Still…it makes for an interesting story.”
“Do you share it a lot?”
He grinned at her and saw she was blushing slightly. “Not in a long time.”
They drove in silence for several miles and he wondered if he’d thrown them so far off track with the test that Willow didn’t want to continue. And for the life of him, he had no idea why he felt the need to ask his own questions.
No, that wasn’t true. He was genuinely curious about her name. Her siblings had fairly normal–almost boring–names. Willow was the name you would think of two free-spirited parents would choose for their child. Certainly not the one two seemingly uptight psychologists would pick.
Curiosity and all…
The other question? Yeah, he had no clue. It was something that just came to mind. The silver lining to it was that she could see how he had a way more embarrassing story than she did. She was a klutz, that was a given, and unfortunately that meant things were going to happen that were out of her control. His story proved that he opted to embarrass
