I Just Need You - J. Nathan Page 0,68

cheeks, dropping a kiss to her forehead. “I know better than to smudge a girl’s lip gloss.”

“Oh, yeah? How do you know that?”

I pulled back, my nerves buzzing to life. “Oh…I…”

She placed her small hand on my chest, patting it gently. “I’m joking. I’m sure you’ve had plenty of girlfriends.”

I wouldn’t call any of them girlfriends. Time-fillers maybe. But not girlfriends.

“What?” she asked, clearly reading the look on my face.

I shook off her question. “Let’s head out. The car’s out front.”

Since it was not even nine yet, the floor was eerily quiet as we stepped into the empty hallway.

“Have fuuuuun,” Elodie and Alice sang from their open door down the hallway.

I spoke too soon.

Kresley laughed and I ignored them.

“Go get him, girl!” Alice called likely waking the whole damn floor.

Kresley snorted as we walked in the opposite direction of her nosey friends toward the stairwell.

“I knew you’d cave, bodyguard!” Elodie called.

I placed one hand on the small of Kresley’s back to guide her into the stairwell and held my free hand over my head, flipping them off.

Alice and Elodie cracked up.

“Tell me you didn’t flip them off,” Kresley said.

When I didn’t answer, she rolled her eyes knowing I definitely had.

We took the stairs to the first floor. “You’ve gotta admit they remind you of Velma and Daphne,” I said.

She turned and looked at me. “I knew I wasn’t the only one.”

We laughed as we stepped outside.

The car was parked by the sidewalk, and Briggs waited by the back door like a chauffeur.

“Son of a bitch,” I mumbled.

“What?” Kresley asked.

“Good morning, Miss Hastings,” Briggs said as he opened the back door. He glanced to me. “Sir.”

“Would you knock it off?” I shoved him toward the front seat and helped Kresley into the backseat, following her in and closing the door. It felt weird to sit in the back with her, but I willed my nerves to settle the hell down and enjoy the day.

“Would you care for any particular music?” Briggs asked from the driver’s seat as he looked at us through the rearview mirror.

Kresley placed her hand on my thigh, clearly trying to ease my nerves. “Anything’s fine,” she answered.

He nodded then pulled away from the sidewalk and drove us through town.

My knee bounced anxiously as silence filled the car. I couldn’t risk speaking to Kresley for fear of Briggs using whatever I said against me later. Kresley squeezed my thigh, presumably trying to relax me and assure me this was a good idea when everything inside me was telling me it wasn’t.

Briggs hit his blinker and took the ramp onto the highway just as the radio switched on.

I breathed a small sigh of relief knowing we’d get at our destination soon. And, we’d be alone.

Kresley leaned into me and whispered, “Where are we going?”

“It’s a surprise.”

“If I guess, will you tell me?”

“No.”

She pouted, which ordinarily would’ve come off childish, but on her it was funny since I knew she always wanted to know everything.

“I’ll give you a hint,” I offered.

Her face lit up and her blue eyes rounded, so childlike and happy. After all she’d been through, it meant a lot to see her happy—and know I had something to do with it. I just hoped my surprise was worthy of her excitement.

“It’s revolves around two things you love.”

Her lips twisted as she considered what I now realized came out like a riddle. “Two things I love. Hmmmm.”

I smiled, pleased with myself that I could actually give her this…even just temporarily.

She linked our fingers and didn’t try to fill the silence with small talk. I loved that about her. She could read me. She knew I was uncomfortable and wasn’t pushing me to come out of my shell in front of Briggs. Though, if I clammed up on our date, it would be a different story.

Briggs took the exit a short while later bringing us closer to our destination.

Kresley gazed out her window, clearly noticing the ocean in the distance. She peeked at me and lifted her brows in question.

I shrugged, all the answer she was getting.

We drove a little further before we pulled into a marina parking lot.

Her eyes jumped from me to the marina lined with boats. “Are we going on a boat?”

“Maybe.”

She smiled.

Most college girls would’ve been blown away by the notion of a boat ride for a first date. But I knew for Kresley it was no big deal because her father owned a yacht. But her eyes still lit up like this was an