Oh, God…he’s seen me naked! None of my friends have seen me naked! I always hide when I get changed!
Releasing his hand, she straightened herself in her seat again and sighed.
“You okay?”
“What? Oh…um…yeah. I just needed to get comfortable.”
With the idea of us not being boyfriend and girlfriend anymore.
They drove in silence for several miles before Levi called out, “Hey, look! Florida oranges in one mile! Want to stop?” He looked at her with the biggest smile. How could she possibly do anything but smile back?
“Absolutely!”
Something was definitely up.
For the life of him, Levi had no idea what it was, but something was bothering Willow. He just hated that he didn’t know her well enough to just know, and he wasn’t sure if it was smart to push her to talk about it.
They had stopped for oranges.
A ten-pound bag of them.
Willow bragged about loving all citrus fruits and how she couldn’t wait to get home and make herself freshly squeezed orange juice every morning.
He didn’t have the heart to tell her it might take all of those oranges to make a decent glass of juice.
Now they were in Georgia and had just stopped for peanuts and peaches.
Luckily, not ten pounds of either.
“So…peaches not as big of a deal?” he asked as they loaded their latest purchases in the car.
“Yeah, not a huge fan of them. Like I’ll eat one or two and be good to go. But I know Jen loves them, so I’ll give the rest to her.”
“And the peanuts?”
She shrugged. “I wanted to see what all the fuss was about.”
Unable to help himself, he laughed. They were back in the car and he was about to back out of the parking spot, but he couldn’t. “You wanted to see what all the fuss was about…peanuts?”
“Well, yeah. I can walk into any grocery store and buy peanuts like it’s no big deal. And yet once you start driving through Georgia, there are these giant signs everywhere that make it seem like these are the greatest peanuts in the world. So I need to taste for myself and see what I think.”
“Should I have kept them up front with us?”
“Nah, not in the mood.”
For a moment, he could only stare. “So you’re curious, but not curious enough to try them right now. Do I have that right?”
“Yup.”
If anyone asked him for one thing he learned about Willow this week, it was that she was utterly unpredictable.
And in a good way.
“Would you mind if I tried some?”
“Now?”
He nodded.
“Sure. Be my guest.”
And there it was again. Some of her spark and light was gone.
So instead of reaching into the back seat and grabbing the peanuts, he turned toward her and stared until she returned his gaze.
It took almost a solid minute.
“What? What’s the matter?” she asked.
“That was going to be my line.”
Brows furrowed, she didn’t respond.
“Willow, clearly something’s bothering you. Is it me? Did I do something wrong?”
She looked like she was about to say something but changed her mind.
“I have no problem waiting you out,” he explained. “I’m very patient.”
“You’re being ridiculous, Levi. There’s nothing wrong. I guess I’m just a little tired and not looking forward to the long drive home. For some reason, it always seems to take longer.” Then she shook her head. “And I know we’re doing it in less time, but it already feels like it’s going to take forever.”
It made sense. Sort of.
“You’re already missing your grandmother, aren’t you?” It wasn’t a question. Over the few days they were there, Levi could tell Willow and her grandmother were very close. It was very sweet to see, and he knew they both wished they lived closer together.
Both sets of his grandparents had always lived close by. He never had to travel farther than the next town to see them. It was hard to imagine what life would have been like without them being so close.
If his grandfather had lived anywhere else and owned a pub, he had to wonder if he still would have followed the path he was currently on.
Wow…this is some deep shit. I need to lighten things up.
“Does she ever come back up to New York?” he asked, trying to get back to the topic at hand.
“No, not anymore. She loves to travel and so much of our family is scattered around now that I’m the only one left up there. It’s easier to go to her. Usually I don’t mind it. This was just a more stressful trip because…well…you know.”
“For what it’s worth, I think it all went perfectly. No one questioned our relationship and I don’t think you’re going to be getting any grief from your parents any time soon.” He glanced over at her and winked. “At least, I hope you won’t.”
Her soft laugh made him hopeful that maybe they were lightening the mood. “I honestly can’t say yes or no to that. No one’s ever put my father in his place the way you did. This should be interesting to see how it all plays out.”
“I have to admit, I’m kind of curious about it myself,” he teased. “Just basing things on what I observed and not on the stories you shared with me, I’m thinking it’s going to be interesting. How often do you talk to them?”
“I get a call from my mother once a week,” she replied. “It’s a perfunctory sort of thing; like I don’t think she’s genuinely interested or concerned with what I’m doing, but she calls to see if I’m going to fall in line with what they want me to do.”
“Okay, so let’s be optimistic,” he said, doing his best to sound positive. “Let’s say they are now officially off your back. How does that make you feel?”
“Honestly?” she asked with a nervous laugh. “I don’t know yet. It’s all too new and too foreign of a concept yet.”
“Oh, come on…don’t you feel like
